Curry leaves chutney or curry leaves thogayal is an easy and flavourful recipe made with fresh curry leaves, grated coconut and minimal spices.
Curry leaves or Karuveppilai is one of the staple herbs in Indian cooking, especially in Southern India. Its the one herb that we cannot do without and you will find this in practically every Indian kitchen, or shall I say refrigerator 🙂 However limited space people have around their houses and apartments, it’s not uncommon to see at least one curry leaves plant that is carefully watered and tended to. My mom has about three plants around the house and my sister has a mini curry leaves garden in her front yard. The fragrance of fresh curry leaves is truly unmatched!
This recipe is my mom-in-law’s and super easy to put together. I have tweaked her original curry leaves thogayal recipe to includes some embellishments – sometimes a fistful of coriander leaves (cilantro), or some roasted urad dal, etc.
This thogayal is fabulous if you:
- love curry leaves and its flavour
- are looking for recipes to use up fresh curry leaves
- love thogayal in general and want something quick and fuss free
- have less in time in hand and want to add one more “item” to your lunch or dinner menu
This paruppu thogayal recipe is quite the bomb too!
Curry Leaves Thogayal Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 cups fresh curry leaves packed
- 1/2 cup grated coconut fresh or frozen, thawed
- 2 tsp oil
- 1 teaspoon urad dal
- 1/8 teaspoon hing asafoetida
- 2-3 dry red chillies adjust to taste
- 1 green chilli optional
- A small piece of tamarind
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves optional
Instructions
- Wash the curry leaves thoroughly and set aside to drain
- Heat oil in a pan and add the urad dal
- When the dal turns brown, add the hing
- Then add the red chillies, garlic, and green chilli (if using)
- Roast for 10 seconds and then add the curry leaves
- Saute until the leaves wilt and turn a darker colour - about 5-7 minutes
- Turn off the heat and add coconut, coriander leaves, tamarind, and some salt
- Stir everything together to warm up in the heat of the mixture
- Cool completely
- Grind with very little water to a coarse paste
- Serve with rice and ghee
Notes
- The coriander leaves are optional. I also add mint leaves sometimes I have fresh ones in hand
- The green chilli adds a lovely flavour but can be omitted
- The garlic is optional but highly recommended
- Add as little water as possible to just enable grinding. More water will dilute the flavour of the curry leaves thogayal
Step by Step Curry Leaves Thogayal Recipe
Prepare all the ingredients
Heat oil and add urad dal
When it turns brown, add hing
Then add red chillies, green chilli, and garlic
Roast for a few seconds until fragrant
Add the curry leaves and mix together
Cook until the leaves are a darker colour and wilt slightly – about 5-7 minutes. Turn off heat. Then add coconut and tamarind
Also add coriander leaves
Mix everything well together with salt in the resulting heat of the pan
Cool completely. Grind with minimal water to a coarse paste to get your fragrant curry leaves thogayal
A – we had it with rice, sambar and some stir fried vegetables. You can also spread it on bread though I am not sure how good that will taste. I personally prefer coriander chutney for sandwiches.
Hi Nags..
Does this chutney go well with rice? Any serving suggestions are most welcome 🙂
I’ve never tasted this chutney.. but my mom wanted to make this once ages back.. and we all said yuck!. I don’t know if she secretly made it but I so want to try this myself now…
Thanks for the recipe..
delicious chutney! I too posted a recipe for this long back. But I didn’t add coconut and garlic to it. looks mouth-watering and fresh! Nice pics.
I wish I had a curry plant. The leaves are incredibly delicious!
Great site!
fresh and yummy.. i love karuvepilai chutney.
Nags, I love the colour of your kariveppelai chutney, such a vibrant green. A perfect snadwich spread too.
Aaah… Have never tried curry leaves chutney with coconut. Sounds delicious and looks beautiful! 🙂
Wow this is something new to me. Looks gr8. Love the pleasing color.
have never had curry leaves chutney…urs sure looks worth trying…:-)
Yes,sure curry leaves have a lots of medicinal value,my brother dont throw away,he eats in every dish!