Tamarind and Date Chutney

Name: Tamarind and Date Chutney
Yield: makes 1 1/4 cups
Ingredients: 3 1/4 to 4 ounces seedless tamarind pulp (a lump the size of a small lemon), broken into 3 or 4 pieces; 1 1/3 cups warm water; 3/4 cup coarsely chopped pitted dates (about 5 ounces); 1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon cayenne; 1/2 teaspoon pounded, toasted cumin seeds or ground cumin

December 9, 2011

This tart-sweet relish is thick enough for you to plop some into the crevices of a samosa for a wonderful, classic Indian food taste treat. Tamarind is known as the “date of India,” and the delectable marriage of the two kinds of dates in this chutney is a natural. Both ingredients lend body, their flavors perfectly complementing each other. I’ve eaten this chutney off a spoon. If available, use jaggery (unrefined Indian sugar) or Southeast Asian palm sugar instead of the brown sugar. Sticky dark brown slabs of tamarind pulp are sold at Chinese, Indian, and Southeast Asian markets in a double layer of plastic packaging. Soft dates, such as Medjools, work best. Otherwise, soak chewy, hard dates in just-boiled water for about an hour to soften them, then drain and proceed.

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