Tamarind Chutney Recipe (Sweet Imli Chutney)

Tamarind Chutney is a sweet, tangy condiment originating from Indian cuisine, made by simmering tamarind pulp with jaggery, spices & dried ginger, creating a smooth, flavorful sauce that is commonly drizzled over chaats, snacks and fried delicacies. Also known as Imli Chutney (‘imli’ is the Hindi word for tamarind) this sauce is quintessential when it comes to Indian chaat or fried snacking scene. I mean you actually can’t imagine any of those scrumptious chaat snacks or Samosa, Pakoda, Kachori, etc. without it!

About Tamarind Chutney Recipe

On this post, I have shared one of the easiest ways of making the simple, basic Tamarind Chutney recipes.

The first recipe is a family recipe and is absolutely finger-licking tasty. We also call this Imli Chutney as ‘saunth or soonth chutney’ as it is spiced with dried ginger powder.

Dried ginger roots or dried ginger powder is referred to as ‘saunth or soonth’ in Hindi. Hence, the name of this condiment.

Like I said, this Tamarind Chutney is often used in Indian chaat snacks like Dahi Vada, Bhel Puri, Sev Puri, Katori Chaat etc in combination with Green Chutney and Red Garlic Chutney. It is also served as a dipping sauce with samosa, kachori, aloo tikki, pakora and the likes.

We always make this Imli Chutney with dried tamarind which is easily available in India. If you live outside India, then you can purchase it on Amazon, from an Asian or Indian grocery store.

You can use tamarind paste or concentrate as well, for this chutney. Adjust the quantity of water and jaggery, as per the sourness of the paste or concentrate.

The consistency of this Tamarind Chutney is slightly thick with a smooth texture. It has the sourness of tamarind balanced with the sweetness of the jaggery (Indian unrefined sugar made from sugarcane juice) and the earthiness and mild hotness of the dried ginger powder, cumin seeds and red chili powder.

This Imli Chutney can be stored in an air-tight bottle in the refrigerator. It stays good for 4 to 5 months.

Alternative Ingredients

There are a few alternatives that you can use to sweeten or souring this particular Tamarind Chutney. I have mentioned them below:

• Jaggery: Jaggery is unrefined sugar made from sugarcane juice. If you cannot source jaggery, then add sugar. However, with sugar, the taste will be slightly different. You can easily add about ½ cup of sugar. If required, more sugar can be added.
• Tamarind: Dried tamarind is easily available in India. If you don’t have dried tamarind, then use ½ cup of tamarind paste or concentrate. Depending on the tartness of this, you will have to adjust the quantity of water and jaggery.

How to make Tamarind Chutney

Make Tamarind Pulp

1. Soak ½ cup tightly packed seedless tamarind in 1.75 cups water overnight or for 4 to 5 hours.

2. With clean fingers, squeeze the pulp from the tamarind in the same bowl or pan containing the water. Strain the pulp if you prefer and set it aside.

Remove the seeds and trash them.

Make Tamarind Chutney

3. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in small pan. Fry ½ teaspoon cumin seeds first. Keep the heat to low.

Add the spice powders – ½ teaspoon dried ginger powder, 1 pinch asafoetida (hing) and ¼ teaspoon red chili powder. Mix well.

4. Next, add the prepared tamarind pulp. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

5. Add ½ cup chopped jaggery and salt as required. Mix well and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes or till the consistency thickens.

You could also use ½ cup of jaggery powder.

The consistency of the chutney can be easily altered by using less or more water. So while soaking tamarind you can add slightly less or more water.

6. Once cooled, store the Tamarind Chutney in an air-tight dry jar or container. Refrigerate and serve whenever required.

Serving & Storage Suggestions

You can relish and savor this yum Imli Chutney in a variety of ways. Some of them are as:

• Dipping sauce: Serve this chutney as a side condiment dip with Indian snacks like pakoda, samosa, kachori, Aloo Tikki, etc. In fact, even with potato wedges or French fries, this chutney pairs fabulously.
• Topping or mixing sauce: You can even use it as a topping sauce for chaat snacks like dahi vada, sev puri, pani puri, Dahi Puri, bhel puri or any other similar dishes.
• Storing Chutney: The chutney keeps well for about a week in the refrigreated. You could make a bulk of the chutney by scaling the recipe up and freeze it for a few months. Thaw chutney before using.

Expert Tips

1. Quality: Use fresh ingredients. Avoid using aged tamarind as the taste will be very different with aged tamarind and the color will be very dark too.
2. Using Tamarind Paste: The chutney can be made with premade store brought tamarind paste. But remember to dilute the paste with water to get the right consistency.
3. Consistency: The consistency of this chutney can be changed easily. Simply alter the quantity of water and you can make it slightly thin or thick as per your requirements.
4. Gluten free chutney: Skip asafoetida for a gluten-free tamarind sauce.
5. Adding Sweeteners: You may need to add more jaggery or sugar depending on the tartness of the tamarind.
6. Storage: You can easily store this chutney in the refrigerator for about a week. You can even freeze it to last longer for a couple of months. Simply thaw before using.
7. Scaling: This recipe can easily be halved or doubled.

About Tamarind Dates Chutney

I also share a very tasty recipe of this sweet chutney made with dates also called Imli Khajur Chutney (khajur is dates in Hindi).

This is an again an easy chutney that is made with tamarind, dates and jaggery and tastes so good.

I learnt this tamarind dates chutney in my cooking school and have been following the recipe since then.

This sweet chutney can be used for making chaat items like pani puri, bhel puri, sev puri, aloo tikki and even samosa or pakoras.

It is a one-stop chutney recipe solution for all your chaat and fried savory snacks.

This chutney recipe yields about 1.5 cups of chutney. Make it and store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container. It stays good for about a couple of months.

Ingredients

• ½ cup tamarind – seedless and tightly packed
• ½ cup dates – seedless
• ½ cup jaggery powder or grated jaggery, adjust as per your taste
• 2 cups water or add as required
• ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder
• ½ teaspoon Coriander Powder
• ½ teaspoon dry ginger powder (saunth)
• ¼ or ½ teaspoon red chili powder
• black salt or pink salt or regular white salt, according to taste

Step-by-Step Method

1. In a pan, take the ½ cup of tightly packed seedless tamarind, ½ cup of seedless dates and 2 cups of water.

Cook without a lid for about 8 to 9 minutes on a low to medium-low heat. The tamarind and dates should soften.

2. Add ½ cup of jaggery powder or grated jaggery and mix well.

3. Let the jaggery dissolve and the mixture thicken a bit. Add ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder, ½ teaspoon coriander powder, ½ teaspoon dry ginger powder (saunth), ¼ or ½ teaspoon red chili powder and salt according to taste.

Mix well and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes more.

4. The chutney mixture is ready now. Let it cool.

5. In a blender or mixer-grinder, pour the entire chutney mixture. Grind or blend the chutney in a grinder till smooth. Add some water if needed while blending or grinding.

At this point for a flowing and slightly thin chutney, you could add more water.

If you prefer, you can strain the chutney through a strainer. Store the Sweet Tamarind Dates Chutney in airtight bowl or container in the refrigerator.

Add the sweet tangy Dates Chutney to the chaat or Indian snacks that you make at home. In the below photo the chutney is served as well as added to Ragda Patties –  a popular Mumbai street food chaat snack.

You can also serve the Khajur Imli Chutney with snacks like Bread Pakora, Veg Cutlet, Hara Bhara Kabab, Aloo Pakora etc.

FAQs

Tamarind Chutney recipe from the blog archives was first published on November 2013.