Recipe for making Tamarind Chutney

Tamarind Chutney is a sweet and tangy chutney that goes well with many Indian dishes such as Chaat, Dhokla, Handvo and many more.

This chutney takes about 20-25 minutes to cook and almost an hour to cool completely, after which it is ready to be used. Since this is a time-consuming process, you can make it in slightly large quantities( on a day when you have time), and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. It stays well for a month.

So let’s start with the recipe:

Ingredients needed for making Tamarind Chutney:

1. Tamarind: 2 tablespoons if you are using paste/ Half cup if using tamarind with seeds
2. Powdered Jaggery: 1- 1.2 cups
3. Red Chili Powder: 1 teaspoon
4. Salt: 1/2 teaspoon
5. Black Salt: 1/2 teaspoon
6. Water: Quantity mentioned in the recipe

Method for making Tamarind Chutney:

1. Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook them on low to medium heat. If you use tamarind paste, add it to the saucepan with 1 cup of water. If you are using tamarind pulp, soak it in 2 cups of warm water for about 10 mins. Then squeeze out its juice and add the juice to the saucepan. Discard the seeds.
2. Cook this on low to medium heat, stirring from time to time. Turn off when it thickens ( approximately after 20 minutes). Let it cool. After cooking, the chutney will thicken further.
3. Transfer to a clean and dry jar.
   
   

Some additional Notes:

About the recipe:

1. If you use tamarind pulp, you need to soak the pulp in warm water for about 10 minutes and then squeeze out the juice. This juice is used in the recipe. Here, you should try to work with as little water as possible. If you add too much water, it will take a lot of time to thicken. 2 cups of water should be enough to squeeze out the pulp. If you need more, be watchful of the amount you use.
2. Also, when the chutney is hot, it may not look very thick. But after cooking, it will thicken. So, while cooking, make sure you stop cooking when you achieve 70% of the final chutney consistency that you are looking for.
3. Although the chutney is called Tamarind Chutney, there is a good amount of Jaggery that goes into it. The balance of the chutney is achieved only when there is a good amount of sweetness to balance the tanginess of the tamarind. Jaggery comes in many varieties. Dark jaggery is the sweetest one. I have used that in the recipe. Not only does it give the right amount of sweetness, but it is also more flavourful and renders a rich dark colour to the chutney. If you use lighter-coloured jaggery, taste and check your chutney. Add more than what I have mentioned in my recipe if it is not sweet enough.

About sourcing the ingredients:

For my readers in India: All the ingredients needed for this recipe are easily available in any local store or supermarket near you.

For my readers in Europe, you can get these ingredients from Spiceland. Spiceland is a big Indian store based out of Frankfurt, Germany, that supplies all across Germany and a couple of European countries. I have found their product quality good and prices reasonable.

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