Coriander Chutney - Insane in the Brine

Coriander chutney is a vibrant and flavorful condiment, perfect for adding a fresh, herby kick to various dishes. This versatile chutney combines fresh coriander leaves with aromatic spices. It’s perfect on the Fermented Dhokla (in the Insane in the Brine cookbook) but it’s also a standard accompaniment for a wide variety of Indian dishes. It’s great with fried foods like samosas, and also meat dishes like these Tandoori chicken wings (shown above), rice, corn, and much more. Instead of the customary yogurt, the recipe calls for kefir cheese, which brings in more acidity, and creates a more cohesive texture. However, yogurt or sour cream may be substituted with very good results.

Yield: 1 cup

Shelf-life: 1 week (refrigerated), 6 months (frozen)

Equipment

Knife & cutting board
Small blender / food processor
Kefir cheese-making items (2 cups milk, kefir grains, fermenting jar & cheese strainer)

Ingredients

1 bunch cilantro (100-110g), well-washed, stems mostly removed
¼ cup kefir cheese (or whole fat plain yogurt)
1 TBSP lime juice
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cumin (optional: pan toasted before grounding)
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp chaat masala (recommended)
1 green chili (e.g. jalapeno or serrano); more or less to taste
½” ginger, peeled & sliced
Small clove garlic, peeled & sliced

Directions

1.) Thoroughly wash the cilantro, shake dry and cut the hard stems.

2.) Combine all ingredients but the kefir cheese (or yogurt) in the blender/processor and process until smooth, around one minute. You may need to scrape down any food debris on the sides and blend it in.

3.) Add the kefir cheese and process until evenly blended in, around 20-30 seconds. Transfer the chutney to a storage container and allow to refrigerate for at least an hour for the flavors to meld.