Mint chutney / Pudina chutney with coconut recipe

I love backyard gardens. I always wanted to have a backyard garden ever since I got married. Not that I have one now, but these days we live in the ground floor, and I have a little space around our patio, which i try to turn into a small vegetable garden.

I have got this from my mom.Have you ever wondered how most of our habits, likes, dislikes, we get from our parents.I guess, that is what these genes do, huh?

My mom always keeps here backyard garden active with the seasonal plants. And I have seen her proudly sharing her farm fresh produce with her neighbors :)

Surprisingly this spring, I started seeing a few mint plants in my so called garden, which gradually took over the entire space. I said surprisingly, because I didn't plant them. I assume the previous tenant would have had some, but this is the first time I am seeing mint leaves spreading like weeds.

Anybody passing by smells these wonderful herb, and asks me, is that mint (read, can I have some of those mint leaves)

Even I share much of it with my neighbors, because i use mint only for biriyani and bombay sandwich chutney. (now you see the genes thing I said above, right ;)

I usually make coriander chutney for dosa and idli. But have tasted the mint chutney in some authentic Tamil restaurants.I love the tang of this chutney.

Now that I had some much of mint leaves on hand, I made this chutney for a change. I liked it.

Here is the recipe.

You'll need:

Mint leaves: 3/4 cup (loosely packed)

Grated coconut: 3/4 cup

Roasted gram daal (Pottukadalai) : 2 tbsp

Ginger: a small piece

Tamarind: a small piece

Green chilli: 3-4 nos

Salt: as per taste 

How to make:

Wash and drain the mint leaves.

Heat a pan on medium-low flame and saute the mint leaves, until it shrinks in volume.

Grind together the mint leaves, grated coconut, gram dal, green chillis, ginger, tamarind and enough salt.

Add a few tbsps of water, just enough to blend all the ingredients together.

Serve with dosa or idli.

Enjoy!

P.S: If diluted, the chutney can be used as a dip for samosa, pakoda and all.