Ginger Chutney | Inji Thuvaiyal

Spicy and delicious South Indian style ginger chutney with lentils and curry leaves! Check out how to make this lip-smacking ginger chutney or, as we say in Tamil, inji thuvaiyal with detailed step-wise pictures.

I love chutneys, especially the ones that we can relish with rice. In Tamil, we call chutneys as thogayal or thuvaiyal. In fact, my very first blog post was a chutney recipe, paruppu thogayal or toor dal chutney. :-)

Meal with chutney

Rice served with any thuvaiyal and chips is a meal by itself. Of course, it goes well with rasam rice, yogurt rice, and other tiffin items too. This inji chutney or thuvaiyal is one such flavorful spicy chutney.

Yeah, it’s spicy chutney for sure – look at the ingredients. We use ginger, pepper, and red chilies. Trust me, when mixed with rice with a dollop of gingelly oil, you love that flavor and that kick from the ginger.

As you can see from the picture, I made a simple and comforting meal with ginger chutney. I have rice with ginger chutney, along with rasam and carrot stir-fry.

Ginger

After a heavy festive meal, I always opt for comforting foods that aid digestion. Apart from ginger rasam and cumin-pepper rasam, this ginger chutney is my go-to option. When you can find tender ginger in Costco, why not make ginger chutney, right?

Ginger, as all know, is a wonderful medicinal root known for its health benefits. Dried ginger is known as sukku, and it is used in all herbal concoctions and medicines.

Ginger is part and parcel of the Indian cuisine. Most of the curries call for ginger and garlic either in paste or in chopped form. And when it comes to tea, nothing can beat the flavor of strong ginger-tea. Both fresh and dried ginger are staples in my pantry.

Ginger chutney

This is a no onion, no garlic chutney recipe with the goodness of curry leaves and ginger. It’s a straightforward recipe. We first roast the lentils along with chilies and pepper. Then we saute ginger and curry leaves and grind them with coconut, tamarind, and salt.

Coconut helps to balance the flavor and adds its unique flavor. Instead of coconut, you can also add roasted gram or pottukadalai.

Shelf life and serving suggestions

Store this chutney in an air-tight container. Even with coconut addition, it stays good for up to 10 days when refrigerated—no need to reheat the chutney.

You can grind the chutney smooth or coarse as per your liking. But do not add more water while grinding the chutney. For longer shelf life, grind it thick. Also, make sure to use a clean spoon during every use.

We usually relish this with plain rice and yogurt rice. But you can also serve this with idli or dosa. In that case, take the required amount, add little extra water to thin it down.

Dietary Specifications

This is a vegan, gluten-free, and nut-free chutney recipe perfect for all. When I serve this chutney with plain steamed rice, I usually add gingelly oil. If you are okay with dairy, you can add ghee also.

Now without any further ado, let’s see how to make this chutney with detailed step-wise pictures.

PS: This ginger chutney recipe of mine got published in the Vizhudugal Tamil magazine.

How to make ginger chutney:

• Heat a saucepan or kadai and heat 1 tsp of oil. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and urad dal and roast it over medium heat.

• When urad dal changes color, add the whole pepper and dried red chilies.

• Roast until the urad dal turns deep/reddish golden brown. (In Tamil, we say sivaka varukanum) Note: Set aside a tsp of urad dal mixture(Just urad dal and mustard seeds) from this for adding it later. Instead of doing the tempering separately, we set aside some roasted mustard seeds and urad dal. You can prepare the tempering separately and add it later too. Tempering is optional for this recipe.

• Set aside this dal mixture and now in the same kadai, add the remaining oil and sauté the chopped ginger and curry leaves for 3 to 4 minutes till the ginger becomes tender.

• Let the urad dal mixture and ginger cool. Now transfer the dal mixture to a mixer jar and grind it first. Then add the sauteed ginger, coconut and curry leaves, tamarind paste, and salt.

• Grind into a slightly coarse chutney by adding ¼ to ⅓ cup of water.

• Finally, add the reserved urad dal and mustard seeds and serve it with rice. Store this in an air-tight container. It stays good for up to 10 days. Make sure to use a clean spoon. 

Recipe Notes

• I used Kashmiri red chili variety for this chutney. But you can use any variety. The color of the chutney might differ. Also, adjust the number of red chilies according to the variety and as per taste. This chutney is a spicer one as we are including ginger, whole pepper, and dried chilies. So adjust accordingly.
• I highly recommend tender ginger for this chutney. Fibrous ones will be more coarse, and they won’t blend well.
• Be cautious while roasting the urad dal. We need to roast till it turns deep golden brown, but don’t let it turn dark brown/black. It alters the taste. If you are using a cast-iron pan, the residual heat might affect, so transfer the lentils to a plate after roasting them. 
• As I used tamarind paste, I directly added it while grinding. You can use a small marble-sized tamarind pulp and saute it along with ginger, so it softens a bit.
• Tempering is entirely optional for this ginger chutney. But I usually set aside some urad dal and mustard seeds from the roasted mix. 
• You can reduce the amount of coconut if you prefer. Coconut helps to balance the spiciness, so adjust the other ingredients accordingly. 

More Chutney Recipes

PS – If you try this ginger chutney, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and I will get to it ASAP.  Make sure to follow me on my Pinterest for more healthy and delicious ideas! Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more gardening and recipe updates.

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5 from 3 votes

Ginger Chutney | Inji Thuvaiyal

Spicy and delicious South Indian style ginger chutney with lentils and curry leaves! Ginger chutney recipe for rice!

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Cooling Time10 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Entree

Cuisine: South Indian, TamilNadu

Servings: 8

Calories: 77kcal

Author: Srividhya G

Equipment

• Saucepan or kadai
• Mixer jar or coffee grinder

Ingredients

Measurement Details: 1 cup=240ml; 1tbsp=15ml; 1tsp=5ml;

• ▢ 2 tsps oil
• ▢ 1 tsp mustard seeds
• ▢ ⅓ cup urad dal
• ▢ 1 tsp whole pepper or to taste
• ▢ 3 dried red chilies or to taste (Refer notes for the variety)
• ▢ 50 grams ginger peeled and chopped. Approx ⅓ cup after pee
• ▢ ¼ cup curry leaves or a handful
• ▢ ½ cup coconut grated
• ▢ 1.25 tsp salt or to taste
• ▢ 1 tsp tamarind paste
• ▢ ¼ to ⅓ cup water to grind the chutney

Instructions

• Heat a saucepan or kadai and heat 1 tsp of oil. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and urad dal and roast it over medium heat.
  
• When urad dal changes color, add the whole pepper and dried red chilies.
  
• Roast until the urad dal turns deep/reddish golden brown. (In Tamil, we say sivaka varukanum) Note: Set aside a tsp of urad dal mixture(Just urad dal and mustard seeds) from this for adding it later. Instead of doing the tempering separately, we set aside some roasted mustard seeds and urad dal. You can prepare the tempering separately and add it later too. Tempering is optional for this recipe.
  
• Set aside this dal mixture and now in the same kadai, add the remaining oil and sauté the chopped ginger and curry leaves for 3 to 4 minutes till the ginger becomes tender.
  
• Let the urad dal mixture and ginger cool. Now transfer the dal mixture to a mixer jar and grind it first. Then add the sauteed ginger, coconut and curry leaves, tamarind paste, and salt.
  
• Grind into a slightly coarse chutney by adding ¼ to ⅓ cup of water.
  
• Finally, add the reserved urad dal and mustard seeds and serve it with rice. Store this in an air-tight container. It stays good for up to 10 days. Make sure to use a clean spoon.
  

Notes

• I used Kashmiri red chili variety for this chutney. But you can use any variety. The color of the chutney might differ. Also, adjust the number of red chilies according to the variety and as per taste. This chutney is a spicer one as we are including ginger, whole pepper, and dried chilies. So adjust accordingly.
• I highly recommend tender ginger for this chutney. Fibrous ones will be more coarse, and they won’t blend well.
• Be cautious while roasting the urad dal. We need to roast till it turns deep golden brown, but don’t let it turn dark brown/black. It alters the taste. If you are using a cast-iron pan, the residual heat might affect, so transfer the lentils to a plate after roasting them. 
• As I used tamarind paste, I directly added it while grinding. You can use a small marble-sized tamarind pulp and saute it along with ginger, so it softens a bit.
• Tempering is entirely optional for this ginger chutney. But I usually set aside some urad dal and mustard seeds from the roasted mix. 
• You can reduce the amount of coconut if you prefer. Coconut helps to balance the spiciness, so adjust the other ingredients accordingly. 
•  

Nutrition

Calories: 77kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 368mg | Potassium: 114mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 723IU | Vitamin C: 321mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 1mg

I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.

Tried this recipe?Mention @vidhyasvegetariankitchen or tag #vidhyasvegkitchen

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Update Notes: Earlier posted on 2015, now updated with recipe card, nutrition information and new step-wise pictures.