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Quick Dates Tamarind Chutney Dip

This sweet and savory chutney made with dates, tamarind and a few spices is like a dipping sauce and very much a must accompaniment with chaat items like pani puri, bhel puri, aloo tikki, samosa, pakodas and many more chaat items.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Chutney, Condiment, Dip
Cuisine: Indian
Author: Padma

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup seedless tamarind soaked in ¼ cup water and microwaved for a minute
  • 1 cup seedless dates or pitted dates chopped, soaked in ½ cup water and microwaved for a minute
  • ½ cup water add according to required consistency
  • ¼ teaspoon roasted cumin powder
  • ¼ teaspoon coriander powder
  • ¼ teaspoon dry ginger powder
  • ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
  • Black salt or rock salt as required

Instructions

  • Transfer the extracted tamarind juice to a blender.
  • Once the microwaved dates cools down, drain and transfer date pieces to a blender and add roasted cumin powder, coriander powder, dry ginger powder, red chilli powder and black salt.
  • Grind everything to a smooth paste. Add water if required.
  • Transfer the ground paste to a sauce pan and add ½ cup of water (depending on how thick the mixture is).
  • Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.
  • Once it starts to boil, simmer and cook on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes or until the mix becomes thick and pulpy.
  • Turn off the heat and let it cool. Adjust salt if required.
  • Store the date tamarind chutney in an airtight bowl or container in the refrigerator and use it when you make chaat at home.

Notes

1. There is no exact proportion of ingredients for this recipe.
2. Please adjust amounts to suit your taste, some like it more tangy than sweet or vice versa. Some like it with more spices, while others have almost no spice. Some make it with the pulp, while the others prefer a smooth texture. So it really depends on what kind you want.
3. I have not used any additional sweetener. You can add ¼ cup of powdered jiggery if you wish to but for me the sweetness from the dates is more than sufficient.
4. I like to have my chutney a bit coarse, so grind according to your choice.
5. As I let the ingredients to soak in well, it gets ground smooth and I never pass the chutney through a sieve.
6. If you do not have black salt, replace with chaat masala powder.
7. The kind of tamarind you use (pulp, dry or concentrated) will also make a difference as the sourness of each varies considerably.
8. Please note you can have the consistency of the sweet chutney as per your choice. simply alter the amount of water and make the chutney thin or thick as per your requirements.
9. You can also include ¼ teaspoon of fennel (soanf) powder, if you like its taste.