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 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.
