Tamarind Date Chutney /Sweet Chutney

I had a big bag of rice crispy cereal. I make rice crispy treats for the kids with that. But, off late, they haven't been interested in it much. When I was sorting things in my pantry, I decided to use up some without making rice crispy treats. So, I made a spicy snack salad out of these. I used them instead of puffed rice in Bhel puri which is a street food in India. I kept it low in fat by not adding any deep fried crunchies to it.

One Year back - Ricotta Cheese Doodh Peda

Ingredients:
For the chutney (Makes about 2 1/2 cups and stores for a month in the refrigerator):

Dates - 25 Pitted and chopped coarsely
Tamarind - 1/2 cup soaked in enough water to get 2 cups of extract (See Notes)
Salt - to taste
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp or to taste (For milder heat, use paprika)
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp dry roasted and ground into powder
Jaggery or brown sugar - 1/2 cup or more to taste.

For the Rice Crispy Bhel:
Rice crispy cereal - 2 cups
Red Onion - chopped fine 1 small
Tomatoes - 2 small chopped fine
Cilantro - chopped about 2 TBSP
Roasted peanuts - 3 - 4 TBSP (optional)
Salt - to taste
Green chillies - 1 chopped fine (If you cannot take heat, remove seeds or skip it entirely)
Tamarind date chutney - 1/4 cup or more to taste

Method:
To make Chutney:
Soak tamarind in warm water and extract the juice. You can do it multiple times but limit the total water to about 2 1/2 cups and not more than that. Set aside. In a skillet, dry roast 1 tsp of cumin seeds. When they pop, take out and let it cool. When cool, powder in a mortar and pestle. Set aside. In a sauce pan, take chopped dates. Add tamarind extract and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes or till dates are soft. Add  brown sugar or powdered jaggery, salt, chilli powder and roasted cumin powder. Simmer for 2  - 3 more minutes and turn off the heat. Let it cool down a bit. Take the entire mixture in a blender / mixie and make a puree. If you feel the chutney is too thick, you can bring the whole mixture to a simmer adding a bit of water to thin down. Adjust the seasonings. When completely cool, store in a non-metallic container in the refrigerator. This will stay fresh for a month.

To make the rice crispy bhel:
Mix chopped onion, tomato, green chilli (if using), rice crispy cereal, salt. Garnish with cilantro, roasted peanuts. Add the tamarind date chutney and mix to coat everything. Taste and add more chutney if required. Serve/eat immediately.

Variations:
You could add boiled diced potatoes. You can even add some cut up apples. Could use raisins along with roasted peanuts as garnish. Idea is to make it a healthy snack.

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