5 Indian sauces to take your samosa to the next level!
Whether it is morning or evening, breakfast or tea-time, the image of a piping hot samosa served on a plate is a tempting sight. And it’s not just you who’s drooling over treat; the samosa has found an audience across the country in every nook and corner! But this triangular treat is incomplete without a single element that is designed to take its taste to the next level: the sauce. Samosas today are served with a variety of sauces (mostly tomato for those who are lazy), but they were never designed to move away from a small set of amazing Indian food dipping sauces, commonly called chutneys. With recipes passed down over many centuries and argued about by members of every generation, here’s our pick of the best chutneys to dip your hot and crispy samosa into:
Tangy Imli chutney
One of the most common authentic Indian sauces, tamarind or imli chutney is an automatic choice for all samosa lovers as a sidekick to their snack. The chutney is the full package: the tamarind water gives the right amount of sourness to be counteracted by the sweetness of the jaggery. The jeera and saunf powders, combined with a pinch of hing, give the chutney its authentic Indian flavour that reminds you of home no matter where you are. Finally, what would a chutney be without a bit of spiciness and saltiness to round off the whole experience? A mix of chilli powder, ginger and black salt fill all the gaps to make sure you have the best partner for your evening samosa snack! The sweetness of the chutney can also be enhanced by adding date syrup and raisins to the mix. The choices may be many, but the end result will always be sweet!
Spicy Pudina chutney
Where there is sweet, there must be spicy, and where there is red, there must be green! Mint or pudina chutney is the other major love of all samosa enthusiasts, often being seen on the same plate as the imli chutney and slowly encroaching on whatever space is remaining on the plate. While this chutney seems fresh, bright and green, it packs a huge punch when it reaches your mouth. It starts with the cool flavour of mint spreading all across your palate, lulling your senses before the lemon and black salt jolt you back to attention. It’s only then that the other green ingredient of the chutney starts to show itself: the heat of the green chillies. Soon, you’ll start to feel the burn and reach for the imli chutney, but there are others who will just go back for another dip of the pudina chutney. Whichever person you are, one thing is for sure: you can never eat a samosa without chutney ever again!
Tasty Tomato chutney
Moving on to more modern territory, we come to a more recent type of chutney that takes a traditional twist on tomato sauce, which most people today think is the type of sauce that goes well with samosas. Tomato chutney is an easy, and some would say, better replacement for tomato sauce and involves three of Indian’s favourite vegetables: tomato, onion and ginger. This fun sauce combines the slightly sour taste of fresh tomatoes with the sweetness of caramelised onions, all made even more delicious with the heat of ginger and chilli powder, along with turmeric, jeera and garlic. With a small piece of jaggery to top off all the flavours, this chutney is sure to go lip-smackingly well with fresh samosas. Plus, it can even be stored for quite some time in the fridge so that it’s always ready when the craving hits you.
Fiery red garlic chutney
All the chutneys so far have been a mix of multiple flavours. But if you’re a hothead that wants nothing but spice to up the flavours of your samosa, then we’ve got just the chutney for you! Red garlic chutney, which is usually used for dosas, is the perfect Indian food dipping sauce for your next snack-time samosa meal. This chutney goes all-out on the spice factor, bringing together the heat of red chillies with the raw flavour of garlic. The red chillies are dried before being ground to enhance their spicy flavour and a twist of lemon helps them truly bring out their deliciousness, along with salt and crushed garlic. Although it may see contrary to the point, even adding a bit of sugar to the chutney while grinding actually helps increase its spiciness. Once finished, the orangish-yellow glow of the chutney becomes an inviting sight as you dip your samosas into it for a tasty but fiery treat!
Golden Aam chutney
We end this journey with a sauce made from the king of fruits, a tangy, spicy chutney that gives your samosas a unique taste. While not the most popular sauce, aam chutney is one of the best choices when you want to broaden your horizons and try some new tastes. This chutney just works, thanks to the sweetness of the mangoes and the spice of red pepper flakes, along with saly and pepper to enhance the flavour. The best part? How the chutney will change based on when you make it in the year, since every variety of mango gives aam chutney a different taste. So get experimenting and find out which mango and which season is the best for you so that you can enjoy your piping hot samosa with a golden pool of mango chutney in peace!
Conclusion
Samosas are some of the most common Indian snacks enjoyed by individuals from across the country. Such a uniquely local snack deserves authentic Indian sauces to enjoy it with. Each of the chutneys described brings out a different aspect of the samosa and combining them creates delicacies that are as different and unique as the people eating them. So go ahead, pick up a samosa and dip it into your favourite chutney for a flavour explosion that is worth all the effort!