Tamarind Chutney 🍯 Chaat Style 🇮🇳 (Imli Chutney)

Description

Sweet–tangy and gently spiced — the essential drizzle for samosas, chaats, and grills. Silky, pourable, and pantry-friendly 🌶️🍋.
Hook: 25-minute simmer → café-gloss finish ⚡

Ingredients

• 🟤 Seedless tamarind pulp: 100 g (¾ cup packed / 3.5 oz)
• 💧 Water: 500 ml (2 cups / 17 fl oz) — plus more to adjust
• 🍯 Jaggery or brown sugar: 120–150 g (⅔–¾ cup / 4.2–5.3 oz)
• 🍎 Pitted dates, chopped (optional, thicker body): 80–100 g (½ cup / 2.8–3.5 oz)
• 🌿 Roasted cumin powder: 1 tsp (3 g / 0.1 oz)
• 🌶 Kashmiri chili powder (mild): ½–1 tsp (1.5–3 g)
• 🧂 Black salt (kala namak): ½–1 tsp (3–6 g), to taste
• 🫚 Dry ginger powder: ½ tsp (1.5 g)
• 🧂 Fine salt: pinch, as needed

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ In a saucepan combine tamarind + water (and dates, if using). Simmer 10 min, stirring, to soften.
2. 2️⃣ Blend or mash until smooth; strain back to the pan.
3. 3️⃣ Add jaggery, cumin, chili, black salt, and ginger. Simmer 8–10 min until glossy and syrupy; it will thicken more as it cools.
4. 4️⃣ Taste and balance sweet/sour/salt. Loosen with a splash of water for a drizzleable texture. Cool, then refrigerate in a clean jar (up to 3 weeks).

Total Time

🕒 Prep: 10 min

🔥 Cook: 15 min

⏳ Total: 25 min

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