Tamarind Chutney Recipe

Learn how to make your very own homemade tamarind chutney from scratch using a handful of ingredients. This chutney is really easy to make, delicious sweet, sour and tangy at the same time.

Nothing beats making your own tamarind chutney from scratch. Homemade chutney is where it's at? 

I first tasted this type of chutney on a trip to Barbados, a few years ago. Barbados has a large number of people who are from Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.

There was a Trinidadian lady on the road side who was a doubles vendor near Bridgetown (the capital of Barbados).

I had doubles with pepper sauce which was delicious but it was the tamarind chutney that I really enjoyed the most.

While I still haven't mastered a foolproof gluten free doubles recipes, the chutney, thankfully is very easy to make.

Tamarind chutney is very popular with Caribbean islands that typically have a large Indian population i.e Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.

This condiments pairs well with doubles, pholourie, aloo (potato) pie, doubles and many other delicacies.

Indians from south Asia also use tamarind sauce/chutney to accompany many of their cuisines i.e samosa, pakora, pani puri, kachori and so fourth.

Ingredients you need

• Tamarind - I'm using fresh tamarind that needs to be de-shelled in order to use the pulp.
• Water - You will need water in order to breakdown the tarmarind pulp.
• Chadon beni - This is a popular herb that is also known as culantro which pops up in many Trinbago recipes.
• Raw cane sugar - Tamarind is sour tart/sour so sugar is needed to help yield some sweetness.
• Onion/garlic - Fresh is best, preferably minced.
• Ginger - I like to add a small amount of ginger, but this is totally optional.
• Black pepper and pink salt - To enhance the taste.
• Scotch bonnet pepper - The amount of scotch bonnet will depend on the level of heat/spiciness that you want.

The steps

• Pour the water into a medium sized saucepan and bring to the boil.
• Carefully add the tamarind and reduce the heat to medium.
• Use a whisk to stir until the tamarind begins to breakdown and separate from the seed(s) (this should take several minutes).
• Skim off any foam that develops through the above step.

• Remove the saucepan from the stove.
• Use a mesh sieve to strain off the tamarind liquid and separate the seeds (discard the seeds) into another medium saucepan.
• Use a spoon to push down and in a back and fourth motion to extract more tamarind from the seeds.

• On medium heat, add the chadon beni, garlic, onion, ginger, scotch bonnet and raw cane sugar to a saucepan that has the tamarind.
• Continue to simmer while stirring for 10 minutes.
• Do a taste test and black pepper and pink salt to taste.
• Remove from the stove and allow to cool.
• Store in a sterilised mason jar and keep refrigerated.

Notes and tips

• You can purchase fresh tamarind in a box, I get the red box that's from Thailand.
• You need roughly 20 tamarind pods to make this recipe.
• If you can't find tamarind pods then you can use tamarind blocks with the seeds, you will need 2-3 blocks.
• Don't forgot to pair the chutney with the Pholourie too.
• Don't use tamarind concentrate or anything that comes in a sauce bottle/jar because it will already have additional ingredients.
• Make sure to store the chutney in sterilised mason jars.
• The chutney will have a short shelf life (1-2 weeks) because it doesn't contain any preservatives.
• You can half the recipe, if you only need a small quantity of chutney (this also saves on excess waste).
• How sweet and spicy that you would like your chutney is subjective so I sugguest doing a taste test and adjusting according to your preference.
• If you want more of a sour/tart chutney then use ¼ cup of sugar instead.

More tamarind recipes

• Tamarind Balls
• Tamarind Juice Recipe
• Tamarind Chicken

More recipes from Trinidad and Tobago

• Saltfish Buljol
• Trinidadian Tomato Choka
• Trinidad Coconut Bake
• Dhal and Rice
• Cornmeal Cou Cou
• Trinidad Cheese Paste 
• Trinidad Corn Soup

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