TAMARIND CHUTNEY
Chaat on your mind for the coming weekend ? Start your prep........ I already.....stocked up two jars of Tamarind Chutney in my refrigerator.
Sweet, sour and spicy at the same time , this chutney is quite an essential part of Indian Street Food( Chaat ). Generously spoon over Samosa, Aloo Tikki , Dahi Vada , Bhelpuri , Chaat Papri and take them to next level !!!
Oh, My Ghosh ! the lip smacking taste you will never ever forget , I bet.
Tamarind Chutney is also known as Meethi Chutney, Imli ki Chutney , Sonth or Saunth in Hindi. It is called Meethi( sweet ) Chutney as the other most common Green Chutney is the spicy one. The combo of sweet chutney and green chutney makes chaat more delectable. The chaat fanatics always stock up a jar full of meethi chutney and green chutney in their refrigerator. It gets its name as saunth /sonth from the spice Sonth (dry ginger powder in Hindi )used to give earthy flavour and mild hotness to this chutney.
What all goes in this chutney ?
Tamarind - These days we easily get the block of seedless tamarind in Indian supermarkets. It is the main ingredient that makes this chutney so tangy. Tamarind pulp is added in Sambhar , Sindhi Kadhi for a peculiar tangy taste.
Jaggery - Another star ingredient of this chutney is jaggery that balances the tanginess of tamarind. You can also use sugar in place of jaggery. I just add two tablespoons of sugar along with jaggery. Somehow I feel that adding sugar gives a nice glaze to the chutney.
Other spices - You also need Sonth( dry ginger powder) , roasted cumin powder, red chili powder, asafoetida powder, rock salt , salt , black pepper powder to make this chutney taste more delicious. All these spice give earthy and hot flavour to the chutney.
How to make tamarind Chutney ?
Break apart the block of tamarind, wash and soak in hot water for an hour. Using your hand mash the tamarind in the water in which it was soaked to extract thick pulp out of it. Once you get a thick , mushy pulp pass it through a strainer to remove the solids and seeds if any. Collect the strained thick pulp in a bowl.
Transfer the tamarind remains collected in the strainer to another vessel and add a cup of fresh water to it. Again mash it with your hands to extract the reaming pulp out of the tamarind. This time the pulp will be little more runnier. Pass it through the strainer and collect the strained pulp. Add this strained pulp to the previous one and now discard the remains left in the strainer.
The tamarind pulp is now ready , simmer along with jaggery and other spices till desired consistency.
And that's it , the Tamarind Chutney is ready.
How to Store ?
Once the chutney is cool down to room temperature, transfer it to a clean, sterilized glass jar or bottle , close the lid tight and keep it in the refrigerator. It stays good up to six months in refrigerator.
Usage suggestions
you can use it in all chaat recipes like dahi vada, allo tikki and choley, bhel puri, sev puri, dahi puri etc.
drizzle over bhaji and jazz up the pav-bhaji to next level
generously spoon over choley and serve it with hot puri
make whole green gram curry/ sabut moong dal more delectable with drizzles of chutney over it.
don't get surprised to know that I enjoy it with aloo paratha and masala puri too
Cuisine : Indian
Course : Condiment
Prep time : 1 hour (including soaking time )
Cooking time : 15-20 minutes
Servings : 2 jars ( 250 ml each )
Ingredients
200 gm Tamarind
225 gm Jaggery
1/2 Tsp cumin powder
1/2 Tsp black pepper powder
3/4 Tsp red chili powder
1/2 Tsp dry ginger powder (sonth)
1/2 Tsp rock salt
1/2 Tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
3/4 Tsp asafoetida powder
2 Cups water
Instructions
1. Wash and soak tamarind in medium hot water for an hour.
2. Using your hands mash tamarind in the same water in which it was soaked.You will get thick pulpy mixture.
3. Pass the thick and mushy tamarind pulp through the strainer to remove the solid part and seeds if any.
4. Collect the strained pulp in a vessel.
5. Transfer the remains collected in the strain in another vessel and add 1 cup of water to it. Mash again, pass it through the strainer again and get the strained pulp. Add this pulp to the pulp collected in step 4. Now discard the remains of the tamarind collected in the strainer.
6. Gather the pulp in a pan and add 1 more cup of water to it. Cook it on medium flame.
7. Soon after the mixture comes to a boil add jaggery and all the spices.
8. Boil the mixture for 10 to 15 minues on low flame, then add sugar to it. Keep stirring in between.
9. Boil for another 5 minutes or till desired consistency and switch off the flame. Remember that chutney thickens a little more when cooled completely. It's consistency is little thicker.
10. Once cooled completely, transfer to glass jar or bottle and refrigerate to use later.
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If you’ve tried this Tamarind Chutney Recipe then do mention in comments how it was. I would love to hear from you.
You may also like Hot and Spicy Green Chutney. Check out the recipe on my blog.
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