Sweet, inviting, and made for sharing, Tamarind Chutney Recipe (Sweet Imli Chutney) is a vegan, vegetarian North Indian side dish made with simple everyday ingredients in about 252 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.
Recipe Snapshot
- Prep time: 240 minutes
- Cook time: 12 minutes
- Total time: 252 minutes
- Yield: 1 · 1 small bowl
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: North Indian
Ingredients
- ½ cup tamarind (– tightly packed (imli), preferably without seeds)
- 1¾ cups water (or add as required)
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger powder ((saunth powder))
- 1 pinch asafoetida ((hing))
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder (or cayenne pepper)
- ½ cup jaggery (– chopped, or add as required, adjust as per your taste)
- 1 teaspoon oil (– any neutral tasting oil)
- salt (– as required)
Method
Making Tamarind Pulp
- Soak tamarind in water overnight or for 4 to 5 hours in a small bowl or pan. You can rinse the tamarind prior to soaking it.
- After the tamarind have softened, the pulp can be made. With clean fingers, squeeze, press and extract he pulp from the tamarind in the same bowl or pan containing the water.
- Strain the pulp if you prefer and set it aside. Remember to remove the seeds if any and trash them.
Making Imli Chutney
- Heat oil in a small frying pan.
- Lower the heat and add cumin seeds. Let them crackle.
- Next add ginger powder, red chili powder, asafoetida.
- Stir to mix the ground spices and add the strained tamarind pulp. Cook for 2 to 3 mins.
- Add the jaggery and salt and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or more until the consistency thickens.
- Let the Imli Chutney cool.
- When cooled, store the Tamarind Chutney in an air-tight dry jar or container. Refrigerate and serve whenever required with chaat or snacks.
Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note
Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.
