Vegan Fresh Coconut Mint Chutney Recipe

Coconut chutney inspired by 'The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking'

Fresh Vegan Coconut Mint Chutney is a staple of our diet, when fresh mint and fresh coconut are both plentiful, from late spring through fall. It tastes sublime!

How To Make Chutney: I make a big batch of coconut mint chutney (double or triple the recipe), using a food processor, and keep it in the fridge for a few days.

We love coconut mint chutney with dosas, Indian flatbreads which resemble French crêpes.

Total prep & cook time: 20 min

20 Servings

Nutrition Data Per Serving, 29g: 92 calories, 48 calories from fat, 10g carbs, 6g fat, 217 mg sodium, 5g sugars, 1g dietary fiber, 2g protein, very low Cholesterol, good source of Copper and Manganese. Estimated glycemic load: 4.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup cashews, soaked for 2 hours or more
• 3/4 cup grated fresh* or frozen coconut
• OR: 1/2 cup dried coconut soaked in 1 cup boiling water for 2 or more hours. Use the coconut soaking water in place of the 1/3 cup water called for in the recipe
• OR: 1/4 cup coconut cream (Nutiva is a nice brand) + 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, lightly packed (strip them off the stems)
• 1 Tbsp seeded and chopped jalapeño pepper

• 1 Tbsp peeled and minced fresh ginger
• 1/3 cup water or coconut juice or coconut milk
• 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 Tbsp unrefined cane sugar OR RAW agave nectar
• 1/2 tsp rock salt

Chutney Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor
2. I find I get better results using a blender (my food processor is lame), but start on the lowest setting, or pulse to get it going
3. Blend until the chutney is pretty smooth (takes a while for coconut to break down)
4. Transfer to a storage container or serving dish

In Case You Wanted to Know - How to Process a Fresh Coconut:

If this sounds rather arduous ... it is. You may find it's worth it, when you eat this chutney. But if it seems like Too Much, dried coconut works well if you soak it, or coconut cream.

1. Secure the coconut on the top of a wide mouthed cup or jar. Pierce the two 'eyes' by tapping a screw driver into them with a hammer
2. Drain the liquid into a jar, through a fine strainer. You can use this liquid in the recipe or just drink it
3. Take the coconut outside to a sidewalk (or a concrete floor) and smash it with a hammer to break the coconut into several pieces
4. Plunge the pieces into boiling water for 3 - 5 minutes, then drain and dump them into a pot of cold water. This is called blanching, and it loosens the flesh from the shell
5. Drain the pieces of coconut, and pry the coconut meat off the shell with a sturdy knife or flat head screw driver
6. Grate the brown skin off the coconut, and rinse the pieces
7. Grate the coconut by hand with a medium fine grater, or in a food processor
8. Freeze what you don't use in small containers for future chutney, which - trust me! - you will want to make

Recipe Tips:

If you don't have fresh coconut, you can use dried if you soak it in water for a few hours. But you need fresh mint, ginger and jalapeno.

Coconut Cream is a wonderful tasty shortcut to processing fresh coconut or waiting around for dried coconut to soak. If you use coconut in recipes at all, it's a worthwhile investment. Eeven just for this recipe, it's worth it.

If you don't care for hot spicy foods, I've made this recipe without ginger or jalapeño pepper,and it's absolutely delicious. I added a bit of fresh ground black pepper for a little bit of bite.

This chutney keeps well in the fridge for up to a week, so when the mint is rioting in the garden, I've always found it worthwhile to triple the recipe.

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