Learn how to make easy and delicious Poondu Chutney recipe with step by step pictures. Garlic Chutney recipe for Idli Dosa, quick and easy side dish for South Indian Breakfast.

Following the Hotel Style Coconut Chutney recipe, here is another simple Poondu Chutney recipe made with fresh garlic cloves and red chillies. A delight for all garlic and spice lovers, this chutney comes together in a jiffy and goes really well with hot idli and crispy dosa. The fiery red color is from the use of Guntur red chillies and true to its name, there are a lot of garlic cloves in this chutney recipe.

Poondu Chutney for Idli Dosa

If you are looking for a flavorful make-head chutney to store for upto a week, this Poondu Chutney is the best. There are only two main ingredients in this chutney recipe - Fresh Garlic Cloves (Poondu in Tamil) and Dried Red Chillies (Milagai in Tamil). The unique factor about this simple chutney is that all the ingredients are ground in their raw form and then cooked to a thick consistency.

Garlic Chutney Ingredients

Here are the basic ingredients used to make Garlic Chutney for Idli Dosa.

Poondu/Garlic Cloves – we need lots of fresh garlic cloves and that’s the only time-consuming part of this chutney preparation. But here is a protip – you can peel the garlic skin and store them in an airtight container in fridge for upto two weeks. It will definitely help in making this chutney quickly when pressed for time.

Milagai/Dry Red Chillies – we use spicy red chillies for this chutney and I specifically use Guntur chillies. If you want only the color without the spice, go for Kashmiri red chillies or Byadagi chillies.

Puli/Tamarind – to cut through the spiciness and to enhance the taste, we will add large marble sized ball of fresh tamarind. It is optional to soak the tamarind along with red chillies for easy grinding.

Nallennai/Gingelly Oil – after grinding all the ingredients, we will cook the chutney in gingelly oil/sesame oil. Nothing else comes closer to this divine taste!

Apart from these main ingredients, we will also use mustard seeds, asafoetida, fresh curry leaves for tempering and there is of course salt and water used while grinding the chutney.

Storing & Serving Suggestions

This Poondu Chutney goes really well with idli and dosa, basically any South Indian breakfast. It also complements other non-spicy chutneys like Coconut Chutney, Peanut Chutney or even Pudina Chutney. This chutney can be stored in an airtight container and retained fresh when kept in refrigerator for upto 10 days.

Check out other interesting chutney recipes

Chana Dal Chutney
Bangalore Hotel Style Coconut Chutney
Raw Onion Chutney
Peanut Mint Chutney
Pottukadalai Chutney
Kadamba Chutney

Poondu Chutney Recipe with Step by Step Pictures

First soak 8-10 dry red chillies in ¼ cup of hot water for 15-20 mins.

Along with the soaked red chillies, add 18-20 garlic cloves, 1 large marble sized ball of tamarind and salt as needed to a blender.

Grind in quick pulses until the ingredients are coarsely ground. Add the water used to soak the red chillies little by little.

Grind into a smooth paste.

Meanwhile heat a thick bottomed pan and heat 2 tablespoon gingelly oil. Add ½ teaspoon mustard seeds and as they splutter, add ¼ teaspoon asafoetida and few fresh curry leaves.

Now add the prepared chutney and wash the blender jar with remaining water (if any), add it to the pan.

Cook on low flame for about 7-8 mins keeping the pan covered.

It should thicken up and oil should ooze out from the sides. Remove from heat.

Serve immediately with hot idli or crispy dosa. Let it cool down before storing in an airtight container in fridge for upto 10 days.

Recipe Notes

Don’t reduce the amount of oil as the chutney is very spicy and it is needed to balance it out. Also helps preserving it for days without spoiling.

Recipe Card

📖 Recipe

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