These cilantro spinach chutney ice pops can be used to give a burst of flavor to any dish or meal! These ice pops are a great way to make the fresh chutney last longer without any preservatives! And you can thaw and use as needed! They are also highly nutrient dense as both cilantro and spinach are both highly nutrient dense foods! Cilantro is rich in antioxidants and also in Vitamin C. It also helps the body to detox heavy metals like lead and mercury. Spinach is rich in Vit A and C and also rich in calcium, magnesium and iron.
I get fresh cilantro every week from our local Indian grocers. Last week my husband got an extra bunch as the cilantro looked really fresh and he thought we could use it all! However I had a busy week and didn’t get to use all the cilantro and I noticed that I had to use them up fast as they were going to get bad soon. Hence I just decided to make a big batch of chutney and freeze some. While I was making it, I decided to throw in spinach last minute and was so proud of the nutrient dense chutney that resulted!
What are the ingredients in the Cilantro Spinach Chutney Ice Pops?
Fresh Cilantro (Coriander): Fresh Cilantro is the base for this chutney and gives tons of flavor to this chutney. You can use the stems of the cilantro too. Remove any wilted / black leaves. And soak the cilantro in a huge pot of water to get rid off any soil debris. Once the debris settles at the bottom, carefully take the cilantro from the top and add to another pot and wash again with fresh water. Repeat this process a couple times to make sure your cilantro is free of all soil debris.
Fresh Spinach: You can use fresh regular spinach or fresh baby spinach. Wash the spinach to make sure it is clean. You can also use frozen spinach but when you thaw it, make sure to discard the liquid as that additional liquid will change the consistency of the chutney.
Fresh Ginger: A tiny piece of fresh ginger adds a burst of freshness and heat to the chutney. if you don’t have fresh ginger, you can use dried ginger powder instead.
Fresh serrano chillies: Serrano chillies give the heat and the spicy kick to this chutney. If you are following the AIP diet, you can omit this and increase the quantity of ginger.
Fresh Lime juice: Fresh lime juice gives it the tanginess that goes well with the spiciness. You can also fresh lemon juice if you don’t have fresh limes. However I prefer lime juice to lemon juice for this recipe.
Roasted Chana Dal: Roasted Chana Dal is roasted split chick peas which give body and an earthy and peanutty flavor to this recipe. If you don’t have this, you can use sattu powder too which is ground roasted chickpeas. For AIP version, you need to omit this ingredient.
Fresh or Frozen Coconut: Fresh coconut gives it a slight sweet taste and also further gives it body and a thick consistency. You can get fresh frozen grated coconut (from any Indian grocery) and then thaw it in the microwave. You can also use fresh coconut pieces from a fresh coconut. Or you can also use canned grated coconut (make sure it’s not sweet). You can also use shredded coconut (but you will need to rehydrate it in hot water and before using in this recipe)
Sea Salt: Sea Salt balances all the flavors and you can use any good quality sea salt. i like to use Himalayan Pink salt.
Freezing Molds: You can use these chocolate silicone molds or just ice cube trays to freeze the chutney.
- About 4 cups fresh cilantro (roughly chopped, stems included)
- About 2 cups fresh spinach leaves (roughly chopped)
- ½ by ½ inch piece of ginger, roughly chopped
- 3 green (serrano) chillies, chopped (omit for AIP)
- 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice (or lemon juice)
- 2 Tbsp roasted chana dal (omit for AIP)
- 2 Tbsp fresh grated coconut (or frozen grated coconut that has been thawed)
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ cup slightly warm water
- Blend together all ingredients in a food processor or blender until you get a fine consistency chutney. Pour into ice cube trays or molds and place on a tray. Freeze for 6-8 hours. Then unmold them and add to a container or a ziploc bag and use as needed.
