Imli chutney is a sweet and sour sauce made from tamarind pulp boiled with sugar or jaggery and spiced with salt, red chilli powder. This chutney is used in most Indian street food dishes to give a sweet and sour tangy taste.

Ever since my childhood, I’ve looked forward to the festival of Navratri. As a child I was not aware of the significance of the festival. It was the delicious food prepared by my mother during the festival that was the main appeal. Till date I don’t know why its called fasting. Most dishes are deep fried. Other dishes which include fruit, sabudana and vegetables are tasteful and full of flavour. The dishes I prepare today are mostly what my mother cooks. A few dishes I have learnt from neighbours and the extended family.

In my family we eat the ‘falhar’ or fasting food for the first seven days. On ‘Ahstmi’ or the eighth day, we do the pooja and have Sooji Halwa, Kale Chane and Puris for ‘parsad’.

Tamarind or Tamarindus indica is indigenous to tropical Africa but has been cultivated for so long on the Indian subcontinent that it is also considered to be indigenous to India. Today, India is the largest producer of tamarind and its pulp is made into a variety of products.

Tamarind is one of the most sought-after ingredients in Indian cooking and most regional cuisines use it in a variety of ways. It is an important ingredient in chutneys, curries and sauces.  It is also used to make sweet and sour confectionery, loved by most Indians, especially in the villages.

To make Imli Chutney, first you need to wash the tamarind pulp in clean water so as to remove all the dirt and dust, as in India it is dried naturally in the sun on open mats. It is then soaked in drinking water, covered, for upto four hours or even overnight so as to let the dried tamarind pulp rehydrate and become soft. The soaked pulp is then mashed by hand in the soaking water itself and the liquid is strained through a fine mesh strainer collecting the liquid and all the smooth pulp that passes through the mesh. The strained liquid, along with the sugar is boiled till the mixture coats the spoon. Its best to keep it to the consistency of a thin sauce as it thickens on cooling. Care must be taken to use non-reactive vessels as tamarind is a sour agent. Once off the stove the salt and chilli powder are added.

The soaking time of the tamarind should be taken into account. Best to soak it overnight if cooking in the morning or through the day if cooking it at night. Even if you can’t cook it once you’ve soaked the tamarind, just strain the pulp and keep the strained mixture in the refrigerator. It keeps well for 2-3 days without cooking.

The prepared Imli Chutney can be cooled and stored in a jar in the refrigerator for a long time. Mine has lasted for a year, that’s why I always make a large batch. For the purpose of the fast, we add some fruits like banana and pomegranate seeds to add flavour and texture.

Imli Chutney 

Tamarind Chutney

Ingredients ~

250 gms dried tamarind, without the hard cover shell
450 gms sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Preparation ~

1. Wash the tamarind pulp in clean water so as to remove all the dirt and dust.
2. Soak the tamarind in drinking water, just enough to cover it, for upto four hours or even overnight.

Method ~

1. Mash the soaked tamarind pulp by hand in the soaking water itself.
2. Strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer collecting the liquid and all the smooth pulp collected on the underside of the mesh.
3. In a non-reactive vessel, boil the strained liquid, along with the sugar till semi thick or till the liquid falls in a continuous stream from the spoon when lifted. It becomes thicker on cooling. More sugar can be added to taste as the tamarind pulp will differ in sourness from place to place.
4. Once off the stove, add the salt and the red chilli powder to taste.
5. The Imli Chutney should be sweet and sour in taste with a hint of saltiness and chilli.
6. Once cooled, store the chutney in a clean bottle in the refrigerator. It will stay for many months without spoiling.

~If it gets too thick in the refrigerator, add a little drinking water to thin it, to the amount you want to use at a time.

Imli Chutney with Fruits

Tamarind Chutney with Fruits

1. Chop and peel fruits of choice.
2. Add to the amount of Imli chutney using.
3. Use this on the same day. Cannot store with fruits as the fruits will get rancid over time.

For more recipes of dishes cooked in my family during the Navratri festival, please read my post, Navratri Vrat Thali.

Most of the recipes are simple and quick to cook, yet are delicious.