Sweet & Sour Tamarind Chutney
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Sweet & Sour Tamarind Chutney is the perfect accompaniment for so many Indian snacks such as samosas, chaats, and pakoras. This sweet chutney is sure to be a go-to dip!
About Sweet & Sour Tamarind Chutney
I’ve never had this Sweet & Sour Tamarind Chutney at home till I made it myself! Imli, or tamarind, chutney is going to enhance your favourite snacks to an entirely new level! Unlike the Mint & Cilantro Chutney, which my mom made at home quite often, this chutney sure was a special one. I loved it so much when I enjoyed lots of street dishes such as aloo chaat, but no one ever made it at home, which is too bad!
As with many restaurant delights, such as Butter Chicken and Paneer Makhani, that I loved replicating at home, I decided to make this street-side favourite at home to enjoy with my samosas!
Sweet & Sour Tamarind Chutney is perfect not only for samosas, but basically any Indian snack, such as chaats and pakoras. In fact, you could even serve this with your McAloo Tikki Burger as a nice dipping sauce!
I find this tamarind chutney totally underrated. Admittedly, I don’t make it often enough, but I really should make it more frequently because it is one of my favourite chutneys for sure! Perhaps it’s just a little bit messy, but you’ll see that the mess here is totally worth it!
Tips for Making a Great Chutney
To avoid wasting any tamarind, use your hands to squeeze any remaining pulp through the sieve.
Refrigerate the chutney before serving for the best texture and flavour.
If you are able to find any Jaggery, that would be the best sweetener you can use for this chutney.
Ingredients for Tamarind Chutney
1 block of dried tamarind, soaked in water for 5 hours to 24 hours. Naturally this is the most important ingredient in our chutney recipe! If you cannot find dried tamarind, use tamarind paste or tamarind concentrate. You may have to adjust the amount of brown sugar and spices based on
Brown sugar: This makes our chutney sweet!
Spices: Hing, ginger powder, and red chili powder. Red chili powder adds the little bit of spice and reddens the chutney slightly.
Cumin seeds
Oil, for cooking.
Black salt
How to Make Tamarind Chutney
Squeeze the pulp of the tamarind in the bowl in which it was soaking in.
Strain the mixture to obtain a smooth paste. Transfer it onto a strainer and using the back of a spoon, extract the pulp into another bowl.
Heat a pan on medium heat and add oil and the cumin seeds. Let the cumin seeds crackle and add the hing.
Add the ground ginger and red chilli powder and mix. Give the tamarind mixture a nice stir and add the it into the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes. As you cook it, the chutney will gradually become thicker.
Add in brown sugar, adjusting to your taste. It is recommended to start with less and add more if you want it to be sweeter. Then add black salt and let the mixture continue to cook for 4-5 minutes.
Storing Sweet & Sour Tamarind Chutney
Transfer the tamarind chutney into a glass jar or an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to a week. If you want to save the chutney for longer than that, you can transfer 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time in ice cube trays and freeze the chutney that way. Remove the ice cubes when needed and thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. Use the thawed chutney in 1 or 2 days.
Serving Suggestions for Tamarind Chutney
Sweet & Sour Tamarind Chutney is perfect for pretty much any Indian appetizer, snack or chaat! You can also use it as a dipping sauce. Check out these recipes that would pair perfectly with this tamarind chutney:
Watch How to Make Sweet & Sour Tamarind Chutney Here:
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cookingwithanadi. Thank you!
Sweet & Sour Tamarind Chutney
Ingredients
- About a 3" x 3" block of dried tamarind, soaked in water for 5 hours to 24 hours (if you cannot find dried tamarind, use tamarind paste or tamarind concentrate)
- 3-5 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 pinch of hing
- 1/2 tsp ginger powder
- 1/4 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp oil
- Black salt
Instructions
- Squeeze the pulp of the tamarind in the bowl in which it was soaking in.
- Strain the mixture to obtain a smooth paste. Transfer it onto a strainer and using the back of a spoon, extract the pulp into another bowl.
- Heat a pan on medium heat and add oil and the cumin seeds. Let the cumin seeds crackle and add the hing.
- Add the ground ginger and red chilli powder and mix. Give the tamarind mixture a nice stir and add the it into the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes. As you cook it, the chutney will gradually become thicker.
- Add in brown sugar, adjusting to your taste. It is recommended to start with less and add more if you want it to be sweeter. Then add black salt and let the mixture continue to cook for 4-5 minutes.
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Welcome to Cooking With Anadi. This platform is all about making cooking exciting and finding new ways to bring classic flavours and recipes at your service. Join me in my personal journey in the world of cooking. Hope you have a great ride!
