Hari Chutney Spaghetti
Updated October 1, 2025
Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
- Ready In
- 50 min
- Rating
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Ingredients
Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
1 large bunch cilantro, leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
1 green serrano chile (deseeded to reduce the heat if desired), roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves
1 large lemon, juiced (3 to 4 tablespoons)
1 pound spaghetti
4 tablespoons butter, cubed
½ cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)
59 grams carbs; 29 milligrams cholesterol; 405 calories; 3 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 12 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 276 milligrams sodium; 15 grams protein; 2 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, add cilantro, chile, garlic, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon salt to a blender or small food processor. Blitz until smooth, adding water by the tablespoonful as needed to help the blending. (You should have between ¾ cup to 1 cup of chutney.)
- Step 3
Add spaghetti to the boiling water, toss with tongs, and cook until nearly al dente, 8 to 9 minutes. Just before draining, reserve 1 cup pasta water. Drain pasta and transfer it back to the pot.
- Step 4
Over low heat, add the butter, Parmesan, green chutney and ¼ cup pasta water to the pasta and toss vigorously until everything is combined and the sauce clings to the noodles, adding more pasta water as needed to form a silky sauce.
- Step 5
Taste for salt, adjusting to preference, and serve immediately with more Parmesan.
Private Notes
Comments
@NW Something tells me you’ve never spent an hour dislodging ropes of herb stems that have wrapped around the bottom of the blender blades
In my home state of Goa and many other neighboring states we make this chutney with grated coconut which is available in all south Asian stores. Most use it as an accompaniment for dosas, idlis etc but we in Goa use it as a sandwich spread with some butter and it’s always found at picnics, parties etc.
Why chop anything, roughly or not, if it’s going into a blender or food processor? Granted pieces need to be small enough to fit into a blender, but other than that, save yourself some time.
I used a standard Whole Foods sized bunch of cilantro, but instead of getting a cup of chutney, I got 1/4 cup. It was no where near enough to sauce a whole pound of pasta. Did anyone else have this problem?
Love this kind of chutney, but tossing it with hot pasta really destroys a lot of the flavor. Might be better on a cold pasta salad so the cilantro doesn’t get dampened by heat. I can see it combining well with shrimp.
This is delicious! I did make one tiny change… I used silken tofu instead of water to think the pesto. It worked amazingly and added protein without meat!