Some Sundays call for our usual homestyle chutney, the coconut and coriander one Mom makes. Other Sundays, I want a little reminder of Bangalore, with steaming idlis and enough chutney to dunk every bite into.
On one visit to Bangalore, my sister and brother-in-law joined me on a mission to try as many tiffin spots as we could. They took me to a few legendary places that were not necessarily the most talked about. Pay first, collect your breakfast, then eat standing outside or at one of the tall tables. There is such a particular joy to that kind of breakfast.
What stayed with me was the chutney. I loved the fried gram and curry leaves in many of those darshini versions. Back home, after a busy week, I made my own slightly thicker version for Sunday idlis. A small treat, and one of life’s simplest joys.
Here are both chutneys in one place. Mom’s Kothambari Chutney is the familiar favourite I serve with Ragi Dose too. The darshini-style one is my little nod to those Bangalore breakfasts. Make either one to suit the morning.
Homestyle Kothambari Chutney
Homestyle Kothambari Chutney
Ingredients
Ingredients
- ½ cup grated coconut
- ½ cup coriander leaves, including tender stalks
- 1–2 green chillies
- A marble-sized piece of tamarind
- Salt, to taste
- A little filtered water, for grinding
For the tempering
- Oil, enough for a small tempering
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon urad dal
- A broken Byadgi chilli
- 1 sprig fresh curry leaves
Instructions
Method
- Grind the coconut, coriander, green chillies and tamarind with a little filtered water. Add salt and adjust to the chutney consistency you like.
- Heat the oil in a small pan. Add the mustard seeds and let them splutter.
- Add the urad dal. As it turns golden, add the broken Byadgi chilli and curry leaves.
- Pour the tempering over the chutney and mix. Serve with idlis, dosas or Ragi Dose.
Bangalore Darshini-Style Green Chutney
I like it a little thicker at home, but you can add water after grinding for a pouring consistency.
Bangalore Darshini-Style Green Chutney
Ingredients
Ingredients
- The grated flesh of ½ a coconut
- Fried gram (roasted chana dal / putani), approximately ¼ of the grated coconut's volume
- 2 green chillies
- 1 large garlic clove
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- A handful of coriander leaves
- ½ teaspoon jeera (cumin seeds)
- A small piece of tamarind, rolled into a ball
- Salt, to taste
- Water, as needed
For the tempering
- Oil, enough for a small tempering
- Mustard seeds
- Urad dal
- 1 dried red chilli, broken
Instructions
Method
- Grind the grated coconut, fried gram, green chillies, garlic, curry leaves, coriander, cumin and tamarind with salt and a little water. Keep it slightly coarse or grind smooth, as you prefer.
- Check the seasoning. Add more water after grinding if you want a thinner chutney to pour around your idlis or vadas.
- Heat a little oil in a small pan. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter, then add the urad dal. Once it is golden, add the broken dried red chilli briefly.
- Pour the tempering over the chutney and mix. Serve with steaming idlis or vadas.
Notes
- The homestyle version gets curry leaves in the tempering. In this darshini-style version, curry leaves go into the grinder.
- Fried gram means the ready-roasted gram sold as putani or roasted chana dal, not uncooked chana dal.
- I tried a few mint leaves and a pinch of sugar in the darshini-style chutney, but preferred it without them. They are left out here too.
- The quantities of mustard seeds and urad dal in the darshini tempering were not specified in my caption; use a small tempering suited to your batch.
- These are two separate chutneys. Choose one for breakfast rather than combining their ingredient lists.
For more breakfast recipes, try Ragi Dose and Nesal Pundi.
