Peanut Chutney (Groundnut / Palli Chutney)
Roasted peanuts blended with garlic, dry red chilli, tamarind, and roasted cumin into a thick Andhra-style groundnut chutney.
Equipment
- Kadhai or skillet only if roasting raw peanuts
- Blender or small mixer jar
Ingredients
For the chutney
- 1 cup roasted peanuts unsalted
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 dry red chillies stalks removed
- 1/2 teaspoon tamarind pulp or a small marble of soaked tamarind
- 1/2 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder or Kashmiri chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/3 cup water plus more as needed
Optional tadka
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
- pinch urad dal
- 6 curry leaves
Instructions
Roast the peanuts
- If your peanuts are raw, dry roast them on medium heat 5 to 7 minutes until they smell sweet and a test peanut is crisp, not soft. Cool 5 minutes. Rub off loose skins. Skip this if you started with roasted unsalted peanuts.
Blend the chutney
- Add peanuts, garlic, dry red chillies, tamarind, roasted cumin, chili powder, and salt to the blender. Pulse to a coarse crumb. Scrape the sides.
- Add 1/4 cup water. Blend to a thick paste. Add the remaining water 1 tablespoon at a time until the chutney drops slowly from a spoon.
- Taste. Add a pinch of salt or a few more drops of tamarind water if it tastes flat.
Finish and serve
- Serve thick for dosa, or loosen with 1 more tablespoon water for rice. If you want tadka, heat the oil, pop the mustard seeds, toast the urad dal until pale gold, add curry leaves, and pour over the bowl.
Notes
Unsalted peanuts only. Salted peanuts make the grind impossible to season.
If the chutney tastes bitter, the peanuts or chillies roasted too far. Blend in 2 tablespoons fresh roasted peanuts and a pinch of jaggery.
I skip the tadka when I want the peanut to stay loud.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It thickens when cold. Loosen with a spoon of water.
You can freeze portions 1 month. Thaw in the fridge and stir hard. Texture is a little grainier.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!