Tamarind-Date Chutney & a tasty snack

We all love chaats and most chaats are spiced up with a delicious array of chutneys of which the most popular ones are the green chutney and this tangy, sweet tamarind chutney which is my absolute favorite. It has a light spicy kick to it and is lip smackingly good and there have been so many occassions when I've just had this plain. After seeing how easy it is to whip this up, i've stopped buying it from the store and use it on so many items like bhel puri, ragda patties, dahi vadas etc.

TAMARIND DATE CHUTNEY

Ingredients:
Tamarind/Puli - 1/4 cup, soaked in warm water for 15-20 mins
Dates - 1/2 cup, seeds removed (I used seedless)
Jaggery (Vellam)/Brown sugar - 3/4 cup, powdered
Ginger - half inch piece, crushed/grated
Chilli powder, Cumin powder - half teaspoon each
Garam masala - a pinch
Salt - to taste

Method:
1) Extract juice from the soaked tamarind and keep aside.
2) In a pan, add the tamarind extract, coarsely chopped dates, jaggery and sufficient water. Allow to boil, then reduce flame and allow to cook for about 15 mins or so till the dates soften.
3) Allow this to cool a bit and blend together till smooth.
4) Return to the pan, add the masala powders and salt to taste and cook till it thickens sufficiently.
5) Cool and serve or store in an airtight bottle in the refrigerator.

Here's a quick snack that I put together with some leftover Punjabi Chole and some Aloo Tikkis... Top the tikkis with channa masala, freshly cut onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves and drizzle green chutney and this tamarind date chutney, topped with sev for a flavor explosion that is sure to tantalize your taste buds:

ALOO TIKKI CHANNA CHAAT