5 from 1 vote

Mint chutney is made from fresh mint leaves, urad dal garlic, ginger, chilies, a variety of aromatic spices, and a touch of coconut. It is then tempered with mustard seeds, urad dal, red chilies, curry, leaves, asafetida and more for taste enhancement. Learn the steps to make mint chutney at home reading my recipe.

Table of Contents

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Mint chutney offers a delightful twist to meals.
Serve the chutney with idlis, dosas, pakoras, and rice dishes.
Store the chutney in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Mint chutney tastes spicy, mildly sour, sweet, and creamy.
Chutneys with similar tastes are coriander mint chutney, mint yogurt chutney, mint coconut chutney, mint and curry leaf chutney, mint tamarind chutney, green mango mint chutney, mint peanut chutney, and mint tomato chutney.

I learned this chutney recipe from the driver who takes my kids to school daily. One day, he mentioned his wife packs this chutney along with a few parathas for him on long driving days. I was curious and asked for the recipe. He was happy and kind enough to note it down for me.

I made it on a busy Monday. My husband said it was balanced and strong, and the boys liked the road-trip taste. Now, it is a sort of our car-pool comfort. That conversation reminded me that those who drive others daily also need fuel from home—lovingly prepared and practical, carried in small boxes full of support.

How to Cook Mint Chutney? (Step by Step Guide with Images)

Step 1: Take a wide frying pan and heat it on a low flame on your gas stove. When it is hot enough add 2 tsp of white oil in it.

(Pro tip: You can use any type of white oil you have at home).

Step 2: When the oil is hot enough, add 1 tsp of black gram split (urad dal) and 1 tsp of cumin seeds to the frying pan.

Step 3: Stir the spices continuously for about half a minute to fry them nicely.

(Pro tip: Do not overcook the urad dal and cumin seeds as that will affect the taste of the mint chutney adversely).

Step 4: When they are fried well, add about 8 to 10 cloves of fresh and deskinned cloves to it.

Step 5: Then, add 1 piece of fresh and deskinned ginger of about an inch size to the frying pan.

(Pro tip: You may cut the ginger roughly as I have for better and quicker cooking).

Step 6: Give the ingredients in the frying pan a nice stir for about half a minute.

Step 7: Now, add 1 piece of fresh green chili and 6 pieces of dry red chilies with their stalk removed.

(Pro tip: You may break the green and red chilies in half if you want. You may even increase or decrease the number of red chilies according to the heat you prefer in the chutney).

Step 8: Stir them for about a minute so that the chilies are adequately fried.

Step 9: Now, add a small piece, about the size of a gooseberry, of tamarind to the ingredients in the frying pan. Stir the ingredients for about a minute.

(Pro tip: You may cut the tamarind into small pieces, as I have, for better cooking).

Step 10: Now, add 2 cups of fresh and nicely washed mint leaves.

Step 11: Mix all the ingredients in the frying pan nicely.

Step 12: Stir the ingredients occasionally until the leaves are shriveled up.

Step 13: At this point, add ½ a cup of fresh, grated coconut to the ingredients.

Step 14: Then, add 1 tsp of rock salt to the content in the frying pan. Mix them nicely.

(Pro tip: If you do not have rock salt at home, you can use regular table salt).

Step 15: Check that the ingredients are cooked nicely and have reduced significantly.

Step 16: Cook for some more time if needed. Turn off the flame of your gas stove and let the frying pan sit for a so that the mixture cools off completely.

Step 17: Now, add about 1 tbsp of water to the ingredients in the grinder.

Step 18: Grind the ingredients to a fine paste and keep it aside.

(Pro tip: Check for the consistency of the paste. If you do not want it to be very thick, add a little bit of water to it and mix it nicely).

Step 19: Now, for tempering the chutney, take another frying pan and heat it on a high flame on your gas stove. When it is hot enough, add 1 tsp of white oil to it. After the oil heats up, add 1 tsp of urad dal.

Step 20: Then add 1 tsp of mustard seeds.

Step 21: Now add ½ a tsp of cumin seeds to the frying pan.

Step 22: Put one piece of dry red chili without its stalk, either whole or broken into two pieces.

Step 23: Also add ¼ tsp of asafetida powder and let it cook for a few seconds.

Step 24: Finally, add about 20 to 25 pieces of fresh curry leaves to the ingredients in the frying pan.

Step 25: Stir all the ingredients nicely for about a minute.

Step 26: Now, turn off the stove and pour the grounded mint paste from the grinder into the pan. Stir them to mix the chutney with the tempered ingredients nicely.

Step 27: Transfer the chutney from the frying pan to a container and your flavorful mint chutney is ready to be consumed with idli, dosa, upma, and a variety of dishes.