Imli chutney is a sweet and tangy blend of tamarind and dates, perfect for adding a burst of flavour to your chaats.
Table of Contents
Imli Chutney is a sweet and sour condiment made with tamarind, dates, jaggery, and a few other spices. It is syrupy thanks to dates and jaggery in the recipe.
It also goes by the name of imli ki meethi chutney tamarind chutney or puli chutney.
The recipe involved combining the key ingredients of tamarind, dates and jaggery, cooking it down to a syrupy texture and then infusing it with spices to add that extra zing.
This chutney used primarily as a condiment to add to Indian street food, often known as chaats. A samosa, or a dahi puri, a Pani puri – all uses this tamarind chutney as an agent to add a tangy and sweet taste to a dish is almost always a tad spicy.
You can prepare this tamarind chutney in bulk and store it for a long time in the fridge.
Ingredients for Imli chutney
Tamarind, Dates and Jaggery – I take an equal quantity of these three ingredients. In this recipe, I’ve taken 100g each.
Fennel seeds, Cumin seeds and pepper powder – These three spices add that extra zing to the chutney. We can take 1 tsp each or the fennel and cumin seeds and 4-5 pieces of peppercorn.
Red chili powder, Asafoetida powder, black salt and table salt – In small quantities, these spice powders really jazz up the chutney in ways that take it to a restaurant style taste!
Other ingredients – Oil
How to make Imli chutney with dates?
To make tamarind chutney start off with de-seeding both the dates and the tamarind. If they are already de-seeded, it is one less thing for you to do. Take 100g of both the dates and tamarind after the de-seeding. Put them in a small pressure cooker. Now, add 100g of tamarind as well. Add about a cup of water and close the lid. Let our 2 whistles and let it simmer for a 3 minutes. Turn off the cooker and let it cool down. This is the easiest way to make imli chutney from my experience.
But, you can also do this in a pan on a flame, but it will take time. If you have 20-25 minutes to stand and allow the dates and tamarind to break down, you can go with the saucepan method. You know that the sauce it ready when you no longer smell the raw tamarind from the mixture and the dates have disintegrated inside the pan.
Meanwhile, place a small pan on medium flame. Let’s roast the whole spices. To the warmed up pan, add the fennel seeds, cumin seeds and peppercorns. Saute them on a low-medium flame until they turn fragrant. This should take around 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the spices to cool down.
Once they are cool, add them to a mortar and grind them into a smooth powder. You can also use your spice grinder once the spices are cool. Keep the powder aside.
Once the dates and tamarind mixture are cool, add the contents of the pressure cooker to a mixer. Blend the mixture to a smooth puree like texture. The next step is the tedious part.
Pass the mixture through a sieve and remove all the fibrous elements from the tamarind. However clean a tamarind might be, you will always have the fibre leftover, since this fibre is what holds the tamarind fruit together. This process might take roughly 10-15 minutes.
Once that is done, finally add the right spices and seasonings to your Imli Chutney.
To do this, place a pan on medium flame and pour 2 tsp of oil. Lower the heat to the lowest setting. To this oil, add the Kashmiri red chilli powder, asafoetida powder and swirl it around in the pan to cook them. Now add the imli chutney puree to the pan. It will sizzle, so be careful with your hands.
Add 2 tsps of the prepared fennel-cumin-pepper spice powder along with black salt and table salt. Mix all the ingredients together and do a taste test. If you need more seasoning, adjust them.
Allow the chutney to come to a slight boil and turn off the heat. Let the chutney cool down.
Your Imli Chutney with dates is ready for use!
Serving Suggestions
Serve Imli chutney along with your Samosa, Kachori or use it as a condiment for Bhel Puri, Aloo Tikki chaat, Masala Puri, Pani Puri or Dahi Papdi Chaat.
Storage and Shelf Life
Once the mixture has cooled down, store it in a clean and dry glass jar in the fridge. You can use it for up to 3 months or more if you have taken it out too many times.
I always make a thick consistency of the chutney and take a tablespoon at a time and dilute it to use for my chaats.
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Recipe
Imli Chutney
Ingredients
- 100 g Tamarind
- 100 g Dates de seeded
- 100 g Jaggery
- 2 tsp Fennel seeds
- 2 tsp Cumin seeds
- 4-5 Black peppercorns
- 2 tsp Cooking oil
- ½ tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 tsp Kashmiri Chilli powder
- ½ tsp Asafoetida powder
- ½ tsp Dry Ginger Powder
- ½ tsp Black Salt
- ½ tsp Table Salt
Instructions
Cooking the dates and tamarind
- De seed the dates and the tamarind. Measure out equal quantities of dates, tamarind and jaggery. For this recipe, I've used 100g of each.
- Add them all to a small pressure cooker along with a cup of water. Close the lid and allow 2 whistles to pass. Lower the flame and let it simmer for another 3-4 minutes. Let the pressure in the cooker release naturally.
Getting the spices ready
- Place a pan on low- medium heat. Add the fennel seeds, cumin seeds and peppercorns. Roast them in a low flame until they become aromatic. This should take roughly two minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the spices to cool down.
- Once they are cool, add them to a mortar and grind them into a fine powder. You could also grind with the help of a spice grinder. Your imli chutney powder is ready.
Bringing it all together
- Once the dates-tamarind mixture has cooled, add them to a mixer jar along with the water. Grind them into a smooth paste.
- Pour the mixture through a sieve and remove any strands of fibre that might be left after grinding. This is an important step, since it will give you a smooth texture of imli chutney.
- Place a saucepan on a medium flame and add 2 teaspoons of oil. Lower the flame, and add in the red chilli powder and asafoetida powder. Roast the spice powders on a low flame.
- Now, add the dates-tamarind puree and mix it all well. Add the black salt and table salt. Once the mixture comes to a slow boil, turn off the heat and add the dry ginger powder. Allow the imli chutney to cool down.
- Transfer the Tamarind chutney to a clean glass bottle and use it for up to 3 months.
Very useful recipe Sandhya..Will try soon