Date Chutney Recipes

TAMARIND AND DATE CHUTNEY

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine the tamarind and 1 cup of the water over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Occasionally stir with a fork to break up the pulp. Remove from the heat, cover, and set aside to steep and further soften for 5 minutes, or until the tamarind solids have expanded. When you stir the mixture, the pulp should easily combine with the water.
• Position a coarse-mesh sieve over a bowl and pour in the tamarind mixture. Using a rubber spatula or metal spoon, vigorously stir and press the solids against the mesh to force as much of the pulp through as possible. If necessary, return the pulp to the saucepan, add some of the already-strained liquid, stir to loosen up more of the pulp, and then work it through the sieve again. When the pulp is spent, discard the fibrous left overs. The resulting liquid will resemble chocolate cake batter. You should have 2/3 to 3/4 cup.
• Combine the tamarind liquid, dates, the remaining 1/3 cup water, the brown sugar, salt, and cayenne in a food processor. Process to a smooth, thick texture. Occasionally pause the machine and scrape down the sides. The ideal texture is thick enough to mound on a spoon, but you can add extra water for a thinner sauce. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cumin for a pungent finish. Taste and adjust the flavors, as necessary, especially if you thinned the chutney. Set aside for a few hours for the flavors to blend and bloom. Serve, refrigerate for up to 2 weeks, or freeze for a month.

CILANTRO-DATE CHUTNEY

Steps:

• Place cumin in a small skillet and set over medium-high heat. Toast for 2 to 3 minutes, or until seeds just begin to change color and emit a faint aroma. Immediately dump seeds into a spice grinder or mortar, and grind to a powder.
• Place dates, lime juice, jalapeños, ginger, garlic, salt and cumin into the bowl of a food processor and pulse, stopping periodically to scrape the sides with a rubber spatula as needed. Try to get this mixture as uniformly puréed as possible, though a little texture is fine.
• Add the cilantro and continue to pulse to break it down. Then, add as little water as possible - about a tablespoon - to get the blades moving and turn the mixture into the sauce. Continue scraping the sides and pulsing until no large bits of stem or leaf remain and the sauce is a lovely, almost-but-not-quite-smooth texture. Taste, and add lime juice and salt as needed. Cover and refrigerate until serving. This sauce will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge.

TAMARIND - DATE CHUTNEY

Steps:

• Place the sugar, dates and water in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Bring to a boil and simmer for about 7-8 minutes, until the dates are very soft.
• Stir in the tamarind.
• Very carefully, pour the ingredients into a blender, clamp the lid down tight and blend until smooth (or blend in the pot with an immersion/stick blender).
• Return the mixture to the pot and boil until thick enough to thinly coat the back of a spoon (the chutney will thicken more as it cools).
• Stir in the spices and salt.
• Taste for seasoning: the chutney should be equal parts sweet, salty and sour.
• Add more tamarind, sugar or salt if any of these needs a boost.
• Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.

TAMARIND - DATE CHUTNEY ( SWEET INDIAN CHUTNEY)

Steps:

• Place the jaggery, dates and water in a deep boiling pan for about 2 hours.
• After the dates become smooth, blend in a mixer till smooth.
• Strain and transfer to the pan again.
• Add the tamarind paste and seasoning.
• Boil till thick enough to coat the back of a spoon thinly.
• Cool again. Store in clean airtight bottles and refrigerate.
• Shelf life of about a month in the refrigerator.
• * Here, I have used tamarind paste. But in case you do not have tamarind, soak the tamarind in water and extract its paste.
• What I usually do is use dry tamarind powder which I get from Indian grocery stores.

DATE CHUTNEY

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown at edges, 3 minutes. Add mustard seeds and cook, stirring, until beginning to pop, 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients and 1/2 cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 6 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before serving.