This thuvayal is a combination of coconut, green chillies, shallots, garlic, gooseberry and mint.

For this chutney, we fry onions, garlic and mint leaves. The fried ingredients are added to fresh coconut, green chilli and gooseberry.

Nellikkai Pudhina Thuvayal/ Gooseberry Mint Chutney

Ingredients (serves 4)

• periya nellikkai/gooseberry (bigger variety) – 3 no.s chopped
• thengai/coconut – 1/2 finely chopped/grated
• pachchai milagai/green chillies- 6/7 as preferred
• chinna vengayam/shallots- 5 no.s
• poondu/garlic cloves – 6 no.s
• pudhina/mint leaves- 1 cup
• uppu/salt – to taste
• yennai/oil – 1 tsp

Method of Preparation

1. Clean the mint leaves well
2. Peel garlic and shallots
3. In a pan, take a tsp of oil and fry garlic and shallots, till shallots become opaque. This would take 1-2 minutes.
4. Add the cleaned mint leaves and switch off the stove. Let the mint cook a bit in the hot pan. Frying of mint is not needed.
5. In the blender jar, add grated coconut, green chillies and chopped gooseberries.
6. Add the fried garlic, shallots and mint leaves
7. Add salt and water and blend to a smooth paste
8. This thuvayal too doesn’t need thaalippu or seasoning.

For a tangier dip, add gooseberries; adjust green chillies as per family preference.