A sweet and tangy chutney prepared with tamarind, dates and jaggery. Also referred to as Khajoor-Imli Ki Chutney or saunth chutney. A side chutney or dip for samosa’s or any fried savory snack. Drizzle this yummy tamarind and date chutney over your chaat or dahi bhallas and enjoy its yummy and sweet flavor. This chutney accompanies almost every Indian Chaat and savory recipes. None of the Indian street food is complete without tamarind chutney.
Will start off with a block of tamarind boiled in hot water along with jaggery and dates. After 20 minutes of boil it will turn into a thick, soupy mixture. Drain and collect the pulp in a bowl and finish this chutney by deliciously flavoring it with 12 aromatic spices. Dates in the recipe can be substituted with raisins – use 1 cup raisins (any kind yellow or brown) instead of dates.
So without any delay let’s get our hands on this quick and easy chutney. Store it in airtight containers, its good in your refrigerator for 2-3 weeks and in your freezer for 6 months.
While you are here try out these recipes that uses this chutney as a topping – Stuffed aloo tikki, Khasta kachori, Khaman dhokla, Aloo Bonda.
Tamarind and Date Chutney
INGREDIENTS
FOR CHUTNEY
- 2 cup Tamarind
- 1/2 cup Dates
- 3/4 cup Gur/Jaggery
- 1/2 cup Brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon Sugar
- 5 + 1 cups Water
FOR TEMPERING
- A pinch Hing/asafoetida
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- 2 pieces Mace or 1/2 tsp. of Mace
- 2 pieces Whole black Cardamon
- 2 teaspoon Rosted Cumin Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Red chili powder
- 3/4 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
- 2 teaspoon Black Salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Dry Ginger Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Mango Powder (Amchur Powder )
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
- A pinch Saunf
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoon Oil for tempering
INSTRUCTIONS
FOR THE CHUTNEY
- Let's prep up our ingredients. Tamarind, Brown sugar, Jaggery and dates. Mix them all in a heavy bottom pan.
- Mix all the ingredients with 5 cups of water and bring it to boil. Save the remaining 1 cup of water - do not add at this time.
- This is what it will look like after 10 minutes of boil.
- This is what it will look like after 20 minutes of boil. All gooey and thick. Take it off the gas.
- Strain it through a strainer.
- At this point add 1 cup of remaining water to the strainer and with the help of a spatula sieve all the tamarind pulp through it.
- This is what it will look like after straining all the pulp through the strainer.
- The end product - Tamarind and Date chutney. Let's get ready for the tempering/tadka.
FOR TEMPERING
- Let's prep up the tadka ingredients. Heat oil in a pan. Add hing, mace, black cardamom, cumin seeds and as they start to sputter add red chili powder and pour this hot mixture over the tamarind pulp.
- Stir in rest of the dry spices. Mix till well blended.
- Transfer it back to a heavy bottom pan and bring it to a boil.
- Discard the whole cardamom and mace at this point.
- Transfer it to a glass jar and store it in the refrigerator. Enjoy it with pakodas, curds, samosas and any Indian street food.
- This chutney can be stored in the freezer for 6 months in canning jars.
Huma says
Hi. I had a query. Is it ok to omit the date n jaggery from the recipe as i dont like my tamarind chutney sweet
Ruchi says
Thanks for stopping by Huma! Yes you can skip dates. Instead of jaggery, add sugar to adjust the sour taste.
Jayshree says
Ruchi… U realyy rocks.i watch ur videos all the tym. N i have learned soo mch from u thanxx a lot. Ur my favourite
Ruchi says
Thanks for stopping by Jayshree! I think you are confusing me with someone else. We do not have any videos published on the blog.
Ann S says
Hi Ruchi,
This looks great! I have never bought tamarind before, and looking online I see it comes in all kinds of forms–pulp, paste, concentrate, or whole seeds. Which form of tamarind are you using in this recipe? Thanks!
RK says
Thanks for stopping by Ann! I have used a pressed tamarind block for my chutney. It is readily available in any Indian store. Hope that answers your query.
Ruhi says
Wow, this was the best tamarind chutney ever!! My kind of chutney. Your chutney beats the market ones. so original and authentic in taste. Made a huge batch and I am going to freeze the rest. I really liked the sweet and spicy flavors! I’ll definitely be making it again, maybe next season, for now I have enough 😉 😉
RK says
Thanks for sharing your experience with me Ruhi, glad you liked the recipe. 🙂
Geetanjali says
Hi! Tried yourr recipe today and it turned out awesome!! Much better and has lots of flavor. Thank u!
RK says
Thanks Geetanjali 🙂
Megha says
Hi Ruchi,
Love all your recipes!!! Tried a few n they were a hit. Could you post garam masala powder recipe??? Thanks .
RK says
Thanks Megha!! Sure will update Garam Masala Powder recipe pretty soon.Keep checking back for more!!