Date & Tamarind Chicken
This Date & Tamarind Chicken is so tasty and easy to make. Chicken breasts are cooked in a tangy, sweet, and spicy, date and tamarind sauce.
My love affair with Indian food went up a notch in my tweens, when my parents and sister and I moved into an apartment about a hundred feet from a little South Indian Restaurant called The Palace. During the latter part of the 80’s, we lived in the heart of Abu Dhabi (U.A.E.) where we were surrounded by huge apartment and office buildings and it was at the bottom of one of these apartment buildings that The Palace operated out of.
They were a little hole in the wall, with mismatched tables and chairs and stained menus, but they made the best fish masala, vegetable kofta, and samosas I had tasted. Along with their samosas, they would often include a Date and Tamarind chutney for dunking and dipping. I could have drunk that date and tamarind chutney out of a bucket – it was that good!
As I got older and moved countries, I have had many versions of that Date and Tamarind chutney at different restaurants, but none were quite like what The Palace served. As I got even older and playing with fire and sharp objects became more acceptable, I started experimenting in my kitchen – trying to recreate that chutney.
I tried many variations – perused many recipes online – and retried and retried – but something always seemed off. Now, my adapted concoctions were not bad – they were just not quite what I was hoping for. The basics of this Date and Tamarind chutney involved soaked dates, tamarind concentrate/paste, brown sugar, and spices. After awhile I started to include apple cider vinegar, which added that tangy part I was looking for…but…still …it was not quite right.
So, when the opportunity presented itself -through my Social Fabric / #CollectiveBias membership- to try out De Nigris Vinegars, it was like that hamster in my brain woke up with a start and went full throttle on that little wheel of hers, resulting in me adding healthy and all natural De Nigris Italian Herbs Seasoned White Wine Vinegar to this Date and Tamarind concoction…and…voila…perfection – at least to my tastebuds #lovemyvinegar!
I used this Date and Tamarind mix as a marinade and reserved some for a dipping sauce as well, for this chicken. This Date and Tamarind concoction also works as a marinade for tofu, turkey, and pork – and works just as well if used on the grill, in an oven or in a pan on a stove-top. This chutney/mix/sauce can also be made and stored for future use.
De Nigris is a 3rd generation, family owned company whose seasoned White Wine Vinegars are made in Italy. The Seasoned White Wine Vinegars come in: •Original •Roasted Garlic, and •Italian Herbs. De Nigris also produces a Balsamic Vinegar as well.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dates soaked overnight in water
- 1 cup and 1/4 cup water
- 2 teaspoons tamarind concentrate
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons De Nigris Italian Herbs Seasoned White Vine Vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 2 chicken breasts cubed
- olive oil
Instructions
- Drain and rinse the dates (which had been soaking overnight)
- Then, place the dates, 1 cup of the water, and tamarind concentrate in a pan and bring to a boil,
- Lower and simmer for 10 minutes – while simmering, add the salt, pepper, chili, cayenne, cumin and De Nigris Vinegar and mix well
- Then, add this mixture and the other 1/4 cup o water to a blender or a food processor and blend till smooth
- Reserve about 2-3 tablespoons for dipping.
- Place the cubed chicken in a plastic bag and to this add the remaining Date and Tamarind Sauce and mix till the marinade is well distributed among the chicken – let chicken sit for at least 30 minutes
- Heat some olive oil in a pan over medium heat and to this, add the chicken and marinade, gently stirring till chicken is cooked through.
- Garnish with parsley and serve with reserved Date and Tamarind Sauce.
Nutrition
Ingredients
- 1 cup dates soaked overnight in water
- 1 cup and 1/4 cup water
- 2 teaspoons tamarind concentrate
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons De Nigris Italian Herbs Seasoned White Vine Vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 2 chicken breasts cubed
- olive oil
Instructions
- Drain and rinse the dates (which had been soaking overnight)
- Then, place the dates, 1 cup of the water, and tamarind concentrate in a pan and bring to a boil,
- Lower and simmer for 10 minutes - while simmering, add the salt, pepper, chili, cayenne, cumin and De Nigris Vinegar and mix well
- Then, add this mixture and the other 1/4 cup o water to a blender or a food processor and blend till smooth
- Reserve about 2-3 tablespoons for dipping.
- Place the cubed chicken in a plastic bag and to this add the remaining Date and Tamarind Sauce and mix till the marinade is well distributed among the chicken - let chicken sit for at least 30 minutes
- Heat some olive oil in a pan over medium heat and to this, add the chicken and marinade, gently stirring till chicken is cooked through.
- Garnish with parsley and serve with reserved Date and Tamarind Sauce.
I definitely have a love affair with Indian food. Samosas, mango chutney, curry, tandoor chicken, and on and on. I will eat it all! This looks delicious. I’ve never tried Date & Tamarind chutney
Thank You Lindsay – ooh I adore mango chutney too! Have you been to Cherians in Decatur? They have an amazing array of chutneys!
Nope. We should go!!!
This giveaway looks AMAZING!! And that chicken. Oh my goodness…SO DELICIOUS!!!-Ashley
Thanks so much Ashley – good luck with the giveaway!
oh my gawd, this chicken looks fabulous and what a great giveaway!!! hey, I wanted to ask you: I just saw you leave 6 comments on my blog but most were duplicate comments. . did you keep hitting enter by chance? just want to see if there’s something funky going on on my end. please let me know if you get a chance, thank you!!
Thanks so much – I think the error was on my end – my screen froze and I was slapping keys – so sorry lady!
Shashi! There are just no words to describe how delicious this looks. Laura loves (I mean LOVES) Indian food. I’m slowly coming around to it…but I think a big plate of this date tamarind chicken would help me come around sooner. 🙂 Also, what is it about little hole-in-the-wall restaurants? They’re often times the best food ever! Thank you so much for sharing this awesomeness!! 🙂
Thanks David!!!
NYC has it’s share of wonderful hole-in-the-wall Indian restaurants – when I visited my sis when she used to live there, she took me to this little place – there was room only for a table with 2 chairs – stacked in 5 rows- down a narrow walkway – but the food – oh wow – it was so so good! Clearly when I come to y’alls neck of the woods, Laura and I have to hang! 🙂
You and Laura totally need to hang! Only problem is we live about 3 hours north of NYC. You’ll have to catch a train…but the good news is it’s a beautiful trip right alongside the Hudson River. 🙂
Ohh – I’ll take 3 hrs on a train over 3 hrs behind the wheel anyday! 🙂
Tamarind is one of my favorite flavors.. especially in sweets. Your chicken looks so savory and cooked to perfection that I’m wishing for a big piece!
Thanks so much Pamela – I only use tamarind in savory dishes – I am so intrigued by your use of it in sweets!
Is tamarind concentrate the same as tamarind paste? If so, I’ve everything necessary to make this date & tamarind chutney happen tonight. It looks so good…
Thanks Mike – as far as I know, tamarind paste and concentrate are the same…
Such a gorgeous dish, Shashi! I bet the vinegar added boatloads of flavor! Great giveaway, too! Stumbled, Tweeted, Pinned… pretty much shouted this out from the mountain tops 🙂
Aww-You so rock – thank you so much, sweet friend! Yes – the vinegar added tons of flavor and worked so well in marrying the dates, tamarind and brown sugar!
This is such a fabulous combo of flavors! Totally pinning 😉
Thanks so much Rebecca!
This sounds amazing – that sauce is making me so hungry!
Thanks so much Jeanette!
You are making my mouth water with this date and tamarind sauce. Looks amazing. 🙂 Congratulations on hosting such a lovely giveaway. 🙂
Thank you so very much!
Not sure I can find tamarind concentrate here…is there anything I can use instead? The chicken looks droolworthy, Shashi.
Thanks so much Angie – I have used lime juice and dark brown sugar mixed together before – but unfortunately, I don’t remember the exact quantities, I would add dark brown sugar to the juice of a lime till the mix was slightly sweet but still tart-ish – hope this helps…
Stains on the menu… haha all Indian restaurants are the same. I hate sticky menus though!
You have wonderful memories shashi thank you for sharing them with us. =)
We have a tamarind tree giving great amounts of fruits if the monkeys and squirrels are not eating them. The harvest season is more around summer time so when they ripen I will be making your dish. It looks amazing!
Thank you for your sweet comment Helene. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fresh tamarind tree!!! Here’s hoping all the monkeys and squirrels stay away and y’all have a plentiful harvest!
I cook with tamirand a great deal when I make Thai food but you have found a fun way to combine the flavors. Your chicken with the little bit of sweet, sour and tangy from the vinegar sounds perfect and your photos make me want to grab a bite off of your dish. Gorgeous dish!
Thank you so much BAM! The vinegar really added so much to this dish!
This date and tamarind delight sings to my soul. I love those two flavors together. I’ve never heard of that vinegar but isn’t it nice to know your memory is complete. 🙂
Haha – yes, it is nice indeed Maureen!
Thank you so much!
Excellent 🙂
I had to look up what Tamarind Concentrate is, but I see it’s Tamarind Paste, and being a huge lover of Indian Food, I already have that in my cupboard! So I’m printing this one out to try soon. Thanks Shashi 😀
Thank you so much Neil – I am honored! Would love to hear what you think of it…
This was really good – my daughter and I stuffed ourselves full of chicken last night – I forgot the veggies! gah! 🙂
Hey Shashi, I just made this, and it is quite simply amazing! I had to stop Lynne from dipping a finger in it and tasting it every 5 seconds. 😉
I thought I would try it out today, as I’m having a curry party tonight with friends, and it is an ideal dipping sauce to go with the vegetable pakoras I’m making! They will love it. 🙂
I had to use ready to eat pitted dates (but still soaked them overnight) as I couldn’t get fresh dates, and also just ordinary white wine vinegar (sorry De Negris). Also I take it I put the sugar in at the right point, with the other ingredients when simmering in the pan? Tastes great that way anyway.
I can see how this would be great cooked in the chicken too. So tasty, such a versatile sauce!
Thanks again for another amazing recipe! I’ll let you know what my guests think. 😀
Neil – your comment just made my day – thanks so much for not only making this date and tamarind chutney but also coming back to let me know! I so appreciate that! By the way, it seems to get better as it ages in the fridge – I used ready to eat pitted dates too (I am sorry I didn’t make that clear) – yes the sugar goes in the pan with all the other ingredients too! I hope your curry party was a blast!
Thanks again Neil!
Wow what a generous give way!! This chicken sounds divine- love the sweet & salty combination! We make a similar kind of chutney with tamarind but I never would have thought to eat it with chicken- good call, Shachi :)!
Thanks so much Khushboo – I slather that date and tamarind mix on EVERYTHING – had it with tofu tonight – my daughter and I have happy bellies 🙂