Try this simple spicy mint coriander chutney that is the perfect dip to have for snack time. In this recipe, I’ll show you how to create thick and creamy mint cilantro chutney from scratch. I have a special ingredient for you that will give you a thick and creamy outcome every single time.
This spicy green-colored chutney has fresh mint and coriander leaves, spiced with ginger and green chillies. This chutney is an absolute fridge essential.
About Mint Coriander Chutney
Chutney is a spicy or savory condiment originating in India usually made from fruits, vegetables, herbs, vinegar (if preserving for a long time), sugar, and spices. In other words, chutney is nothing but a spiced sauce made from herbs, vegetables and spices. Chutneys are a common sighting in Indian households. I’ve learned a lot about cooking from my mother and one of the things is that keep a jar of chutney ready in your fridge. Check out how I make a South Indian version of Onion & Tomato Chutney .
There are so many different types of chutneys in India yet this mint coriander chutney always hit differently. It’s fresh, tangy, has a nice kick to it, and most of all, it’s so versatile. I can literally have it with anything. I dipped a BORING dense flax bread (which will never replace real bread for me) and voila, it tasted amazing. You can add it to salads, serve with flatbreads, in toasties, sandwiches, and as a dip for chips.
Ideas to use Mint Coriander Chutney
This green chutney is often used as a dipping sauce with evening snacks like crispy Baked Aloo Tikki. But you can also use it as a marinade e.g. to make Tofu Hariyali Tikka. All you need to do is marinate tofu cubes in this chutney and air fry to get crispy green tofu bites and add them to noodles or salads.
This recipe is a household favourite for us, and after experimenting with measures and quantities, this is my version of mint-coriander chutney to wow your friends and family.
How to make mint coriander chutney?
Herbs:
For this recipe, we’ll need to make sure that the herbs are fresh and green. Make sure the primary herbs – coriander and mint leaves – are in good condition. Mint stems should not be used since they might make the chutney bitter, but the coriander stems can definitely be used.
Method:
In a large bowl or colander, take a bunch of coriander leaves and a handful of mint leaves. Keep the ratio approximately 1:3 i.e. for a bunch of coriander, use a big handful of mint leaves. Rinse the mint and coriander leaves in the colander. Drain the water well and pat dry using a kitchen towel.
In a high-speed blender, add the green chillies, chopped ginger, plant-based yoghurt, lime juice, cumin seeds, a slice of plain bread, and salt to taste. Blend it all together to get the right creamy consistency. You can additionally add water to create a balance.
If you want to make the chutney spicier, you can add more green chillies.
The secrets to a better chutney:
The secret ingredient here is the slice of bread. The bread gives the chutney a creamy, and thick texture that you might otherwise not get. This makes it easy to spread on flatbreads and toasties.
To avoid oxidation and add a natural preservative, we use lemon juice. It is also an integral part of the taste so do not skip it!
You can also add ice cubes while blending to keep the blender jar from overheating.
Additionally, keep in mind that salt aids in oxidization, so use little salt while blending the chutney. Add more only when serving the chutney,
AND your creamy thick Mint Coriander is ready to be served! You can use it as a dip with snacks, as a spread for sandwiches and to add to Indian chaats.
Store: You can store this chutney in a glass jar for up to 3-4 days in the fridge and up to a week if frozen.
Check out other chutneys and snacks form the blog:
- Tamarind chutney
- Tofu Masala Sandwich – Bombay Street Food Style
- Crispy Plantain Chips: Kaya Upperi
- Viral TikTok Yoghurt Toast: Vegan, Savoury and Spicy
Easy Mint Coriander Chutney
Ingredients1x2x3x
- 1 bunch fresh coriander leaves
- 1 handful fresh mint leaves
- 2 pieces green chillis use 1 if you are sensitive to heat
- 1 small knob Ginger
- 1/2 cup Plant based yoghurt
- 1 tbsp lime juice (you can also use half a large lemon)
- Few tbsp Water to loosen
- 1 tsp cumin seeds or powder
- Salt to taste
- 1 slice of plain bread (secret ingredient)
- Ice cubes Optional
Instructions
- Blend all the ingredients in a high speedblender.
- Add some ice cubes to maintain the heat of the blender. (optional)
- As you taste, you can adjust a few ingredients like salt, lime juice etc.
- Serve with sandwiches, aloo tikki or anything that you fancy.
This vegan Ras Malai is inspired by the traditional Bengali dessert that’s made with dairy. This is a completely veganised version and it is going to blow your mind. It is perfect for sharing with your friends and family to celebrate any festival or happy occasion!
Inspiration to veganise Ras Malai
One of the things I missed the most after turning vegan was being able to enjoy Indian desserts because they are usually filled with dairy. Ever since I honed my cooking skills and learned more about vegan substitutes, things have been quite easy. This recipe goes on to prove that anything can be veganised. The easiest way to replace milk in most recipes is with soy milk. And that’s how I rocked this one! Go soy milk!
How to make Vegan Ras Malai?
The base of a Ras Malai is chena (fresh cheese or paneer) usually made from scratch. It is formed into flattened balls and boiled in a sugar syrup, then soaked in spiced malai (cream). You can watch me make it here .
Vegan chena/paneer:
You can easily sub this with tofu. The key to this recipe is soy milk. You can use a curdling agent like lemon juice. Once, it is formed, mix it with a bit of corn starch to get a doughy consistency that can be easily shaped.
Sugar syrup:
In this step, heat up water, add sugar and cardamom to it, then bring it to a boil. Now drop the ras malai shapes in the sugar syrup so that they can soak up the syrup and turn sweet.
Malai (cream syrup):
Blend together soaked and softened cashews, pistachios, soy milk, sugar, cardamom, and soaked saffron strands. You can skip the saffron strands if it is not available but make sure to add cardamom, at least.
This recipe is fairly simple to make and you can serve it chilled on a hot summer’s day. Let me know how you liked this recipe and if you do try it don’t forget to tag me @beextravegant. Check out my other reels and recipes on Instagram .
Check out other desserts from my page:
- Healthy Vegan Laddoos
- Vegan Cardamom Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Easy Vegan Kulfi
Let me know if you try this vegan ras malai recipe. Tag @beextravegant on Instagram .
Vegan Ras Malai
Ingredients1x2x3x
Vegan chena/paneer (sub with tofu):
- 5 cups soy milk
- 2-3 tbsp lemon juice for curdling
- 2-3 tbsp corn starch
Sugar syrup:
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tsp crushed cardamom
- 4 cups water
Malai (cream syrup)
- 1/3 cup cashews
- 1/3 cup pistachios
- Hot water
- 1/3 cup soy milk
- 5-6 cardamom pods shelled
- 5-6 strands saffron
- 1/2 cup sugar
Instructions
Vegan Chena (the fresh cheese):
- Bring to boil 5 cups soy milk (making sure not to burn the bottom). Once it comes to a boil, add lemon juice and turn off the heat. Let the milk curdle.
- Pour into a cheese cloth and hang for 45 minutes.
- Squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
- Add corn starch (add more if required), mix well and form little flat round shapes and set aside.
Sugar syrup:
- Bring water, sugar and crushed cardamom to a boil.
- Bring it to a simmer and slowly add the vegan chena balls into the syrup and let it cook for about 3-5 minutes. Take them out and set aside.
Vegan Malai:
- Soak cashews and pistachio in hot water for 30 minutes. Soak saffron and cardamom seeds as well and let them infuse.
- Pour everything into a blender with water and sugar and blend well. It should form a viscous liquid. (If not, heat it on a pan and reduce it to the right consistency)
Assembly:
- For best results, pour the Malai onto all the chena balls and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, it comes out AMAZING. But, if you are in a hurry, just pour immediately onto the chena balls and serve.
Notes
Dal tadka is a popular lentil dish that most Indians make at home as well as order in restaurants. This dal tadka brings restaurant style flavours to your home. Made with toor(or tuvar) dal, mung dal and chana dal, so it is creamy and has texture variations to keep you excited. Make this for your family favourite for weeknight dinners or make ahead for easy meal prep.
What is Dal Tadka?
Daal/Dal is a common lentil dish from India that is a staple in most North Indian household. It’s usually made with very simple ingredients: lentils, onion, garlic, ginger, tomatoes and a few spices. Tadka is the tempering that your pour over the dal, once its made, sort of like a finishing magic touch that takes the flavour to the next level. You don’t want to skip it!
How to make Dal tadka?
Ingredients:
Dal/Lentils:
You can use WHATEVER lentils you have on hand. I used Toor dal (split pigeon pea), mung dal (split mung beans) and chana dal (split Bengal gram). But, you can use Masoor dal (split red lentils) as well and remove or keep any kind of dal you have at hand.
Aromatics:
I use red onions, fresh ginger and garlic and green chilli peppers. Of course, you can remove the chilli peppers if thats too hot for you (or hey, challenge yourself to up your heat tolerance 😉 ). You can also sub the fresh ginger and garlic for a store-bought ginger and garlic paste (easily found in Indian stores).
Tomatoes:
I like to use tomato puree because they feel more flavourful, especially during winters or you live in countries that offer only mediocre tomato varieties. You can easily use chopped tomatoes.
Spices:
Whole spices- Whole cumin seeds, Ground spices- Turmeric powder, red chilli powder and coriander powder are easily the 3 ground spices make the base of more north Indian dishes. Also, add Garam Masala at the end (since it is a pre-toasted spice blend. It doesn’t require cooking.)
Tempering:
The tempering is the magic touch at the end that takes your dal from mediocre to extremely good! So, you can add whatever you want to add that punch factor to your dal. I used whole cumin seeds, hing (asafoetida), dried red chilli peppers. You can also add sliced garlic, ginger julienned, crushed Kasuri methi, more red chilli powder for extra heat etc.
Smoking/Dhungar Method:
The charcoal method gives a smokey restaurant-style taste to the dal. But, if you don’t have charcoal or means to heat up a charcoal piece, just add smoked paprika to the dal or skip this step.
If you don’t have the energy to make an elaborate dal recipe, check out this one pot dal recipe . Check out other hearty Indian dishes from the blog:
- Easy Chana Masala
- Vegan Paneer Butter Masala
- Vegan Palak Paneer
Dal Tadka
Ingredients1x2x3x
- 1 cup Toor dal 225 g
- 1/2 cup Mung dal 115 g
- 1/4 cup Chana dal 62 g
- 4-5 cups water
- 1 tsp oil
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 knob ginger crushed
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 green chilli peppers diced
- 1/2 cup of tomato puree/2-3 small tomatoes chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 2 tsp garam Masala
- Salt to taste
- Dried Kasuri methi
For smoking:
- 1 piece charcoal
- 1 tbsp oil
For the tadka:
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp hing/asafoetida
- 2-3 dried red chillis
- Garnish
- Coriander leaves chopped
- 1/2 Lemon juiced
Instructions
- Wash the dals together, thoroughly in water until it turns almost clear.
- Add them to a pressure cooker or instant pot and cook for 10 minutes on high.
- In the meantime, heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and add 1 tsp of cumin seeds to it.
- Once it starts crackling and turning brown, add the crushed ginger and garlic to it and cook on low heat until the raw smell goes away.
- Add onions and green chilli to this and cook on medium-low until the onions turn golden and soft.
- Add the ground spices, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and coriander powder and mix well. Cook until the raw smell of turmeric powder goes away.
- Add the tomato puree or chopped tomatoes to this and cook until the tomatoes get cooked. Add salt at this point and mix well.
- Stir in the cooked lentils/dal to this mixture and cook for another 5 minutes until the flavour blend in together. Add dried Kasuri methi (if using) and turn off the heat.
For the smoking:
- Place a tall bowl in the pot of dal and then heat oil in a small pan.
- Heat the piece of charcoal on fire (be safe, friends) with the help of tongs. Place it in the bowl, pour hot oil on the charcoal piece and cover the pot to let the smoke make the dal smoky, about 5 minutes. Then take out the bowl and discard the charcoal.
For the tadka:
- Heat 2 tbsp oil in a small pan and add cumin seeds to it.
- Once it crackles, add the asafoetida and dried chillis and stir it. Take it off the heat before it starts burning and pour over the daal.
- Garnish with coriander leaves and lemon juice.
- Enjoy dal with basmati rice, roti and Indian pickle (achar).
Notes
- Soak the daal for 2-3 hours before cooking.
- Drain and cook on a pot on medium heat with 4-5 cups of water.
- Cook for about 45 minutes (add water when it starts getting dry) until they turn soft.
Easy Mint Coriander Chutney
Ingredients1x2x3x
- 1 bunch fresh coriander leaves
- 1 handful fresh mint leaves
- 2 pieces green chillis use 1 if you are sensitive to heat
- 1 small knob Ginger
- 1/2 cup Plant based yoghurt
- 1 tbsp lime juice (you can also use half a large lemon)
- Few tbsp Water to loosen
- 1 tsp cumin seeds or powder
- Salt to taste
- 1 slice of plain bread (secret ingredient)
- Ice cubes Optional
Instructions
- Blend all the ingredients in a high speedblender.
- Add some ice cubes to maintain the heat of the blender. (optional)
- As you taste, you can adjust a few ingredients like salt, lime juice etc.
- Serve with sandwiches, aloo tikki or anything that you fancy.
