Coriander Mint Dressing

There is always a half-used bunch of dhaniya (coriander) and a handful of pudina (mint) fighting for fridge space after a salad week shop. That is when I stop making thick snack chutney and blend a pourable Coriander Mint Dressing instead.

This is a cilantro mint salad dressing in US kitchen language, and a coriander mint dressing in ours. Same jar: fresh herbs, lemon or lime, oil, salt, no onion, no garlic. Fully Jain-friendly. Ready in about five minutes. Thin enough to coat cucumber salads and spicy tofu bowls without sitting like green paste on the leaves.

If you already keep mint chutney for samosas and cutlets, think of this as the salad-bottle cousin. Brighter acid, more oil, looser pour. If you want cool dairy mint, use mint yogurt dressing instead. This jar stays dairy-free and herb-forward.

Why You’ll Love This Dressing

• Ready in about five minutes with a blender or jar
• Jain-friendly: no onion or garlic
• Pourable coriander mint dressing that coats greens and crunchy salads
• Doubles as a thin herb sauce for bowls, mezze, and spicy plates
• Naturally vegan and gluten-free
• Uses up leftover coriander and mint before they wilt
• Keeps two to three days in the fridge for weeknight salads

Dressing, Not Chutney (and Not Yogurt Mint)

Indian kitchens already have green jars that look similar in photos. Search results mix them up. Here is how this one is different.

Coriander mint dressing is thin enough to drizzle. You blend coriander, mint, lemon or lime, oil, and salt until it pours from a spoon in a steady ribbon. A splash of water loosens it if the herbs seize up.

Mint chutney / green chutney is thicker and meant for snacks, chaat, and thali sides. My mint chutney and cilantro chillies chutney stay spoonable on purpose.

Mint yogurt dressing is dairy-based and cooling. That jar is yogurt first, mint second. This jar is herbs and oil first, with no yogurt in the base.

Most cilantro mint dressings online lean garlic or avocado. This Indian herb salad dressing skips garlic entirely and uses optional hing, cumin, and green chili for depth that still fits a Jain kitchen.

Pro tip: Pat the herbs dry before blending. Wet coriander makes a watery, dull green pour. Dry leaves plus measured lemon and oil keep the color bright and the dressing thick enough to cling.

Coriander Mint Dressing Ingredients

You need fresh coriander leaves, fresh mint leaves, lemon or lime juice, neutral oil or light olive oil, salt, and a little cold water to loosen. Optional: green chili, a pinch of hing, ground cumin, and a tiny pinch of sugar or jaggery if the lemon is very sharp.

Use mostly leaves. Tough coriander stems can turn bitter in a cold dressing. Mint stems should stay out. If your US grocery label says cilantro, that is the same herb as coriander leaves here.

How to Make Coriander Mint Dressing

1. Prep the herbs

Wash coriander and mint and pat them completely dry. Strip mint leaves from tough stems. Roughly chop coriander leaves, discarding woody stems. Wet herbs water down the jar and mute the citrus.

2. Blend the base

Add coriander, mint, lemon or lime juice, oil, salt, optional hing, optional cumin, and optional green chili to a blender. Blend until smooth and bright green. Stop and scrape the sides once so no leaf clumps remain.

3. Thin to pour

Add cold water one tablespoon at a time until the dressing falls from a spoon in a ribbon, not a paste. Taste. You want herb first, citrus next, salt carrying both. If it tastes sharp, add a pinch of sweetener. If it tastes flat, it usually needs salt or lemon, not more herbs.

I tested this beside a cucumber peanut salad on a warm afternoon and needed one extra tablespoon of water after the jar sat fifteen minutes in the fridge. Herb dressings tighten as they chill. Thin it a little more than you think you need if you are dressing salad later.

How to Use Coriander Mint Dressing

• Drizzle over cucumber peanut koshimbir or other cucumber-forward Jain salads
• Cool herb finish for spicy bowls like a paneer tikka quinoa bowl
• Bright pour for sprouted moong salad when you want green herbs instead of chaat heat
• Spoon over roasted vegetables, boiled potatoes, or leftover grain bowls when you want green without a full chutney side
• Swap in when you would usually reach for thick green chutney but need something that coats salad leaves, or use it beside chaat plates like avocado bhel

For meal prep, keep the dressing in a jar and the salad undressed until you eat. The herbs stay brighter and the vegetables stay crisp.

Tips From My Kitchen

• Blend briefly. Over-blending heats the herbs and can turn mint slightly bitter.
• If the dressing tastes bitter, you likely included tough stems. Strain through a fine mesh or start a smaller fresh batch with leaves only.
• Hing is optional but helpful when you skip garlic. Use a tiny pinch; too much tastes medicinal in a cold dressing.
• Lime makes it sharper and more chaat-adjacent. Lemon reads cleaner with cucumber salads.
• Make it the day you need it for the brightest green. Day-two color softens; flavor still works after a stir and a fresh squeeze of lemon.

FAQs

Is this the same as mint chutney?
No. Mint chutney is thicker and built for snacks. This coriander mint dressing is thinned with oil and citrus so it pours over salad. Use mint chutney for cutlets and chaat, and this jar for bowls and crunchy salads.

Is it the same as mint yogurt dressing?
No. Mint yogurt dressing is dairy-based and cooling. This jar is oil-based with coriander and mint together. Use yogurt mint when the plate is already spicy and you want creaminess. Use this when you want bright green herb flavor without dairy.

Coriander or cilantro?
Same leaf. Coriander is the name many Indian kitchens use for the fresh herb. Cilantro is the common US label. Search either way; this cilantro mint dressing is the same recipe.

Is it Jain?
Yes, as written. No onion or garlic. Skip hing if your kitchen does not use it, or use a pinch of hing for savory depth without garlic.

How long does it keep?
Two to three days in an airtight jar in the fridge. Stir before using; it may thicken overnight. Add a splash of water or lemon if it no longer pours. Color fades before flavor does.

Can I make it without a blender?
Yes. Chop the herbs very finely, then whisk hard with lemon, oil, and salt in a jar. The texture will be speckled rather than smooth, and it still pours well for salad.

This coriander mint dressing is the jar I reach for when the herbs are still fresh and the salad needs green on every bite, not a thick chutney lump in the middle. Bright, pourable, no garlic, and ready before the greens wilt on the counter.

If you make it, tell me: do you blend it silky-smooth, or keep it a little speckled? Leave a comment below.

Made this? Share a photo and tag @petitepaprika on Instagram. I love seeing your kitchen creations!