Be it samosas, pakodas, kachoris or dahi vada and chaat, the taste of all these seems incomplete without the sweet and sour tamarind chutney. Tamarind chutney enhances the taste of food manifold. This is the reason why from market chaat to home-made samosas, tamarind chutney has a special place.
However, many people find it difficult to make thick, sour-sweet and spicy tamarind chutney like halwai at home. In such a situation, they use tomato sauce or ready-made chutney from the market. But if you like the real desi taste, then you can prepare tamarind chutney very easily at home. If this chutney is prepared properly and stored in a clean glass jar, it can be used for a long time. To further improve the taste, dry fruits and seeds like raisins, dates and melon seeds can also be added to it.
Ingredients for making tamarind chutney
- 100 grams tamarind
- about 1 cup jaggery
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- a pinch of asafoetida
- 1 teaspoon ginger or dry ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground fennel
- Red chilli powder as per taste
- black salt as per taste
- white salt as per taste
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- Melon Seeds
- Raisin
- finely chopped dates
- 1 teaspoon cooking oil
How to make Halwai style tamarind chutney
First step:
First of all, take about 100 grams of tamarind and put it in a bowl. Now add hot water to it, cover the bowl and leave it for about 30 minutes. This will soften the tamarind properly.
After this, mash the tamarind thoroughly with hands in the same water, so that its entire pulp comes out in the water. Now filter this mixture through a sieve with coarse holes. Take care that maximum pulp of tamarind is removed and seeds and fibers are separated.
Second step:
Now heat about one spoon cooking oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and a little asafoetida and temper it. After this, put the filtered tamarind pulp in the pan.
Cook it on medium flame for 2-3 boils. After this add one spoon grated ginger or dry ginger powder in it. Now add jaggery as per taste. About one cup of finely chopped jaggery can be added to the chutney.
Third step:
Now add ground fennel, red chili powder, black salt, some white salt and cumin powder to the chutney. Mix all the spices well and keep cooking the chutney on medium flame.
When the water in the tamarind starts reducing gradually and the chutney starts thickening, then reduce the flame of the gas. Do not keep the chutney too thin, as it becomes thicker after cooling.
Fourth step:
Now add melon seeds, raisins and dates finely chopped lengthwise. Mix everything well and after cooking for some time, turn off the gas.
Let the chutney cool completely. After this, fill it in a clean and dry glass jar and keep it in the refrigerator.
Serve with these things
You can eat this homemade sweet and sour tamarind chutney with samosa, kachori, pakoda, dahi vada, chaat, cheela and other snacks. The taste of jaggery, tamarind and spices combined in it gives it a completely desi and spicy taste.
If it has to be stored for a long time, the jar should be clean and completely dry and always use a clean, dry spoon to scoop out the chutney. The period of storage without refrigeration will depend on temperature, humidity and cleanliness, so it is better to keep in the refrigerator for a long time.