Mint Chutney

A fresh, sharp, and spicy Indian condiment that's quick to put together.

Updated May 09, 2023

Why It Works

This bright, spicy chutney comes together in mere minutes.

I've only tackled Indian food a couple times at home—I've found myself happier picking up from my local restaurant rather than working through ingredient and process heavy recipes. With a little extra time on hand right now, I decided to look into a few Indian sauces and found that my preconceived notion of having to dedicate hours on end to put them together was absolutely wrong. In fact, this mint chutney—which is the standard green table condiment found at a lot of Indian restaurants—took merely minutes and required no additional outing to the Indian grocery for special ingredients.

It starts with a two to one ratio of cilantro to mint which is thrown into a food processor with red onion, coconut, lemon juice, green chilies, garlic, ginger, and water. A set of pulses chops everything finely, and in a minute, the sauce is done.

For such quick work, the flavor is deceptively complex. Mint is no doubt the dominant trait, but there's layers beyond that with the sharpness of ginger, garlic, and onion. The best part was the heat, which was significantly heavier than what I'm used it, satisfying my heat seeking palate immensely.

October 2012

Recipe Details

Mint Chutney Recipe

Active 10 mins

Total 10 mins

Serves 12 servings

Makes 1 1/2 cups

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Ingredients

2 cups packed roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
1 cup packed roughly chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup chopped red onion (about 1 small)
1 tablespoon unsweetened grated coconut
1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon
1 to 2 small hot green chilies (such as Thai bird chilies), stemmed
2 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1/4 cup water, plus more as needed
Kosher salt, to taste

Directions

Place cilantro, mint, onion, coconut, lemon juice, chilies, garlic, and ginger in the workbowl of a food processor. Pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Add additional water as needed, 1 tablespoon at a time, to form a thick, but pourable sauce. Use immediately or transfer to an airtight container and store in refrigerator for up to a week.

Special Equipment

Food processor

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
39	Calories
2g	Fat
5g	Carbs
1g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories	39
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2g	3%
Saturated Fat 2g	9%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 76mg	3%
Total Carbohydrate 5g	2%
Dietary Fiber 1g	4%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 3mg	13%
Calcium 13mg	1%
Iron 1mg	3%
Potassium 73mg	2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.