What is Tamarind Chutney?
Tamarind chutney is sweet and spicy and tart! It’s the perfect dipping sauce to serve with fried Indian snacks like pakoras or samosas. I’ve already shared my recipe for Cilantro Mint Chutney here on the blog and so it’s about time I share this tamarind chutney recipe as well. After all, these two chutneys are always served together. I’d say these are two of the most popular chutneys out there. You can see I’m serving them both below with my Gluten-Free Samosa.
“Indian Sweet and Sour Sauce”
I like to think of tamarind chutney as being the Indian version of “sweet and sour” sauce (you know, the kind you can get at fast-food restaurants…). I know some of you are like “oh no, Ashley did NOT just compare tamarind chutney to McD’s sweet and sour sauce” but you guys, I did say it’s the Indian version of it! It has plenty of tangy tamarind flavor, a good amount of sugar to balance out the tartness, and a bit of cayenne to give the sauce some heat. Also, I think it’d be delicious served with chicken nuggets… just saying. Does anyone else refer to tamarind chutney as “red chutney?” I’ve been calling it that since I was a kid… I have definitely heard people refer to cilantro-mint chutney as green chutney but now I’m not so sure that I’ve heard anyone else refer to tamarind chutney as red chutney? Does anyone else call it red chutney? I need to know… More chutney observations (because I spend too much time thinking about food…): I think there are – for the most part – two types of people out there: the red chutney folks and the green chutney folks. The red chutney folks use a heavy hand when drizzling tamarind chutney on their plates then add a light drizzle of green chutney. The green chutney folks do the opposite. I am a red chutney girl through and through. I like all things sweet and tangy with just the tiniest bit of heat. My husband is a green chutney guy and likes all things spicy to the max. So I have to know… what kind of “chutney person” are you? Man, that would be a good interview question. The right “interview answer” would obviously be something really obscure/unique that I haven’t thought of yet… I don’t even know. Anyway, enjoy this tangy tamarind chutney and serve it with anything and everything! Like this recipe? Pin it to your favorite Pinterest board now so you will remember to make it later!
