Tamarind Chutney

Recipe from Maneet Chauhan

Adapted by Priya Krishna

Updated June 29, 2022

Tamarind Chutney
Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(55)
Comments
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There is nothing quite like the tangy, sweet and sour sensation of tamarind, the main ingredient in this essential Indian chutney. In chaat, a category of spicy, savory, tangy and crunchy Indian snacks, tamarind chutney provides the pungent, pucker-inducing element that makes those dishes so craveable. In this recipe, from Maneet Chauhan’s cookbook, “Chaat” (Clarkson Potter, 2020), the tamarind flavor is sweetened with jaggery, dates and raisins, and brightened up with ginger, with deep umami coming from the chaat masala. It’s possible to find high-quality store-bought tamarind chutney, but nothing beats the vibrant flavors of a fresh batch made at home. —Priya Krishna

Featured in: Chaat Is More Than the Sum of Its Many Flavors

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1teaspoon coriander seeds
  • 1teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1teaspoon red-pepper flakes
  • 1(16-ounce) block seedless tamarind pulp, coarsely chopped (see Note)
  • 1cup jaggery or dark brown sugar
  • ¼cup golden raisins
  • ¼cup pitted dates, coarsely chopped
  • 1tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger (from a 1-inch piece)
  • 1teaspoon chaat masala
  • 1teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½teaspoon kala namak (black salt)
  • Kosher salt
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

516 calories; 5 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 126 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams dietary fiber; 95 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 419 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a medium sauté pan, heat the oil over medium until it glistens, about 1 minute. Add the cumin, coriander, fennel and red-pepper flakes, and sauté until aromatic and lightly browned, about 2 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Add the tamarind, jaggery, raisins, dates and fresh ginger, increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the sauce is thick and coats the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to prevent scorching and to encourage the flavors to mingle.

  3. Step 3

    Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chaat masala, ground ginger and kala namak. Transfer the chutney to a food processor or blender and blend on high speed until smooth, adding a little water if needed to create a thick but pourable consistency.

  4. Step 4

    Taste and season with kosher salt. The chutney will keep in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Tip
  • If you buy a block of tamarind with the seeds in it, you can soak it in hot water for at least 3 hours, then pick out the seeds.

Ratings

4 out of 5
55 user ratings
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Comments

Jen P.

I used Indian tamarind concentrate (Tamicon brand) instead of a block of tamarind. 3/4 cup concentrate and 3/4 cup water worked out well. It was done in about 5 minutes

philarktos

I see that my comment form yesterday has not been posted. Why not? There is no water listed in the ingredients and yet we are told to boil an assemblage of sugar, dried fruit and spices. So how much water? I love imli (tamarind) chutney and would love to make it myself. I currently buy it online and some brands are thicker, some thinner, but all list water in the ingredients.

Mary C

Thanks to the author for inspiring me to assemble a chaat dinner, but this tamarind chutney recipe is deeply flawed. You can't complete this recipe without adding water to the tamarind, etc., as it cooks. Add 2 cups of water when you add the tamarind to the pan. You can add more when processing to thin the chutney, but you must add water when you cook the tamarind. And, beware of seeds in "seedless" tamarind: they stick to the blade of your food processor and cause the blade to flip off its post

recipe misses a step of adding water

This recipe (and the recipe in Maneet’s cookbook!) does not include the necessary instruction to add water to the tamarind/date mixture to boil. Otherwise you’re just “boiling” solid ingredients. I’m taking another commenter’s advice to add 2 cups of water!

K

FYI for a 1 pound brick of tamarind pulp, you would add 2 cups of hot water. If you are using concentrate, 3/4 cup works well with 3/4 cup water.

mrschill

This recipe is a bust! It’s so thick before blending that it’s hard to imagine how it could coat a spoon…without adding liquid it’s just a gloppy mess! We had to add SO MUCH WATER just to get it to any sort of pourable consistency, and ours looks absolutely nothing like this picture. I feel like I wasted all these ingredients on this recipe. First NYT recipe fail and I will return to my other tamarind chutney recipe from now on.

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