Indian Tamarind Sauce Recipe

TAMARIND CHUTNEY FROM SCRATCH

I have already shared recipes for Green Coriander Mint Chutney, creamy coriander sauce and Yogurt Mint Sauce in my earlier posts. Have you tried them? Other than these, one other dip, I absolutely love is this Tamarind Chutney. It’s so so good that I always have them stored in my refrigerator. This is one of the most classic Tamarind Chutney, that is prepared from scratch with ease. It has got Tamarind, Jaggery ( No refined sugar), water and ground spice powders. Serve this Tamarind Dipping Sauce with your favorite appetizers like Onion Bhaji or Vegetable Pakora or even Samosa’s. It is also delicious to serve with Chaat recipes ( Indian street food ). Supermarkets like Tesco, Sainsbury’s sell East End Tamarind Sauce or Maggi Tamarina Sauce. Honestly, these sauces are good only for a quick fix, but no way near to the restaurant-like version or the tasty Indian street vendor version. Store-bought Tamarind Sauces also have preservatives and additives to keep them fresh for long. Plus they are far too tart in taste. When you make it at home, This sauce can be prepped ahead, stores well in the fridge for up to 1 month, so it really works for festive occasions or even potluck parties too! I do not call this Sauce recipe quick, because it does take about, 30 minutes of soaking time and 10 minutes of cook time in total. But the recipe is certainly easy! Feel free to customise the flavours to your liking. Like the sauce, a bit sweeter, add about ¾ - 1 cup Jaggery. For a spicer Tamarind sauce, add a little more chilli powder. To make it healthier, add 1 cup of dates to the same recipe.

Why make this Indian Tamarind sauce at home?

This Tamarind Chutney sauce is so easy to make that you will never ever buy it again from the store. Make it in bulk and store up to 6 months in the freezer or up to 1 month in the fridge. Prep it ahead of time and you have a supply of Tamarind Sauce all the time. Budget-friendly - So much cheaper and healthier than the store-bought sauce. You know what goes into this Tamarind Dipping Sauce and you can add more opt-ins to make it healthier. Use a dipping sauce or as a marinade for your recipes. Vegan Dipping Sauce recipe that uses no oil or butter!

Ingredients you will need for Tamarind sauce recipe

You will need the following for making homemade imli sauce. Tamarind - Tamarind Slab easily available in most Superstores. Look for seedless tamarind if you get. Jaggery can be bought from the Indian Grocery Store near you. Jaggery is unrefined cane sugar made from cane juice. This adds authentic taste to the Imli Sauce recipe. However, you can substitute with dark brown sugar if jaggery is not available. Pitted Dates can be used in the recipe for a healthier Sweet Tamarind Chutney. It is completely optional. I do love to add dates, when I have them in my pantry. Spice Powders - This recipe uses Ground Cumin, Ground Fennel, Red Chilli Powder, Chaat Masala, and Ground Ginger. Add Black Salt ( also known as Kala Namak or Himalayan pink salt ) for added flavors - Optional Salt - A little bit of salt will balance out the flavors well. ( I have forgotten to include it in the ingredients image above… ) Water - To soak the tamarind and thin the pulp.

How to make Indian Tamarind Sauce step by step?

Tamarind Sauce recipe Variations

This Homemade Tamarind Dipping Sauce Chutney is versatile, so you can easily customise the flavors. It’s mildly Sweet, Tart and a bit spicy too! For making Sweet Tamarind Chutney - Use 1 part of Tamarind, 1 part of Pitted Dates, and 1 Part of Jaggery. Plus the spice powders mentioned in the recipe card. This is also called Sonth CHutney and I have a detailed recipe for Dates Tamarind Chutney . For Instant Tamarind Sauce recipe - Use Tamarind Paste / Concentrate instead of actual tamarind. It will cut down the cooking time by half. Dissolve the tamarind concentrate in water and then add the spices mentioned in the card.

What to serve with this Indian version of Tamarind Sauce?

Serve appetizers like Samosa, Onion Bhaji, Pakora, or even Poppadom with this Tamarind Dipping Sauce. Drizzle this Imli Chutney ( Tamarind Chutney ) on Chaat recipes like Samosa Chole Chaat, Sev Puri, Dahi Puri, and even with Aloo Tikki.

Storing

Store this Tamarind Chutney in glass jars for up to 1 month in the fridge. And up to 6 months + in the freezer section. I like to store in Weck or Kilner or Ball mason jars as they keep the sauce airtight.

Can you Freeze it?

You can freeze this Imli Sauce (Tamarind Chutney ) in glass containers in the freezer for 6 months +. Portion them into small containers and store them. To Thaw the Chutney, transfer the sauce to the refrigerator and leave it overnight and it will be ready to use the next day. Alternatively you can defrost the sauce in the microwave. Once Thawed, the chutney cannot be frozen again.

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HAVE YOU MADE THIS RECIPE?

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