Run your fingers through the seedless tamarind and remove any seeds, if you find any.
Add all the ingredients in the Instant Pot. Close the lid. Set the steam valve to sealing.
Pressure cook on high for 8 minutes.
When the cooking cycle is complete, release pressure by moving the steam valve to venting position.
Remove the lid. Use an immersion blender to puree the mixture. If using a blender, allow the tamarind-date mixture sauce to cool down for at least 10 minutes before pureeing it.
The puree should be smooth without any coarse bits so sieve the mixture using a strainer or a cheesecloth to get that texture if needed. Use the back of your spoon to fasten the straining process when using a strainer.
Let the mixture completely cool down. Refrigerate for up to a month or freeze for about 6 months.
Notes
Stovetop instructionsI have used an Instant Pot to fasten the process but you could make this chutney over stovetop too. All you need to do is bring the ingredients to boil. This will soften the dates and tamarind. Take off heat and then puree and strain the mixture.
Notes / Tips
The amount of water can vary depending on how thick or thin you want the tamarind sauce to be. I prefer it to be ready to use and that's why I use 3 cups.
The most popular ratio to make tamarind date chutney is to take tamarind, dates, and jaggery in a 1:1 ratio. This ratio does not work every time simply because the tanginess of tamarind can vary. That is why I use about 1/2 cup of tamarind to every 3/4 cup of dates and jaggery.
While I have used wet seedless tamarind, you could use any other version as well but like I have said before use a small amount, to begin with.
You can substitute black salt with salt. Black salt adds a nice tang to the dish.
I prefer using powdered jaggery - it is such a timesaver. You can also add chunks of jaggery but it is hard to estimate the quantity you'll need.
You can use strainer but I think a cheesecloth will be faster since you can squeeze it to get the juice strain out faster.
How to make tamarind chutney without dates
You can totally skip dates if you want to. I am pretty sure the Indian street vendors do it too because dates can be expensive. Substitute dates with an equal amount of jaggery to make a date free version of tamarind chutney.