Just let me tell you one thing real quick. A big jar of sweet and sour, thick and pulpy dates tamarind sweet chutney is already stocked in my refrigerator which anticipates upcoming chaat days in a row. It’s so exciting and food fest kind of scenario here. This is not a rare thing, the WINTER weather, the kids mid term vacation and chaat craving self insist me towards all the home made chaat stuff. You know it all, home made chaat isn’t a quick task, you have to assemble too many things like the puffed puri, sweet chutney, spicy mint chutney, nylon sev, boiled potato, sprouted legume and the list goes on and on. Each and everything whipped up in my own kitchen not all at a time though.
The firing spicy green chutney in all chaats brings tears in to your ears where as the dates tamarind sweet chutney masks off the spicy-ness with it’s natural sweetness. I love this natural sweetness thing because it has Dates and very less of jaggery.
My son who hates eating spice but great lover of chaats had his portion of puri with this Dates tamarind sweet chutney and nylon sev alone. He indulged himself in spice-less pani puri , dollop of sweet chutney topping generously with plain sev.
Dates Tamarind Sweet Chutney for Chaat
Ingredients
- Fresh dates- 20-25 no.
- Tamarind- Big lemon sized
- Salt- 3/4 tsp
- Red chilly powder- 1 to 2 tsp
- Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
- Powdered jaggery- 1 tsp
Instructions
Preparation
- De-seed the dates and soak it in 1/2 cup of water for about 10 minutes.
Method
- Soak tamarind also in 1/2 cup of water for 10 minutes. Transfer soaked dates and tamarind both in a wide bowl. Pressure cook the same for 3 whistles. When the pressure subsides naturally, both date plus tamarind would have softened and mushy. Let it cool down to room temperature.
- Next grind the cooked tamarind plus dates to smooth paste. Meanwhile dry roast the cumin in a seasoning pan and powder it finely. I used my mortar and pestle to do the same.
- Heat a cooking pan adding ground tamarind plus dates mixture. Add all the spices like red chilly powder, salt, jaggery and roasted cumin powder. Adjust consistency by adding enough water and bring it to boil. Switch off once done.
- The sweet and sour dates tamarind chutney is ready to relish in all chaats.
Notes
- This chutney should taste sweet plus sour, so adjust jaggery accordingly.
- The chutney thickens with time, so just before serving you can add some water.
- You can store this chutney in refrigerator for about a month too.
