Mint Chutney Recipe

Name: Mint Chutney
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 2 cups packed roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems; 1 cup packed roughly chopped fresh mint leaves; 1/2 cup chopped red onion (about 1 small); 1 tablespoon unsweetened grated coconut; 1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon; 1 to 2 small hot green chilies (such as Thai bird chilies), stemmed; 2 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons); 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger; 1/4 cup water, plus more as needed; Kosher salt, to taste

Why It Works

This bright, spicy chutney comes together in mere minutes.

I've only tackled Indian food a couple times at home—I've found myself happier picking up from my local restaurant rather than working through ingredient and process heavy recipes. With a little extra time on hand right now, I decided to look into a few Indian sauces and found that my preconceived notion of having to dedicate hours on end to put them together was absolutely wrong. In fact, this mint chutney—which is the standard green table condiment found at a lot of Indian restaurants—took merely minutes and required no additional outing to the Indian grocery for special ingredients.

It starts with a two to one ratio of cilantro to mint which is thrown into a food processor with red onion, coconut, lemon juice, green chilies, garlic, ginger, and water. A set of pulses chops everything finely, and in a minute, the sauce is done.

For such quick work, the flavor is deceptively complex. Mint is no doubt the dominant trait, but there's layers beyond that with the sharpness of ginger, garlic, and onion. The best part was the heat, which was significantly heavier than what I'm used it, satisfying my heat seeking palate immensely.

October 2012

Mint Chutney Recipe

Prep 5 mins

Active 10 mins

Total 5 mins

Serves 12 servings

Makes 1 1/2 cups

Keep Screen Awake

2 cups packed roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
1 cup packed roughly chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup chopped red onion (about 1 small)
1 tablespoon unsweetened grated coconut
1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon
1 to 2 small hot green chilies (such as Thai bird chilies), stemmed
2 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1/4 cup water, plus more as needed
Kosher salt, to taste

Place cilantro, mint, onion, coconut, lemon juice, chilies, garlic, and ginger in the workbowl of a food processor. Pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Add additional water as needed, 1 tablespoon at a time, to form a thick, but pourable sauce. Use immediately or transfer to an airtight container and store in refrigerator for up to a week.

Special Equipment

Food processor

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
11	Calories
0g	Fat
2g	Carbs
0g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories	11
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g	0%
Saturated Fat 0g	1%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 55mg	2%
Total Carbohydrate 2g	1%
Dietary Fiber 1g	2%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 2mg	12%
Calcium 11mg	1%
Iron 0mg	2%
Potassium 51mg	1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Ingredients

Special Equipment

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