Tamarind Sauce

This Indian Tamarind Sauce recipe is just like the Sweet Tamarind Chutney served at Indian restaurants. It is made from tamarind, jaggery and basic Indian spices.

I love serving it alongside these poppadom dips and homemade poppadoms!

Naturally vegan, gluten-free and oil-free dip.

This Tamarind sauce is made from scratch and the recipe is so simple. Simply soak tamarind pulp, blend, sieve and add the flavourings! So easy! This is one of your vegan dipping sauce recipe.

There is something addictive about Indian dips with samosas, pakoras, bhajis and pappadums! I often prepare delicious sauces like Indian Onion Chutney, creamy and sweet Indian Mint Sauce and red Garlic chutney with my Indian appetizers.

What is Tamarind Sauce?

Tamarind dipping sauce or Tamarind chutney is a sweet and sour condiment made from the fruit of the tamarind tree.

The Tamarind tree is native to Africa and Asia.

The tamarind fruit is first boiled until it becomes soft, and then the pulp is extracted and strained to remove the seeds and fibres.

The resulting paste is then combined with various other ingredients such as sugar, salt, chili powder, and other spices to create a flavourful brown chutney.

Tamarind sauce is commonly used in Indian cuisine, Thai, and Mexican, and is often served as a dipping sauce for snacks.

In Thai cooking, it is also added into recipes such as pad thai, papaya salad and thai curries.

Indian Tamarind Sauce typically uses jaggery and Indian spices. It is the brown sauce served in restaurants.

Sweet tamarind chutney is used in chaat recipes or as a dip for starters.

You can purchase tamarind sauce from the supermarkets and brands such as East End and Maggi Tamarind Sauce are easily available. In America, you can find Trader Joe's tamarind sauce.

These shop-bought sauces never quite hit the sweet spot though so I tend to make my own and save for later!

Tamarind Sauce Taste

Tamarind sauce has a sweet, sour, and tangy flavour profile. This varies depending on the recipe and ingredients used, but it typically has an acidic taste with a mild level of spiciness.

The sweetness in the sauce comes from sugar or jaggery, while the sourness comes from tamarind pulp or concentrate.

In some recipes, other ingredients like ginger, garlic, chili, and cumin can also be added to enhance the flavour.

Difference between Tamarind Sauce and Imli Chutney

Imli ki Chutney or Amli ni Chutney in Gujarati, is a date and tamarind chutney.

Essentially, both tamarind sauce and imli chutney can be used in exactly the same way. The difference is the addition of dates in the Gujarati version. I like to use medjool dates in my chutney.

Indian Tamarind Sauce Ingredients

Tamarind - Tamarind is the main ingredient and it provides the sauce with its distinct sweet and sour taste.

You can either use a block of seedless tamarind pulp or use a ready made tamarind concentrate. Ready made versions can be found in Asian grocery stores or try your local grocery store.

Instructions for how to prepare tamarind pulp from scratch are given below.

Jaggery or gor - Jaggery is unrefined sugar commonly used in Indian cooking. It is an important ingredient as it balances the sourness of the tamarind and gives sweetness. Find it in an Indian grocery store. It is sold in blocks or as jaggery powder.

You may want to use regular sugar, brown sugar, palm sugar as an alternative.

Chili powder - Red chilli powder is added to provide a spicy kick and to enhance the overall flavour. The amount of chili powder used can vary depending on personal preference. Alternatively, use cayenne pepper powder.

Ground cumin powder and coriander powder - aka dhana jeeru that provides a warm, earthy flavour.

Chaat masala - chaat masala is a quick way to add in tonnes of extra flavour without adding spices separately. It contains ginger powder, mango powder and dried rock salt (kala namak or black salt).

Water - the amount of water used can vary depending on how thick or thin you want the sauce to be.

Salt to taste

How to make Tamarind Sauce

Break the block of tamarind pulp into smaller pieces and remove any hard seeds/shells.

In a small saucepan, add water and tamarind pulp. You do not need much water, you can add more later. I would go for 2 cup water to ½ block tamarind pulp.

Heat on medium-high heat until the pulp softens.

You can also achieve the same results by placing hot water and tamarind pulp in a heat-proof bowl. Soak for 15-20 minutes until softened.

Also, you can add warm water and pulp to a microwave safe small bowl and heat on high power for 4-5 minutes.

TIP - Allow the tamarind mixture to cool until it is close to room temperature. Adding hot mixture to the blender jar will cause it to jam. A quick fix if you cannot wait is to add chilled water or ice.

Blend the softened pulp with the water in a high-speed blender until smooth

Sieve this tamarind puree mixture.

This is now tamarind paste which has a sour taste. You can use this paste in many ways - I keep a little aside to add to Gujarati Dal and Gujarati Potato Curry.

You can cook down this paste to make concentrate - first bring to a rolling boil then simmer on medium heat until thickened.

Add jaggery to the concentrate whilst it is still hot. You do not need to heat but allow it to melt.

If you have a very large piece of jaggery, you could cook on medium heat for a minute or so.

Add in the spice powders and salt. Have a taste, if it is a little sour, you can add more grated jaggery or sugar.

The tamarind sauce will thicken slightly as it cools.

Serving Suggestions

I love this tamarind sauce for samosas, poppadoms and chaat!

To serve it like your favourite Indian restaurants, serve it with these golden brown air fryer frozen samosas, mogo/casava/yucca chips and onion bhaji.

I love mine alongside masala kachori and paneer tikka and paneer pakora!

Chaat recipes include Samosa Chaat, Pani Puri, Aloo Chaat, Aloo Tikki and Sev Puri. I also use this chutney on Khaman Dhokla Chaat and Smashed Potato Chaat along with cilantro mint chutney

Tamarind sauce goes great with spring rolls too.

Use it as a dip for air fryer potato slices or air fryer bombay potatoes along with this sour cream and chive dip or Creamy Cilantro Lime Sauce.

Tamarind sauce is served at room temperature.

Storage

To store tamarind sauce, keep it in an airtight container or clean glass jar in the refrigerator.

Tamarind sauce can be stored for several weeks in the refrigerator, but it is best to consume it within a week or two for optimal freshness and flavour.

If you want to store it for a longer period, you can freeze it in a freezer safe container or zip lock bags.

When you are ready to use the sauce, simply thaw it in the refrigerator or at room temperature, and give it a good stir before using.

FAQS

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