Imli is one of the most common condiments/sauce/chutney served with appetizers in Indian cuisine! Its a unique balance of sweet, sour, and spicy taste which is quintessential for chaats and appetizers.
Tamarind or Imli is made into a chutney or sauce that is very commonly served with appetizers and a must for topping chaats and other Indian street foods. Its a great balance of sweet and sour and spicy all in one! Tamarind is high in vitamin C and very sour in its natural flavor. Sweetness can be added with sugar, gur, brown sugar, or even dates. Red chili powder gives it some spice along with cinnamon and cloves. Its a yummy condiment sauce that stays great in the fridge for months.
There are many versions available in the market like Date Tamarind Chutney which are great. If you would like to make it at home, its not that hard to do using tamarind from the Indian Grocery stores. You soak the pulp in soak hot water and then squeeze out all the pulp of it. There are a lot of fibers in it, so it has to be strained out. Then that tamarind concentrate is cooked with spices, sugar to make the chutney.
Here, instead of using the pulpy tamarind and doing all the above steps, I prefer to use the Swad Tamarind concentrate which already has it strained and ready for the next step of cooking. This saves you time and effort of extracting the pulp. PS. I do not do get paid by Swad….I recommend products I actually use and like myself regardless of the brand.
In this recipe, I am using a trick my mother in law taught me: using Applesauce as a thickener. Yes applesauce! You can use regular or the cinnamon flavored one. It gives the chutney sweetness, thickness, and helps give it a longer shelf life and you cannot taste or tell there is applesauce in it. This can easily be stored in the fridge for at least 3 months.
Check out this recipe with a secret ingredient that no one will know! Shhhhh…
Makes approximately 6 cups
Time: 20 mins to cook
Ingredients:
- 14oz jar of Swad Tamarind concentrate (see photo above)
- 3 cups of water
- 3 cups of apple sauce (24 oz)
- 3/4 cups sugar (you can adjust to your taste)
- 1 tbsp Chaat Masala (I like MDH brand)
- 1 tsp Kala namak (black salt)
- 1 tsp Red chilli powder (adjust to your taste)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4-6 cloves
Method:
- In a non stick pot, add all the ingredients, stir to combine
- On medium high heat, bring to a boil.
- Then continue to boil on medium for 20 mins, stirring frequently and scraping the sides.
- Let it cool and store in an air tight container. Dip or top you favorite savory dishes and Enjoy!
Tips:
- To serve with this delicious Imli chutney, here are some Appetizer recipes to consider.