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.
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.