Curry Leaf Scones with Tomato Coconut Chutney

If you love chutney, these South Indian spiced, savory Curry Leaf Scones act as excellent vessels to scoop up the goop. Made with coconut oil and lightly spiced with curry leaves, mustard seeds and pepper, these savory scones are a delicious break from sweet breakfast and brunch options.

I know this blog is full of recipes that cater to the sweet tooth. Heck! I even say in my side bar About Me “This blog is for anyone who has ever skipped dinner just to have an extra portion of dessert” It is true. It is firstly a dessert / cake / cookies blog. But that doesn’t mean I should throttle my creative juices and not try something savory if the inspiration strikes. By some stroke of luck if it actually tastes good, I can’t not share just because I subtly proclaimed that this is a dessert lovers blog.

Sharing is good. Sharing encourages all sorts of good and bad exchange of ideas. When we share, we contribute to the collective consciousness of this world. I feel blessed and inspired to be part of a time when sharing knowledge, creativity, ideas is a click of a button away. I open my Instagram or Facebook feed and I feel motivated and energized to do something, to create something because there is so much awesomeness around. Sharing also means respecting other people’s perspectives, point of view and choices. It upset me to see an awful comment on a really good blogger’s Instagram post by some person who wanted to tell the world that what they believe in is the only truth and the rest – including that post is rubbish. And then with the whole Trump fiasco it seems like there are people out there who don’t want to share anymore or only want to share hatred and antagonism. They don’t want to share their land, their space, their love or their friendship, conveniently forgetting that our lives are enriched each day and each moment from the contributions of others.

This recipe an integration of the largely South Indian influences on my upbringing with the largely western life I lead now with my Canadian man. I love chutney. Coconut chutney is my absolute favorite. I basically needed a vehicle to scoop up the chutney. Making idlis is hard. Not to mention, the special mold / vessel you need to steam them in. But scones are easy. They come together in no time. No grinding, no fermentation, no special space ship shaped vessels needed. Plus, you can flavor scones as you like!

In this case, I wanted them to make my kitchen smell like a my kitchen back home – with aromas of coconut oil being tempered with curry leaves and mustard seeds. So I did just that. Used the infused coconut oil to make the scones. And it is delicious. Solves the scooping chutney situation efficiently. And I can make a small batch without feeling stressed about the amount of work I have to put into it.

Notes

• Tempering – i.e the method of adding whole spices to hot oil to release aromas and extract the essence of the spices is widely used in Indian cooking. Here I tempered the coconut oil with mustard seeds and curry leaves before letting it firm up. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this, or feel lazy, maybe you can skip this step and add very finely crushed or chopped curry leaves directly to the dry ingredients. I have not tried this so I am not sure how the scones will taste. If you try it, please let me know.
• Coconut oil when frozen can get quite hard, don’t let it get to that stage. It has to be just firm.
• If you are working in a hot kitchen, stick the shaped scones in the fridge for 30 mins – 1 hour before baking. The scones should be cold when they go into the oven.
• Chutney is best when it is fresh but can be stored in the refrigerator for upto two days.

Curry Leaf Scones

Ingredients – Makes 6 scones 
¼ cup (52g) coconut oil
¼ tsp mustard seeds (optional)
4-5 dried or fresh curry leaves – crushed or coarsely chopped
1  cup AP flour
½ tbsp B pwd
¼ tsp B soda
salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper pepper
½ cup cold buttermilk
coconut milk for brushing

Directions

1. To infuse coconut oil.
   In a small saucepan, heat the coconut oil till hot and shimmering. Drop the mustard seeds and watch them zoom like little rockets! It is fascinating. Keep your head back though, they pop like firecrackers. Then add the curry leaves and take the saucepan off the heat. Let cool. Once cooled, filter the seeds and leaves using a mesh sieve. Some tiny bit of curry leaves may remain. That is ok. Stick the oil in the refrigerator or freezer till it firms up.
2. To make the scones.
   Preheat oven to 400F. Centre rack in the middle of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
4. Add the infused coconut oil in pieces. Using two knives, cut the coconut oil into the flour mixture till it resembles coarse crumbs. If using a food processor, pulse the mixture till coarse crumbs form then transfer to a bowl.
5. Add buttermilk a little at a time and lightly stir with a wooden spoon till a shaggy wet dough forms. You may not need to use all the buttermilk.
6. Transfer to the baking sheet. Handling gently, shape into a 7inch circle of approximately 1cm thickness.
7. Using a sharp knife cut 6 triangles or any other shape your prefer. Brush with coconut milk and bake for 15-20 mins till tops are golden brown.

Tomato Coconut Chutney

Ingredients – Makes about 1 cup
1 tbsp coconut or vegetable oil
1 medium red onion thinly sliced
2 small tomatoes thinly sliced
Salt
1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
1 birds eye chili (optional) or
1 tsp vinegar
¼ cup fresh grated coconut or unsweetened dry shredded coconut

For Tempering
1 tsp coconut oil or vegetable oil
¼ tsp mustard seeds
3-4 curry leaves
1 dry red chili (optional)

1. In a frypan, heat the oil. Add the onions and cook till soft. Add the next 6 ingredients and cook till tomatoes are soft. Take off the heat and let cool.
2. Once cool, grind the mixture to a smooth paste. Keep aside.
3. Heat 1 tsp oil in the same frypan. When it is hot and shimmering, add the mustard seeds and let pop. Then add curry leaves and dry red chili. Fry for 1 min. Reduce heat to medium high. Add the tomato coconut paste and fry for 2 mins.

Eat with warm scones.

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