Make this restaurant style green chutney for tandoori chicken, fish, salmon tikka and kababs to enhance their exciting flavors. Healthy and creamy, this Indian mint sauce (hari chutney) is very easy to make and absolutely delicious!
About the recipe
Tandoori chicken or fish is served in Indian restaurants with a bright green-colored mint sauce that is spicy, creamy and tangy. It makes tandoori chicken explode in your mouth with a mix of flavors.
Ever wondered what goes into the amazing chutney?
You’ll be surprised to find that it is actually very easy and takes literally 10 minutes to put together. Made with simple natural ingredients, this green chutney with curd (yogurt) is the ideal companion for all your tikkas and kebabs, too.
My love for green sauces are never-ending: Thai basil pesto, roasted garlic pesto, Thai curry paste, avocado chutney…. the list goes on.
Especially when you’re entertaining, you’ll want to make and stock up sauces and chutneys ahead of time. This helps you concentrate on the main dishes.
This mint sauce comes in very handy. You can make it a couple of days ahead and refrigerate until ready to be served.
Video
Why you’ll love this green chutney with curd
This all-purpose tandoori chutney tastes great when paired with many Indian starters like tandoori chicken, tandoori salmon, prawn tikka, paneer tikka, samosa, kebabs- the list is endless.
It adds heat, freshness and a pop of color when drizzled on chaats and salads.
It is very easy to make with simple pantry ingredients.
Like the magic green sauce, this mint chutney with curd is healthy with all-natural low calorie ingredients and no saturated fat.
Each of the ingredients like yogurt, mint, coriander and cumin are known to aid digestion and promote gut health, in addition to being rich in nutrients and antioxidants.
Ingredients
- Mint leaves: choose bright green colored ones.
- coriander leaves with stalks
- ginger
- green chili: serrano or jalapeno may be used.
- yogurt: you can also use homemade hung curd. Yogurt and lemon juice are important for this recipe. (details in FAQ below)
- lemon juice or lime juice: to balance out the spice from chilies and bitterness from the herbs
- ground cumin: gives a subtle spicy flavor
- salt and pepper
How to make Indian mint sauce: Step by Step
(You can find the exact measurements and instructions in the printable recipe card at the end of this page.)
- Chop the mint and coriander leaves, ginger and chilies.
- Place them with yogurt, lime juice and spices in a high speed blender jar or food processor.
- Blend into a smooth chutney.
- Creamy restaurant-style green chutney is ready for your tandoori chicken/ salmon!
Recipe tips
- Finely chop the chilies, ginger and the herbs before blending to ensure the chutney is smooth and creamy. You wouldn’t want to bite into pieces of ginger or chili.
- The stems of coriander may also be used since they have a lot of flavor, even more than the leaves. That’s the reason I use them in the recipe for tomato chilli prawn pasta.
- If your blender is not so powerful, roughly blend the coriander stems, ginger and chili first before adding the rest of the ingredients.
- For this recipe, homemade curd may also be used instead of store-bought yogurt. Homemade curd may be watery, so place the curd on a muslin cloth, tie and hang it on the tap over the kitchen sink. Let the water drain for about 20 to 30 minutes. The curd would become thick and creamy.
- Use Himalayan pink salt for added flavor.
How to use hari (green) chutney
This green chutney is THE PERFECT SAUCE for tandoori chicken, salmon, cauliflower…any tandoori, tikka or kebab:
Use this mint chutney to make tandoori chicken wraps.
Love more mint? Pair this green chutney with hariyali paneer tikka when you have an abundance of herbs. Or pair it with tandoori paneer tikka.
Pair this restaurant-style green chutney with baked salmon kebabs, easy mackerel fish cakes, tandoori prawns or crumbed prawn fry for easy and classy starters.
You can also use this as green chaat chutney to drizzle on Kabuli chana salad or chana dal salad.
Pair this mint chutney with fish tandoori for a quick seafood dinner.
Use this chutney to replace half or the entire yogurt dressing in the easy paneer tikka salad.
Common Questions
How many days can I store green chutney?
Since this green chutney has dairy (yogurt), it stays fresh for only about 3 days in the refrigerator. If you want to store it for longer, it can be frozen for up to a month.
Why is my green chutney black?
Blended mint tends to oxidize over time. You can avoid contact with air by adding a layer of oil to cover the top surface of the chutney. You can pour it out before using it.
Another way to avoid oxidation is to fill a bowl with chutney up to the brim and use a cling wrap to cover it.
But I follow the easiest hack: just stir the chutney before using since it is only the top surface that is blackened! You won’t find much of a difference and tastes just as good.
How do you make green chutney less bitter?
The heat from blending can cause the mint to turn bitter. To avoid that, place the ingredients in the refrigerator for 15 minutes before blending. While blending, pulse intermittently so you’re not blending for a prolonged time.
To fix a blended chutney that is bitter, add a couple of teaspoons more lemon juice and yogurt to balance the flavors.
How do you store dhaniya and pudina?
Separate the mint leaves from stalks. For coriander leaves, remove the roots, since the stalks can be consumed. Rinse and leave them to drain in a colander. Line an airtight box (glass or stainless steel) with thick kitchen tissues and place the leaves. Use a large box so you don’t squeeze the leaves. Cover with another tissue before closing it tight. This way you can increase the shelf life of mint and coriander leaves. This way they stay fresh for about 2 to 3 weeks in the fridge.
More sauces and chutneys
Mint Chutney for Tandoori Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup mint leaves tightly packed
- 1 cup coriander leaves tightly packed (with stalks)
- ¼ cup yogurt (or hung curd)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt (or sea salt)
- 1 green chili
- 1 tablespoon ginger (grated or finely chopped)
STEP BY STEP IMAGES
Scroll back to find detailed recipe photos!
Instructions
- Roughly chop the chilli, mint leaves, coriander leaves and stalks. Peel and grate the ginger.
- Place all the chopped ingredients with yogurt, lime juice and spices in a blender jar. Blend until you get a smooth chutney.
- If your blender is not powerful enough, coarsely blend the coriander stems, chili and ginger (or finely chop them) before adding the rest of the ingredients.
- Serve the restaurant-style green chutney with your tandoori chicken or tikka.
Video
Notes
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This is my favourite sauce of all time!
Thank you Chloe, glad you loved it!
Oh my goodness, such a gorgeous punchy sauce. I’ll be making this more when my fresh mint starts growing in the summer!
Thank you Janice, I’m sure you’re going to love it.
This looks and sounds amazing Sheeba. What a gorgeous vibrant color too. Thanks so much for posting.
Thanks, Jo!