Preparation Time : soaking of tamarind over night + 15 minutes
Cooking Time : 1 hour
Serving : 20 members
Description
Imli chutney , a dark deep maroon colored gooey mass of lip smacking accomplishment that helps to create a magic when served with anything and everything . As a kid , when at any chat counter or shop used to wonder what was in this sweet chutney as we call it . I always ask for more of sweet chutney :-)) . When I started cooking , I came up with a sweet chutney recipe with dates , tamarind , black salt , cumin and chilli powder which use to taste close to what is served at all the chat shops . I did religiously follow that recipe till a few months back until I came across this recipe which was shared by my fellow home chef mubeen Sulthana . The day she shared this recipe had a sack of tamarind from our farm at home . Immediately gave it a try adding a few more ingredients with my twist to the chutney but keeping it simple not over complicating it as well . I ended up with 4 jars of imli chutney ( I wanted just 2 ) . No complaints as I saved 2 for myself and the other 2 were packed of to my daughters place . This imli chutney can be used with any chat items , samosas , dahi wada ( thayir wada ) and at times I use it as a dressing for salads as well with a trademark Indian twist . Tamarinds always bring me nostalgic childhood memories of me eating tamarind pieces dipped in salt . I would eat it non stop resulting with cuts in the upper skull of my mouth above the tongue . Well now a days I do have imli sweets ( tamarinds coated with sugar crystals ) in my handbag to reach out for when the munchies strike or to chance upon serendipitously when you are rummaging for a pen :-)) .
Ingredients
Ingredients | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Tamarind | 3 cups soaked in 5 cups of water over night |
| Vinegar | 1 teaspoon |
| Chilli powder | 2 tablespoons or to taste |
| Salt | to taste |
| Black salt | a pinch |
| Chat masala | 1/4 teaspoon |
| Pepper powder | 1/4 teaspoon |
| Chilli flakes | 2 teaspoons |
| Crushed cumin seeds | 2 teaspoons |
| Jaggery | 3 tablespoons or to taste |
Method
- Soak tamarind overnight with water and cook for 45 minutes .
- Strain the cooked pulp 2 to 3 times very well that there is nothing left in the tamarind .After that discard whatever is left in the strainer.
- Cook the tamarind juice again and add vinegar, chilli powder, salt, pepper, chili flakes, crushed cumin , jaggery , black salt and chat masala .
- Cook for another 20 minutes or until it thickens on low heat And enjoy.
