Indian cuisine · Salads & Mezze

Tamarind Chutney

Dark sweet-and-sour chutney of tamarind, dates and jaggery, spiced with ginger and chaat masala.

Ingredients · for 8 servings

• 80 g tamarind paste
• 150 g soft dates (pitted)
• 120 g jaggery (or substitute brown sugar)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp chaat masala
• 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Roughly chop the dates and combine with the tamarind paste and 500 ml water in a pot; bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer uncovered for 15 min until the dates fall apart.
2. Toast the cumin in a dry pan for 1–2 min until it smells deeply fragrant, then crush finely in a mortar.
3. Roughly chop the jaggery, add to the pot and dissolve while stirring for 5 min until the mixture turns dark and glossy.
4. Remove the pot from the heat, puree everything very finely with an immersion blender, then pass through a fine sieve – this catches the date fibers and leaves the chutney silky.
5. Return the puree to the pot, stir in the toasted cumin, ground ginger, chaat masala, Kashmiri chili powder and salt, and simmer for 5–8 min until the chutney runs off the spoon like thin honey.
6. Let it cool completely – it will thicken further – and fill into a clean jar; it keeps for two weeks in the fridge and pairs with any chaat.