Every Indian household has an array of chutney and sauces stocked in the fridge. Some are store bought and some are homemade. The most popular homemade chutneys being green chutney....made with coriander and Red Chutney....made with tamarind.
Tamarind Chutney also known as Sounth in North India is a must have condiment in my fridge. There are various versions to it. I myself make it two ways...one with just tamarind, jaggery and some spices and the other version is what I am sharing today made with Tamarind, Dates and Jaggery. Use of Dates makes it healthier.
If you boil this chutney properly, it stays fresh in the fridge for a couple of months.
You can easily double or quadruple this recipe. The quantity of jaggery can be adjusted as per taste.
Ingredients
Tamarind 25 gms
Dates 40 gms
Jaggery 30 gms
Salt 1/4 tsp
Black Salt. 1/2 tsp
Red Chili Powder 1/2 tsp
Roasted Cumin Powder 1/2 tsp
Water 300 ml approximately
Method
Take tamarind in a glass bowl. Cover it with water.
Micro high 30 seconds.
Rub the tamarind with a light hand and drain off the water.
This will help in removing all the dirt.
Now add 1/2 cup water and micro high for one minute .
Keep it aside to cool.
Chop dates into small pieces.
Boil them in half cup water on low heat till they soften.
Let them cool completely and then puree them in a blender.
Take the soaked tamarind, pass it through steel mesh/sieve.
Take the left over tamarind and rub it again in some water.
Pass it through the sieve.
Repeat this process till all the pulp from tamarind is squeezed and only fibres and seeds are left.
Take a heavy bottom pan, pour in the sieved tamarind, dates puree, jaggery and all the spices and salt mentioned above.
Bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer.
Taste and add more salt and jaggery if needed.
Continue to simmer till it thickens .
Don't let it become too thick as it will thicken further on cooling.
Keep stirring from time to time.
Remove from heat and let it cool completely.
Store in a sterilized glass bottle .
Keep it refrigerated.
Use it for chat dishes, enjoy with pakodas, Kutchi Dabeli dahi bhalla .
I sometimes like to add it to my bowl of dahi also
I have just joined the group A-Z recipe challenge. This is season 2. In this we will be making recipes with Hindi names of ingredients. For this month , it is alphabet I. So I have chosen Imli aka Tamarind as my star ingredient.
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