Shenga Chutney Coconut Peanut Maharashtra

Method

1. 1

   Combine ingredients in blender: Add fresh grated coconut, roasted peanuts, green chilli, ginger, lemon juice, sugar and salt to a blender.

2. 2

   Add minimal water: Add 2 to 3 tbsp water — just enough to allow the blender to process. The chutney should be thick, not runny.

3. 3

   Blend: Blend for 1 to 2 minutes to a smooth-to-medium-coarse paste. The peanuts give the chutney a slightly granular character even when blended smooth.

4. 4

   Taste: The chutney should be: mildly spicy from green chilli, slightly sour from lemon, sweet from fresh coconut, nutty from peanuts and savoury.

5. 5

   Adjust: Add more lemon for sourness, more chilli for heat, more coconut for sweetness. Blend briefly after each addition.

6. 6

   Transfer to a bowl.

7. 7

   Heat oil for tempering: Heat 1 tsp oil. Add mustard seeds — pop. Add curry leaves and dried red chilli — crackle.

8. 8

   Pour tempering over chutney: Pour the hot tempering directly over the chutney.

9. 9

   Stir the tempering through: Mix the tempering through the chutney.

10. 10

    Serve: Serve with poha, upma, amboli, batata vada or alongside any Maharashtra snack. Best consumed fresh — within 6 to 8 hours.

11. 11

    Note: The addition of roasted peanuts to coconut chutney is specifically Maharashtrian — in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, coconut chutney is made without peanuts. The peanuts add body, protein and a roasted complexity that distinguishes the Maharashtrian version. This chutney is the universal accompaniment to almost every Maharashtra snack and breakfast dish — from vada pav to sabudana khichdi to poha.