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Tamarind Chutney, Quick Simmer

Sweet-sour imli for chaat — keep the jar thick, thin it when you assemble.

North India
  • chutney
  • tamarind
  • chaat

This is the brown sweet-sour half of many chaat counters: imli chutney, often called saunth or sonth in North India after dried ginger powder. Keep a thick jar in the fridge, then thin a spoonful when you assemble bhel, papdi, or dahi bhalla. Dates (khajur-imli) are a common variation, not a requirement.

Pulp, concentrate, and sweetness

Soaked tamarind pulp and bottled concentrate both work; concentrate is much stronger. A workable concentrate start is about 2 tablespoons with 1¼ cups water and ⅓–½ cup jaggery — then taste. Equal volumes of concentrate and sugar with little water usually turn mouth-puckering. Cumin, chili, salt, and often saunth (dried ginger) shape the chaat profile. Dates add body when you have time to simmer them soft with the tamarind.

Cook thick, serve thinner

Simmer until the sauce looks glossy and coats a spoon. It will thicken further as it cools. For chaat, loosen with a splash of warm water at serving time so it can drizzle without drowning the crunch. For samosa or pakora, a thicker dip is fine.

Storage

Cool completely, then refrigerate in a clean jar. A sugar-forward imli chutney often keeps one to two weeks when handled cleanly; discard if it ferments, molds, or smells off. Do not leave a serving bowl at room temperature through a long party — put out small amounts and refill.

Sources and further reading

  • Veg Recipes of India: Saunth / sweet tamarind chutney
  • Wikipedia: Sooth (chutney))
  • NDTV Food: Street-style sonth ki chutney notes
Prep
5 min
Cook
15–25 min
Serves
about 1–1¼ cups

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsptamarind concentrate — Tamicon-style; brands vary — start here and taste
  • ⅓–½ cup packedjaggery or brown sugar — sweet-sour balance; add toward the higher end if concentrate is sharp
  • 1¼ cupswater
  • ¾ tsproasted cumin powder
  • ½ tspdried ginger powder (saunth) — optional but classic for saunth-style jars
  • ¼–½ tspred chili powder
  • ½ tspblack salt or kosher salt — adjust to taste

Method

  1. Warm the water in a small pan. Whisk in tamarind concentrate until dissolved, then add jaggery, cumin, saunth, chili, and salt.
  2. Simmer gently, stirring often, until glossy and syrupy enough to coat a spoon, 12–20 minutes. Taste: it should be clearly sweet-sour, not mouth-puckering. Add a spoon of jaggery or a splash of water as needed.
  3. Cool completely — it thickens further in the jar. Refrigerate.
  4. At serving, thin a spoonful with warm water for chaat drizzle, or leave thick as a dip for samosa or pakora.

Notes

  • Using soaked pulp instead of concentrate: start with about ½ cup thick strained pulp, ½ cup jaggery, and 1–1¼ cups water; simmer and adjust sweetness the same way.
  • Dates (¼ cup chopped, seedless) can simmer with the tamarind for a khajur-imli variation; mash or strain for a smoother jar.
  • Handle cleanly; discard if the jar ferments, molds, or smells off.