Cilantro Chutney (Coriander Chutney)

The only cilantro chutney recipe you’ll ever need! It’s incredibly vibrant and jam-packed with fresh flavor. It’s easy to make and one of my go-to chutney recipes. 

It is a perfect dipping sauce for Indian appetizers or drizzle over the chaat recipes or spread on the bread to make sandwiches. 

Jump to:

• ❤️About This Recipe
• 🧾Ingredient Notes
• 🎥Watch The Recipe Video
• 👩‍🍳Step By Step Photo Instructions 
• 💭Expert Tips
• 🥣 Storage Instructions
• 🍽 Serving Ideas
• Troubleshoot
• 📋 Recipe Card
• ⭐ Reviews

❤️About This Recipe

Cilantro is called coriander leaves in India hence the name coriander chutney. And in Hindi, cilantro is called dhaniya. So people in India call it Dhaniya chutney.

The most popular dipping sauce from India. Every region has slight variation, but the recipe I am sharing today is the most common one. 

• This cilantro chutney gets ready in just 10 minutes.
• You’ll need 10 ingredients only to make this refreshing coriander chutney.
• It’s a no-cook recipe.
• You’ll need just a blender.
• Taste: medium spicy with a balance of sweet and tangy. In Hindi, it’s known as chatpata taste.
• Adjustable Spice Level: adjust the number of chilies as per your liking spice level.
• It’s gluten-free and vegan.

🧾Ingredient Notes

Here is the pic of the ingredients you’ll need to make this refreshing cilantro chutney recipe.

- Cilantro (Coriander leaves): the main ingredient of this recipe. Use the leaves and stems both. No need to discard the stems. 

- Peanuts: It helps to make thick chutney. Peanuts will absorb the excess water and so no more water separating from the chutney. 

Substitutes: You can use dalia (roasted bengal gram) or coconut (fresh or desiccated) or nuts (like cashews). The flavor will vary depending on what thickening ingredient is used.

- Ginger: It adds a nice flavor. If you want you can add a clove of garlic along with ginger. But traditionally garlic is not added because its pungent taste will mask the fresh flavor of cilantro. 

- Green chilies: It adds a spicy taste. I have used the Indian chilies that I bought from the Indian grocery store. These are medium spicy chilies. You can use serrano chilies or thai chilies (if you want super spicy chutney). If you have jalapenos on hand then use that. Adjust the number of chilies depending on how spicy you like and what type of chili you’re using.

- Roasted cumin powder: Dry roast the cumin seeds in a pan until aromatic and dark brown in color. Let it cool down and then grind into a coarse powder using a spice grinder (or coffee grinder). I usually make a big batch and use it in chutneys and raita. 

- Chaat masala and Black salt: these two add a nice zing and chatpata taste to the cilantro chutney. Do not skip them.

- Lime juice: You can use lemon juice too. Add the tang to the chutney and perks up the overall flavor. Also, it helps to retain the green color of the chutney. 

- Sugar: the slight sweetness pairs well with the tang of the lime. I won't recommend skipping it. But if you do not prefer you can skip it. 

🎥Watch The Recipe Video

👩‍🍳Step By Step Photo Instructions 

1) Keep the cilantro into the bowl of water for 5-10 minutes and let the dirt settle at the bottom of the bowl. Then gently remove leaves, lightly squeeze to remove excess water, and add it to the blender jar. If your coriander leaves are really muddy, then you might have to repeat the process 2-3 times. Or if they are not that dirty then you can just rinse them. 

2) Add all the ingredients into the blender (cilantro, peanuts, ginger, chilies, salt, sugar, black salt, chaat masala, and roasted cumin powder).

3) Freshly squeeze the lime or lemon juice.

4) Add little water. Don’t add too much water, it makes the chutney runny. Start with little, blend and add more if needed.

5) Blend until everything is smooth. Remove it to a bowl and serve. 

💭Expert Tips

• Adjust the number of green chilies as per your liking spice level.
• Do not add too much water otherwise, chutney becomes runny and dilutes the flavors. So always start with little water and add more if needed.
• Water quantity may vary depending on how much water is held on by leaves after washing/rinsing. 
• If your blender is not powerful then you may need to grind peanuts into powder first then add the rest of the stuff. You may need to chop the chilies, and ginger into smaller pieces for an easier grinding process. 

🥣 Storage Instructions

• Store in a clean, airtight glass jar. 
• In the refrigerator, cilantro chutney stays fresh for 4-5 days. 
• In the freezer, it stays good for up to 3 months. Divide into ice cube trays or silicone baking molds. Cover and freeze. Once frozen transfer them to the freezer-safe ziplock bag and store them in the freezer.
• Thaw the chutney in the refrigerator or at room temperature. Do not microwave it to thaw otherwise, it loses its fresh flavor. Also, use up the thawed chutney within a day or two.

🍽 Serving Ideas

• Use as a dipping sauce for your Indian snacks like samosa, aloo pakora, paneer tikka, veg kabab, veg cutlet, dhokla, etc.
• Drizzle over the chaat items like bhel puri, sev puri, ragda patties, dahi vada. In this case, you may need to thin out slightly with water and add a little more salt, lime juice and chaat masala to balance the flavor.
• Spread on the bread slices to make sandwiches like a bombay grilled sandwich, masala toast sandwich, etc.
• Mix it with some mayonnaise and spread it on the burger buns.
• You can use cilantro chutney in making frankie recipe and kathi roll.
• A spoonful of it served as a side along with your Indian meal. It perks up the meal just like an Indian pickle. 

Troubleshoot

Cilantro chutney became too spicy: Add more peanuts and balance the flavor with more seasoning and lime juice. If you have more cilantro on hand then use that as well.

Cilantro chutney became too runny: Again same, add more peanuts and seasoning, lime juice. Powdered peanuts will absorb the excess water.

Fix the slight bitterness in cilantro chutney: Sometimes the woody and thick stems of cilantro make the chutney bitter. You can cut through the bitterness with more sugar and an extra drizzle of lime juice.

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📋 Recipe Card