imli ki chutney recipe with step by step photos – sharing a home recipe of a tamarind chutney also known as saunth chutney or sonth chutney or imli ki meethi chutney in north india. this sweet tamarind chutney is spiced with dry ginger powder. dry ginger or dry ginger powder is also called as saunth or sooth in hindi. hence the name of this chutney.
imli ki chutney is often used in north indian chaat snacks like dahi bhalle, dahi vada, samosa chaat. its also served with samosa, kachori, pani puri and pakora. the imli chutney is slightly thick with a smooth texture. it has the sourness of tamarind balanced with the sweetness of the jaggery and the earthiness and mild hotness coming from the dry ginger powder, cumin and red chili powder.
there is another variation of saunth made with amchur-dry mango powder. i have never tried making this variation.
at home we make saunth chutney with tamarind this way. i also make another variation of tamarind chutney with dates. you can check the recipe here -> sweet chutney recipe.
you can store this imli ki meethi chutney in an air-tight bottle in the fridge and it lasts well for 4-5 months. here i have used dried tamarind. you can also make saunth with tamarind paste or concentrate. depending on the tartness of the concentrate or paste, you will have to adjust the quantity of water and jaggery.
if you are looking for more chutney recipes then do check:
imli chutney
INGREDIENTS FOR imli chutney
- ½ cup seedless tamarind, tightly packed (imli)
- 1.75 cups water
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- ½ teaspoon saunth powder (ginger powder)
- 1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder (lal mirch powder)
- 7 to 8 tablespoon jaggery (gud) or as required - adjust as per your taste
- 1 teaspoon oil
- rock salt (sendha namak) or black salt as required
HOW TO MAKE imli chutney
preparing tamarind pulp for chutney
- soak tamarind in water overnight or for 4 to 5 hours in a small bowl or pan.
- with your hands, squeeze the pulp from the tamarind in the same bowl or pan.
- strain the pulp and keep aside.
making imli chutney
- heat oil in a small pan.
- lower the flame & add cumin seeds and let them crackle.
- add ginger powder, red chili powder, asafoetida.
- stir and add the strained tamarind pulp. cook for 2-3 mins.
- add the jaggery and salt and cook for 4-5 minutes more.
- the mixture would thicken. let the imli chutney mixture cool.
- when cooled, store the imli chutney in an air-tight dry jar or container. refrigerate and serve the imli ki chutney whenever required with chaat or snacks.
RECIPE TIPS
- you can have the consistency of the imli chutney as per your choice. simply alter the amount of water and make the imli chutney slightly thin or thick as per your requirements.
- if jaggery is not available then as an alternative option you can add sugar. the taste will be little different. the amount of sugar depends upon sweetness of sugar and the sourness of tamarind. so add the sugar as per requirement.
- this tamarind chutney recipe can be doubled.
preparation to make tamarind chutney or imli ki chutney
1: soak the tamarind in water, overnight or for 4-5 hours.
2: with your hands, squeeze the pulp from the tamarind in the same bowl or pan. strain the pulp and keep aside.
making tamarind chutney
3: heat oil in small pan. fry the cumin first. then add the spice powders – dry ginger powder, red chili powder
4: stir and then add the strained tamarind pulp. cook for 2-3 mins.
5: add the jaggery and salt and cook for 4-5 minutes more till the imli chutney mixture thickens a bit.
6: when cooled, store the imli chutney in an air-tight dry jar or container. refrigerate and serve the imli chutney whenever required.
Dassana ji.. I don’t have saunth or ginger powder. Can u please help tell how to make ginger powder and also substitute for this.
Regards
rupal, ginger powder is made with dried ginger. you can make at home but you need a really good mixer-grinder and dried ginger is difficult to grind. substitute for dried ginger in any recipe is fresh ginger. so in this imli chutney recipe, you can add 1 inch ginger. make a paste of it in a mortar-pestle or grate it and then after cumin seeds crackle, add the ginger paste. saute for a few seconds till the raw aroma of ginger goes away. then add red chilli powder, asafoetida. stir and add tamarind pulp. cook on a low flame so that the spice powders do not get burnt.
Thank you for your lovely recipes. My son loves the snacks I’ve made using your recipes.
I already have homemade tamarind paste. Can I use that for the chutney? If yes, how much of it should i use?
welcome and thanks for the feedback vaishnavi. yes, of course, you can use homemade tamarind paste. you can use half a cup of tamarind paste. in case you find the sourness less in chutney, you can add some more of the tamarind paste and cook further. later jaggery can be adjusted accordingly. hope this helps.
Dear Dassana,
Your receipies are very easy to follow, esp with the pictures and the dishes once cooked, tastes superb. I donot know cooking and I rely completely on your website to cook my daily meals.I fall short of words to thank you and God. Now you are an integral part of my existence…lol
thanks a lot anjana for this touching comment. felt so good to read it and i feel humbled too. thanks again and hugs.
What a great way to show recipes in pics, step by step!
May your blog flourish!
Thanks Priya for your best wishes.
Hi! Thanks for the recipe, I’m going to try it today, I have my tamarind soaking now. I do have one question: the part that say to squeeze the pulp from the tamarind, am I discarding any part of the tamarind soaking mixture? Is the goal to put the 1/2cup tamarind and 1/2 water that is was soaking in through a strainer then discard the stuff that wasn’t able to go through the strainer? Thank you!
welcome atourina. the tamarind will soften after soaking in water. so the pulp has to be squeezed in the palms and added directly in the water in which the tamarind was getting soaked. you just keep on squeezing till you the tamarind can no longer yield any pulp. then this squeezed tamarind flesh and fibres are discarded. hope this explanation helps.
Yes🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Easy to make and can be used in all purpose of snacks
Thanks Sashwati for giving 5 star rating.