Madurai Special Thanni Chutney Recipe is one of our recent favorites! It is such a simple chutney to prepare yet so flavorful and when you don’t mind the seasoning this is a no cook side dish for idli , dosa and the likes.
Madurai is the temple city of South India and it is the home of the famous Meenakshi Amman Temple.
My SIL lives there and she often speaks about the cuisine of that region and Madurai’s Bun Parotta and Jigardanda are some of the specialties that have now spread to other parts of Tamilnadu.
She also used to tell me about the small eateries that are on the side of the roads and since Madurai is also called ‘ Thoonga Nagaram’ meaning the city that never sleeps, these eateries run late into the night and are crowded most of the times.
They start functioning around the evening times and serve a limited yet tasty set of dishes.
What I am talking about are not hotels / restaurants, but small eateries run by a family and have just a table or two next to their push cart kitchen.
Madurai is also famous for the soft and fluffy idli and my SIL keeps going ga-ga over it.
To top it all, the cost is very less and family can have its fill of dinner for a couple of hundreds!
And there are several such small eateries near the temple, bus stand and places that people visit often.
So the main highlight of such conversation would be about the side dishes they serve with the mains. Usually 3-4 sides are served along with sambar.
One would be a fiery red tomato onion chutney, coconut chutney, a watery chutney and podi mixed with oil. Buckets of these sides would be placed and the customers can either help themselves or there is someone to do the honors.
I have been to Madurai many times but never ate in those eateries as I felt they were on the road side and may not suit the tummy.But the variety of sides that are served is always on my mind.
A few weeks back one of my friend shared a video of making a Madurai chutney and to my surprise it was the Madurai Special Thanni Chutney Recipe!
As much as it excited me, I did not prepare it right away and kept postponing preparing it.
Finally after hearing rave reviews from my neighbor, I decided to make it and I felt bad for not trying it out earlier!
Thanni in Tamil means water and this chutney is literally watery. For one cup of chutney we can add upto 4 cups water! Yes, it is true to its name!
But, the taste is so good that you will be tempted to eat more idlis just to have more of this chutney! The idlis soaked in this chutney make my mouth water even as I am typing this post!
The chutney is made with coconut, roasted channa dal, sambar onions / shallots, curry leaves, green chilies. It is a bit spicy but you can always adjust it to suit your taste.
At first I was skeptical to add raw shallots but once I tasted it, I could not find the presence of onions. In fact no one could guess it had raw onions!
Now, this is a regular chutney at home any my kids who are not great fans of idli now eat idli without complaint just because of this chutney!
Don’t take my word for it, try it out and be ready to be floored!
Lets see how to prepare this delicious side – Madurai Special Thanni Chutney Recipe
A special watery chutney from the South Indian city – Madurai that is a perfect side with soft fluffy idli / uthappam.
- 1/4 cup Roasted Channa Dal / Pottukadalai
- 1/4 cup Grated coconut
- 10 no.s Sambar onions / shallots
- A few Curry Leaves
- 5 no.s Green Chilies Adjust to taste
- Salt to taste
- For seasoning: / Tadka:
- 1 tsp Oil
- 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp Cumin seeds
- Finely chopped curry leaves- a few
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In a mixie jar take all the ingredients except the ones mentioned under seasoning.
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Blend to a fine paste adding a little water.
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Transfer the chutney into a slightly large serving bowl.
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Add lots of water. For one part of chutney you can add 3-4 times water!
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Heat oil in a small pan and add the ingredients mentioned under Seasoning
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Once the mustard pops , pour into chutney and mix well.
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Serve as a side with idli / dosa / uthappam.
- This chutney should be watery as the name suggests.
- It should be slightly spicy else it will be tasteless when served as a side.
- Finely chopped onions are sauteed in along with the seasoning and added to the chutney.
Do try out this chutney and let me know how you liked it.
Like this recipe? Do leave a comment below and rate the recipe. If you try out this dish, share with us how it turned out!
Very nice