Peanut Chutney- Groundnut Chutney Recipe

Peanut chutney or groundnut chutney is one of the delicious and easy chutney recipes made of peanuts as main ingredient. Peanuts are known as groundnuts too and it is one of the widely ingredients in Indian cooking in chutneys, curries, podi, variety rice recipes and more south Indian food.

This chutney is an excellent alternate to coconut chutney made with simple ingredients. You can prepare groundnut chutney recipe is minutes as it does not involve much prep work like coconut chutney. In this post I am sharing best peanut chutney recipe that is thick, creamy & flavorful along with few tasty variations.

I make peanut chutney very frequently as it is easier without any chopping or prep work. This chutney recipe is very commonly made in south Indian homes. Just like coconut chutney you can also make groundnut chutney with many flavor variations.

Read on to more details, step by step photos, tips and variations 🙂

About This Recipe

Peanut chutney also known as groundnut chutney is a delicious, thick, creamy and smooth chutney made of peanuts, green chilies and few more simple ingredients. It is so flavorful, finger licking good and goes so well with south Indian breakfast like idli and dosa, uttapam, paniyaram and all everyday breakfast meal.

This tasty chutney is protein packed, has a wonderful nutty flavor, mild sweet taste and absolutely moreish. This chutney is called kadalai chutney in Tamil and palli chutney in Telugu. It is a popular recipe in south India.

Making groundnut chutney is super easy with my recipe. All you need are peanuts, green chilies, tamarind and tempering ingredients like mustard seeds, urda dal.

It is a super handy recipe when you do not have fresh coconut handy and also when you don’t want to chop tomatoes or onions. Having said that, you can also make tasty variations of peanut chutney with coconut, onions or tomatoes. I am sharing few tasty variations too here in this post.

The first recipe of peanut chutney is the classic one made with simplest of ingredients. Second recipe is tomato peanut chutney, a vibrant, tangy and delicious dish. I have also mentioned quick recipes for making peanut chutney recipe with onions, coriander leaves, mint leaves etc.

Do try out this yummy recipe and enjoy. It is

super easy to make

ready in less than 15 minutes

vegan recipe, can be made gluten free

delicious with south Indian breakfast dishes

Protein packed dish

Ingredients & Substitutes

Peanuts

Use plain unsalted peanuts meant for cooking. I like to roast the peanuts in little oil but you can also dry roast them. You can even dry roast the peanuts and store ahead.

Tamarind

A small amount of tamarind adds a wonderful tangy taste, flavor and also helps in increasing the shelf life of chutney. You can use 1/2 tablespoon tamarind paste if dry tamarind is unavailable. You can also add 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice after making the chutney if tamarind is not available.

Green chilies

Add according to your prefered spice level. Frying green chillies in oil lends a wonderful flavor.

Chana Dal

Raw Chana dal are lentils obtained from split brown chickpeas. It is also known as bengal gram. Bengal gram is a very common ingredient used in Indian chutneys. It lends volume and a wonderful flavor to this chutney too. You can also use urad dal but the flavor will be totally different.

Mustard Seeds

Small black mustard seeds are used for tempering or tadka along with few curry leaves, red chilli and urad dal.

Optional ingredients

Along with the above mentioned ingredients you can also add few garlic cloves, chopped ginger for flavor.

You can also add 1 teaspoon sesame seeds along with peanuts for a wonderful nutty flavor in this delicious chutney recipe.

How To Make Peanut Chutney Recipe

Roasting Peanuts

Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in a pan and add 1/2 cup raw peanuts or groundnuts.

Dry roast peanuts in low flame for 5-6 minutes. They should get lightly browned. Remove to a plate. Add sesame seeds and roast if you want to add it.

Making Groundnut Chutney

In the same pan add 1 teaspoon oil and heat it. Add 2-3 green chilies, asafoetida and chaana dal. Fry well. Switch off the flame and add tamarind. Set aside to cool for few minutes. Add 2-3 peeled garlic cloves if using.

Transfer roasted peanuts, roasted chana dal, fried chilies and tamarind to a mixer jar. Add 1/4 cup water and salt to taste.

Grind to a smooth paste. Transfer to a bowl. Taste test and add more salt if needed.

Temper Peanut Chutney

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a small pan. Add 1 teaspoon mustard, 1 teaspoon urad dal, 12 curry leaves and 2 red chilies. Fry for a minute.

Add this tempering to the prepared chutney and mix well. Serve peanut chutney as side dish.

Recipe 2 –Tomato Peanut Chutney

This is a delicious tangy variation to the classic groud nut chutney. For this method I have dry roasted the peanuts and used.

Ingredients

1/2 cup roasted peanuts

2 large tomatoes- chopped

4 red chilies dried

1 tablespoon chana dal

1 small piece of tamarind

1/2 teaspoon jaggery

3 teaspoons oil

salt

To temper:

2 teaspoons oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon urad dal

12 curry leaves

Method

Heat 3 teaspoons oil in a pan. Add chana dal, dried red chilies and saute for a minute. Add chopped tomatoes and saute for 6-7 minutes or they shrink well.

Let cool and grind to a smooth paste along with salt, jaggery and tamarind. Heat oil in a small pan,add mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves. Add to the prepared chutney, mix well and serve.

More Variations

Peanut Coconut Chutney

You can add 1/2 cup grated coconut to this chutney. Just grind the coconut along with roasted ingredients and do the tempering.

Mint Groundnut Chutney

Roast peanut and other ingredients as mentioned in the recipe. While grinding add 1/2 cup rinsed mint leaves and grind to a smooth chutney. You can also use coriander leaves.

Onion Peanut Chutney

I sometimes skip asafoetida and add 1/2 cup chopped onions in peanut chutney recipe. Saute onions along with green chili and grind with roasted peanuts.

With Curd

Instead of tamarind you can add 2 tablespoons curd or yogurt while grinding the chutney.

Andra Style Peanut Chutney

This is a spicy version that tastes absolutely delicious with idli, dosa and perfect for spicy food lovers. To make this version just follow the classic peanut chutney recipe with following additions. Along with green chilies, fry 3 dried red chillies, 4 peeled garlic cloves, 1 inch peeled ginger and 1/2 tsp cumin seeds. Grind these with roasted peanuts. Prepare tempering as mentioned and add to the chutney. Mix well and serve.

Traditionally the skin of the peanuts are removed but I keep them as such since we do not find any difference. If you wish you can remove the skin from roasted peanuts by rubbing it vigorously between kitchen towels.

Peanut Pachadi For Rice

I also make a thicker drier chutney with peanuts that goes absolutely well with rice. It is similar to thogayal we make with various ingredients like coconut, curry leaves, coriander leaves. Here is my recipe. Along with peanuts sometimes I add coconut or almonds or walnuts. Sometimes I also add chopped carrots or beets.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan. Add 2 tablespoons urad dal, a pinch of asafoetida,8 dried red chilies, a handful of curry leaves and fry till lentils turn golden brown. Add 1/2 cup peanuts and fry until they turn aromatic. You can also add ginger or add onion if you like.

Now you can add 1/2 cup grated coconut or 3/4 cup chopped carrots or beets or 12 almonds or 6 walnuts. You can also leave it with just peanuts. Saute well until the vegetables turn soft. If using nuts add along with peanut. If using coconut, saute well until it turns golden.

Transfer to a mixer jar and add a small piece of tamarind and salt to taste. Let the ingredients cool down a bit. Grind to a coarse adding as less water as needed. Serve with hot steamed rice and ghee.

Instant Peanut Chutney

If you roasted peanuts handy you can make this chutney in minutes. I follow this no cook kara chutney recipe and use roasted peanuts instead of coconut.

To a mixer jar add 1/2 cup roasted peanuts, 15 peeled pearl onions or shallots, 3 peeled garlic cloves, 6 dried red chilies, a small piece of tamarind, salt to taste and 1/2 teaspoon jaggery. Add enough water and grind to a smooth paste. You can serve instant peanut chutney it as such or add a tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves fried in 2 teaspoons oil.

Expert Tips

Peanuts– Use fresh and tender peanuts for a mild flavor. Make sure the peanuts are not spoilt or rancid. Use plain raw peanuts and not the salted roasted ones for classic version. For instant groundnut chutney.

Spice level– You can vary the spice level by increasing or decreasing the chilies. If you want a very mild chutney you can even leave out chillies.

Scaling up– You can double or halve the recipe.

Storing– This peanut chutney keeps well for 2 days in refrigerator. You can also pack this chutney in tiffin or lunch box. It will stay good as we are not adding coconut.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Easy Chutney Recipes

Allam pachadi

Onion tomato chutney

Pudina chutney

Chilli Chutney

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