Sweet Tamarind Chutney

DO NOT heat your oil over medium- go a little lower. I can't describe exactly what happened when the spices hit the oil, but I can tell you that it felt like my lungs had collapsed. My kids literally ran screaming from the kitchen and I finished cooking with a dish towel over my nose and mouth. I really think the heat is too high on this because I made something similar later on at a lower temp and didn't have anything like this happen. I'm still giving this four stars though because this is the best tamarind chutney I've ever tasted. If you don't have access to tamarind paste (I'm talking to you, my fellow rural Iowans!) then you can make a delicious substitute using 1 tablespoon each of dried, chopped apricots, dates and prunes. Pour boiling water on them and let them soak for fifteen minutes and then drain and puree them with one tablespoon lemon juice.

Delicious! I substituted onion powder for the asafoetida, and everyone still thought it was as tasty as any they'd had in a restaurant.

Wow, this was the best tamarind chutney ever!! Though not as easy as cilantro chutney, it's well worth it. I used olive oil instead of canola (it's what I had), and I made sure to heat the spices in the oil for long enough to really smell all of those spices. If you add the water too soon, you'll lose some of the flavor. I used onion powder in place of the asofe...(spice I can't even spell). Like some of the other reviews mentioned, I couldn't get the sauce thick enough without a little cornstarch. I actually simmered it for about an hour to reduce it, but still ended up adding a little cornstarch (teaspoon dissolved in hot water?), which made it a perfect consistency. Seriously, you can't buy stuff this good.

OMG!!!! YUMMY!!! was looking for "stuff" to put this on while it was cooling! I had a tamarind "block" so I probably used twice as much tamarind as the recipe calls for. Tangy, sweet, spicy- perfect: had it with onion pakora's as a start to our Indian meal. Of Note: recipe states makes 1 & 1/4 cups of chutney. Cook it down to this point and you wont need any cornstarch or such. Also use the cold plate method to check for consistency. Simply put a saucer in the fridge, when you think your sauce is done, put a small amount (1/4 t.) on the cold plate and place back in fridge. Wait a minute and check. If it is how you like it, pull from the heat or cook longer. Thanks for a simple recipe addition to my Indian arsenal, one more sauce I will never have to buy again. PS: Tamarind is a popular ingredient in Mexican cooking. Try those grocery stores for it. Hing or Asafoetida is an Indian staple, if you can't find it add a 1/4 t of garlic powder as a sub.

i had to add some cornstarch at the end because it wouldn't thicken, maybe i put in too much water, but the end result was great. thanks!

I REALLY loved this recipe. The tamarind can be found at most Asian food markets and I mix my own garam masala it is very simple to do yourself. I did not use the asafoetida, it is not important. I like that this really is to taste so if you want it hot add more pepper, or sweet add more sugar. This is my third time making it and it is perfect! Mine comes out perfect, if yours is too thin after 15 min you may not have added enough tamarind. You can always just add more.

This recipe was pretty good... I did add about a tablespoon of cornstarch and water since it didn't thicken for me at all after the 20-30 min. When cooled it was just the consistency of the tamarind chutney at the restaurants. I also added one star anise, broken up, an ingredient I saw in another tamarind recipe and I thought it enhanced the flavor. I added it at the end with the cornstarch after taste testing and thinking it needed something extra. Overall a great tamarind chutney.

This chutney turned out delicious! Just like in a restaurant. I recommend using medium-low heat; the spices are very aromatic and really can be overwhelming on a higher heat. I found the 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper was a bit lost once the chutney was cooled and served. If you like spice, increase to 3/4 or 1 tsp. Instead of 1 1/8 cups white sugar, I used 1 cup jaggery and five pitted dates. I, too, used about a tsp of corn starch dissolved in a few tbsp of water to thicken the sauce, but the next day the chutney was more jelly-like than I'd have liked, so I recommend using 1/2 tsp of corn starch or omitting it altogether. I used onion powder instead of the asafoetida powder, and I omitted the fennel seeds because I don't care for fennel. I also found it would have benefited from a quick run through the hand blender as it was quite chunky and near the end was a little difficult to use as a sauce, and was more like a jam.

This recipe was very good. We really liked the sweet and spicy. It did not thicken very well and next time I will use a bit of cornstarch too but the flavor was great. I'll definitely be making it again.

We went to an Indian restaurant for lunch and had their version, which was very sweet and fruity. For dinner at home I made this version, lowering the sugar and increasing the ground red pepper. We much preferred it this way. I cooked it longer, reducing it to the one and a quarter cups that the recipe indicates (patience is needed), and as it chilled in the refrigerator, it got much thicker. We served it over samosas and it was wonderful. Thanks.

Not bad, but not great. Did not thicken after one hour, still, like others, had to add one tablespoon of cornstarch.

We did not care for this recipe. It was way too sweet and way too spicy. It did not thicken. The worst was the flavor though...not at all authentic to any Indian foods and flavors we have eaten. All we could taste was sugar and cayenne.

good recipe but its very bitter...but there are not many recipes on here for this type of sauce that I can find. I would possibly recommend less tarmarind

So good! Only step I would add, which is not really necessary but makes it more like most restaurants, is to strain the seeds out at the end. This is my favorite dip/sauce at the Indian restaurant we go to. I did let it cook on the stove for probably like two hours while I was making other food. Then when it was poured into a bowl I put it in the fridge until we wanted to eat it - ultimately was only room temperature at that time, though. As of this writing, it didn't thicken as much as maybe some people want it too? but it is exactly like what I eat in Indian restaurants, usually served with a small spoon to pour some onto a papadum. Spoon it onto something and mmm delicious. But, if you wanted to get that tamarind flavor on other kinds of food, where spooning is not so convenient, maybe do some of the usual tricks to thicken it a little more. It made just about spot on the amount it said it would, which is a LOT, glad to have extra though!!

Really good! Like some others, I had to add a bit of flour to thicken it up

I read this recipe and was scared that it wont thicken as mentioned by other reviewers. It did happen! But I must say that patience is all you need. After cooking for 1 hr , hoping for it to thicken, I kept it in refrigerator. Unexpectedly, it thicken quite well, actually little more than needed. The final flavor is awesome. I served it with Pakoras, and all guests enjoyed it. They even thought I brought it from a store! Thats a compliment you're always looking for, right?! I did cook the spices long enough to let the flavor come out. Overall, super 5 star recipe!

I have been using this recipe for years, just now decided to write a review. This comes out exactly!!!! like tamarind chutney I have had at restaurants. A real indian market usually has several different kinds of tamarind paste, I have found the kind that works best is the one that comes in plastic wrapping and looks and feels like molding clay, the kind in the jar is ok but not as good. I substitute equal parts garlic and onion powder for the asaofaetida. After it is cooked I strained out the solids. This is awesome with masoor dal and chapatis. I also have served it as a condiment for an herb roasted chicken.

Omg this is so good, there really is no sub for tamarind paste. No need for the cornstarch like some ppl said. Made ths with samosas and will definitely make it again

This is really fantastic. It is our go to chutney!

Didn't thicken enough even when cooked twice as long. Following what other reviewers have suggested I added cornstarch and water to thicken it - wound up using two tablespoons of cornstarch and two tablespoons of water. Recipe didn't state what to do with all the seeds, so I strained it before thickening. Very tasty. Similar to what my favorite Indian restaurant serves with their pakoras.

Loved this recipe.

This sauce is cooling in the kitchen as I type. Looks (and tastes) like it came out really well, and I'm a real novice at cooking Indian food. I read some of the reviews, and put it together like this: used 1 1/2 cups water instead of 2 cups (because of people saying that their sauce wasn't thickening). I used 1 cup of sugar because of the reduction in water. And I used coconut oil instead of canola oil. Make sure the sauce is simmering steadily. I simmered it for 40 minutes until it looked like dark chocolate. Anyway, I think this sauce is awesome, and can't wait to put some on my Indian-spiced veggie burgers!

Easy to take this recipe from a 4 to a 5! I am surprised that no previous reviewers noticed that the recipe lacks salt. For authentic flavor, get black salt from your Indian grocery store. Other changes. roast the fennel and cumin in a dry pan and then ground them before following the rest of the recipe. I add asafetida to it with the water. It's a necessary flavor to the mix but will make you gag if you smell it alone. Finally, instead of white sugar, use jaggery (date sugar), you can easily find it online or at the Indian grocery store.

This was delicious, although I agree with some of the other reviews that it is a bit thin. I will use less than 2c. water next time.

Delicious! It was a tad sweet for my husband. I added some apricots because I didn't have enough tamarind. I also blended everything at the end to mince the spices. Do you use whole or powdered spices? I used some whole and some powdered depending on what I had. I also had to thicken it with cornstarch as it didn't seem to want to thicken.

I didn't get a chutney - it never thickened up. I have it 3 stars though because it tastes fantastic as an additive to iced tea.

Actually hailing from and living in india....we usually dont add so many spices in homemade chutney. U can add cumin . Thts about it.

That was very good, I use it to accompany many indian recipes but as another reviewer said, don't put the oil too high because you can't imagine the harsh fumes that will come out of that.

I did not make any changes, and it came out great!!!! My husband who is from Ahmedabad loved it

As another person said, the chutney didn’t thicken as promised, and I added cornstarch slurry after a while, but overall it was superb!

it is tasty and easy to make.

Delicious! I followed the recipe but used 1.5 cups of water instead of 2 after reading reviews. It was perfect. Then I added another Tbsp tamarind paste bc it was too sweet. It's great.

We made this and even found the asafoetida to go in it. (Phew that stuff stinks!) But the recipe was delicious. It never did get very thick. In fact it was quite thin, but the flavor was great. The recipe made so much we used the left over as a salad dressing. It lasted for a long time in the fridge and was delicious!

Great flavor loses a star for bad directions. First low med heat not medium or spices will burn. Secondly it probably takes 2-3 hours to reduce to thicken without additives. After 30 minutes I turned the heat up from a simmer to a low boil. After an additional 30 (total of 1hour) it still needed to reduce at least half again and my other food was ready. I opted to add cornstarch to thicken so I know it was not as concentrated as it should be.

I was really surprised by this recipe ... tastes really good. I was looking for something to make with samosas. I used coconut oil rather than canola (I will use anything other than canola!) and 7/8 cup palm sugar instead of 1 -1/8 white sugar. The first time, I used the asafoetida powder and it definitely adds a distinct flavor, the second time I left it out. This also tastes good with dal. I like dal with rice and this makes it taste soooo good !

It was delicious but came out runny. Not even a bit thick. Today when I head back home I shall add 2 table spoons of cornstarch with a tiny bit of water to get a thicker consistency just as described in the reviews. I made my own tamarind paste from the fruit itself! I have a huge bag that I use for agua de tamarindo so this was perfect.