What’s the one thing goes with kachori, pakodi, samosa, aloo bonda, khakhra, mathri, crackers. It can pep up your dosa and idly, add zing to your sandwich and burger.
No prizes for guessing – it’s the eternal favourite and versatile Dhania chutney.
The table is set, a whole variety of food on the table but my son’s eyes would still be looking for this. “Dhania ki chutney hai kya?”
I am told it was also an integral part of my grandfather in law’s meals. It’s in the genes, so there..!
There’s really no one recipe for Dhania chutney. You can make it with whatever ingredients you have and each time you will find subtle changes because of what you added.
The basic recipe is below. At the end, I have also mentioned some optional ingredients that can be added to give more depth of flavour to the chutney.
Ingredients
100 gms fresh coriander leaves
1 inch piece of ginger
2-3 green chillies
1 tsp cumin seeds( jeera)
Salt
2-3 tsp lemon juice
Procedure
- Take fresh coriander leaves with stems. Cut an inch above the roots. Wash very well to remove any mud that may be stuck to the roots.
- Put it in the mixer jar along with cumin seeds, ginger, green chillies. Grind to a smooth paste adding 2-3 tbsp of water. Do not add too much or it will become runny.
- Add salt and lemon juice just before serving to maintain that beautiful green colour.
Optional ingredients, take your pick – You can add 2 tbsp raw mangoes chopped/ 6-7 pods of garlic/ 2 tbsp bhujia/ 1 tbsp raw peanuts/ 1 tbsp roasted peanuts. You could even add green cucumber peels. Or, all of the above. Mix and match ingredients as available.
Note –
- If you use raw mango, you don’t need to add the lemon juice at all. The raw mango will make it tangy enough.
- Adding peanuts makes the chutney lighter in colour.
