What's that sauce with samosas?

When we get samosas at Tiffin on Devon they come with a burgundy-colored sweet sauce for dipping.
Does anybody know the name of that sauce and if there's a place where I can buy it by the jar and keep at home?
At the very least does somebody have a recipe?

Thanks!

Usually, a tamarind chutney, available at any Indian market, most Asian markets, and a goodly number of generic supermarkets.

I've never made it myself.

That's probably tamarind chutney. You can get it in a jar at any of the groceries on Devon.

Here is my recipe:*

2/3 cup tamarind pulp (processed from dried tamarind at home or prepared in a jar).
1/3 cup date syrup.
1 small onion, chopped.
2 hot chile peppers, chopped.
teaspoon ground cumin
teaspoon ground coriander
salt to taste

Blend it all up. Add tiny bits of water to achieve proper consistency. If it's too tart, add date syrup or sugar. Refrigerate for an hour or so to let the flavors meld.

* I make no claims to authenticity with this recipe. But it is damn good.

I believe that's tamarind sauce but I don't have a recipe.

Tamarind chutney. Sweetening agents could be dates, jaggery, sugar, etc..varies by brand. imho, buy it.

You can buy it in jars at either Patel Brothers or Kamdar Plaza on Devon (or any Indian grocer) - there are a variety of brands, just ask in the store for "imli chutney" & they'll point you to the right shelf.

The chaat counter at Kamdar has chutney that they make themselves available in small tubs to buy as well.

I wouldn't spend time making it unless you're going to use a lot, but if you decide to google "imli chutney recipe" & lots of options come up. They vary by degree of sweetness & spiciness & it's difficult to recommend a specific recipe without knowing how spicy or not you like it. The recipes are pretty basic - just experiment by adding sugar & spices til you find something to your taste. Note, imli is very sour - you will probably need quite a bit of sugar/sweetener. If you make a batch, it freezes well to store.

Most traditional recipes start with soaking dried slabs of tamarind paste or pods which you can also buy in the stores, but save yourself some time & effort & buy the jars of reconstituted tamarind paste if you're in a rush.

Try Tahoora's version. If you like it, it might still be free. The last time I was there, they had packets of it for taking like ketchup packets in bins.

That was informative! How about the green stuff?

Jen

The green stuff is also available in jars, but it's basically a cilantro pesto and much better fresh:here's a recipethat looks right.

Mhays wrote:The green stuff is also available in jars, but it's basically a cilantro pesto and much better fresh:here's a recipethat looks right.

That recipe does look about right.

My wife's secret is that she adds a small handful of peanuts (whatever we have on hand...dry roasted, cocktail, it's all good) to the almost-finished chutney, then blends them in. This gives it a bit of body (and makes your pesto comparison all the more apt).

My mom's been making the stuff all my life, and always thought hers was the best...so it was quite hilarious when she sheepishly admitted my wife's was better

Another recipe I googled included "a tennis-table sized ball of jaggery" which seemed all wrong to me - though if I think about it, I've had some somewhere on Devon that seemed sweet - I always assumed that it was an Americanization, but perhaps it is a regional preference?

Mhays wrote:Another recipe I googled included "a tennis-table sized ball of jaggery" which seemed all wrong to me - though if I think about it, I've had some somewhere on Devon that seemed sweet - I always assumed that it was an Americanization, but perhaps it is a regional preference?

That would make sense for the imli chutney, although I prefer the date-sweetened variety mentioned upthread. But adding jaggery to dhania chutney would be (in my opinion, of course) gross.

Also, in the spirit of laziness, I like Maggi Tamarina sauce (found at Patel Bros., among other places) as a quick-n-dirty imli chutney substitute.