A sweet and sour Indian condiment, Dates Tamarind Chutney is naturally vegan and delicious. It is really simple to make in the Instant Pot!
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Meethi chutney, a popular condiment in Indian cuisine. Served with pakoras or samosas, this makes a great dipping sauce.
It is also a great addition to Bhel Puri, Pani puri, ragda pattice, Dahi Vada and chole bhature.
What is Dates Tamarind Chutney?
An easy to make Vegan recipe, this chutney is sweet and sour and super flavorful.
A great addition to so many North Indian recipes, this chutney is served with a lot of dishes too.
If you have tried Indian dishes like pakoras, dahi bhalla, pakoras or pani puri, you must have tried this recipe for sure.
It is really easy to make, can be refrigerated for days and keeps well for months when frozen.
What you need to make Chutney
The basic ingredients in this recipe are dates, jaggery and tamarind. The spices can be adjusted based on preferences.
Dates: Dates are the base for this chutney. Choose dates that are moist and not super dry. The quality of dates will determine how smooth the chutney is.
Regular or Medjool dates work for this recipe.
Jaggery: Another key ingredient in the recipe is jaggery. This imparts sweetness to the chutney and flavor.
I use Kolhapuri Jaggery for this recipe. Using jaggery powder does not work well here as it does not turn creamy on cooking.
Tamarind: This sweet chutney needs something sour added to it. Tamarind is generally used in the recipe. It imparts a great sour taste and flavor to the chutney.
In case there is an allergy or it is unavailable, lemon juice can be used.
Rock Salt: While the chutney is sweet and sour, adding a little bit of salt helps elevate the taste so well. I always add some to the chutney.
Spices: Addition of spices to the chutney is absolutely optional but it makes the chutney amazing.
Red Chili Powder, Dhania Jeera Powder, Aamchur powder and Ground Cumin are the ingredients I add.
Optional ingredients: Dry ginger powder, black pepper and Turmeric Powder are often added to the chutney. These may be added or skipped.
Making this chutney
Once all the ingredients are ready, it is time to make the chutney. The dates and jaggery needs to be cooked for it.
Using the Instant Pot or stovetop pressure cooker is a great way to cook the ingredients quickly. Using the instant pot is my preferred way of making the chutney.
After the ingredients are cooked, they have to be blended to a smooth or grainy texture. The consistency depends on how you like it.
Where to use this chutney?
This chutney works perfectly for chaats. From Bhel Puri and Pani Puri to dishes like ragda pattice, dahi puri and chole bhature, this chutney is great.
Plus, serve it as a dipping sauce for dishes like samosas, vada or tikkis.
Steps to make Dates Tamarind Chutney
Wash and chop the dates into pieces. Cut the jaggery into bits.
Soak the tamarind in ½ cup water. Set aside.
In a bowl add dates, jaggery and ½ cup water.
In the instant pot add 1 cup water. Place a trivet and place the bowl with dates and jaggery and cover with a plate.
Set mode to pressure cook at high pressure for 10 minutes. Once the pressure releases naturally, open the instant pot and let the mixture cool.
Add red chili powder, rock salt, aamchur powder, dhania jeera powder.
Strain the tamarind and add the strained liquid to the mixture.
Blend to a smooth mixture. Transfer the chutney to an airtight jar and store refrigerated.
Ingredients
Pitted Dates 2 cups
Jaggery 1 cups
Pitted Tamarind 1 cups
Ground Cumin 2 tsp
Red Chili Powder 1 tsp
Aamchur powder 1 ½ tsp
Rock Salt ½ tsp
Dhania Jeera Powder ½ tsp
Method
Wash and chop the Pitted Dates into pieces. Cut the Jaggery into bits.
Soak the Pitted Tamarind in ½ cup water. Set aside.
In a bowl add dates, jaggery and ½ cup water.
In the instant pot add 1 cup water. Place a trivet and place the bowl with dates and jaggery and cover with a plate.
Set mode to pressure cook at high pressure for 10 minutes. Once the pressure releases naturally, open the instant pot and let the mixture cool.
Add Red Chili Powder, Aamchur powder, Rock Salt, Dhania Jeera Powder.
Strain the tamarind and add the strained liquid to the mixture.
Blend to a smooth mixture. Transfer the chutney to an airtight jar and store refrigerated.
The chutney can be frozen for 2 months in silicone cubes or in a bottle.
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