This chaat masala dressing is sweet, spicy, and tangy. Drizzle chaat sauce over a salad, a fruit salad, or even fried potatoes! You can use this chaat sauce the same way you would use a vinaigrette or marinade.
Chaat Sauce = Chaat Masala Dressing
Chaat masala dressing is one of my favorite condiments! It’s made with tangy chaat spices like amchoor (dried raw mango powder), roasted cumin seeds, and sulfurous black salt. These spices add so much flavor to this chaat sauce which is also made up of coconut sugar (or jaggery) and water.
If you’re reading this post and thinking, “um, I’ve never heard of chaat sauce” before? That’s because I made it up. But the bigger question is, why isn’t chaat sauce a thing already?! Chaat sauce (which is an amazing name because it obvi sounds like hot sauce) is both hot and sweet! It’s a sweet and spicy, hot and tangy sauce that you can literally put on ANYTHING.
I seriously need to bottle this stuff, slap a label on it, and sell it because y’all chaat sauce is the bomb.
But I won’t… because that sounds like way too much work. So instead, here I am sharing my genius recipe for free on the blog, so y’all can make it for yourselves lol.
How to Use Chaat Sauce:
- Use it as a dip, marinade, chutney, vinaigrette, dressing, or sauce.
- Put it on fried or baked Indian snacks like Aloo Pakoras, Onion Pakoras, or Samosas.
- Pour it over ripe fresh fruit!
This time of year, I love using chaat sauce on fresh fruit. I love chaat masala and will sometimes sprinkle it on fruit (watermelon, sliced bananas, mango, you name it). But this chaat sauce takes fruit salad to another level. My recipe for fruit chaat will be coming to a blog near you soon (my blog. this blog guys!). Update: here is my recipe for Fruit Chaat!
This recipe is one I created three years ago – I shared it in my first eBook, South Asian Persuasion, and I’m just now sharing it on the blog. If you’re interested in other awesome recipes, then be sure to check out my book 🙂
I know you will love my chaat sauce a lot… like, A LOT. So feel free to leave me a comment raving about how awesome this sauce is 😉
Chaat Sauce (Chaat Masala Dressing)
Chaat Sauce (Chaat Masala Dressing)
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder (bhuna jeera)
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup sugar or jaggery or coconut sugar
- ¼ cup amchur powder dried mango powder
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- ½ teaspoon kala namak (black salt) black salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Stovetop:
- Combine all of the ingredients into a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Cook for 25 minutes or until reduced by about half. Stir occasionally.
- Allow the mixture to cool down, strain the liquid through a strainer.
- Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to one week.
Instant Pot
- Add all of the ingredients to the Instant Pot and mix well.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 5 minutes at high pressure.
- Quick release.
- Let the sauce cool down, then store it in the fridge for up to one week.
Rose says
Is really necessary to go to all the trouble to toast and grind 1 tsp of cumin seeds instead of just using ground cumin?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Rose, yes – roasted cumin has a completely different flavor than regular ground cumin. I wrote a post about it if you want to learn more: https://myheartbeets.com/roasted-cumin-powder-bhuna-jeera-powder/
Monika Monga says
I kind of forgot about using Amchoor . I have been using tamarind. Thanks. Best wishes always.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Thank you! 🙂
Susan says
This looks very interesting. I am not so familiar with all the ingredients and am curious to know where the lovely color comes from and is this similar to the sauce that is served with bel puri?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Susan! The color comes from the amchur powder (dried green mango powder), coconut sugar/jaggery, and roasted cumin. And yes, it’s very similar to tamarind chutney, though here the fruity tanginess comes from dried green mango powder rather than the tamarind. I hope that helps! Let me know if you give it a try 🙂
Saraja says
How can you have chaat dressing or fruit chaat without chaat masala?
That’s ridiculous!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Saraja, this recipe is made with a lot of the same spices that are in the chaat masala. You can have chaat flavor without using a pre-packaged spice mix the same way that you can make your own chaat masala spice blend. Hope that explanation helps.
Liz says
This should come with a warning, it’s so seriously addictive. Honestly, one of the most amazing things I’ve ever tasted. I used it as a dressing over sauteed kale and fennel with a chickpea pancake this evening and just wanted more and more of it. I can easily see myself making a batch every week, and passing jars of it on to friends and relatives at every opportunity. Thank you so much for publishing it
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Liz, that’s so great to hear! Thank you for letting me know how much you like this recipe 🙂
Tejal says
Hi Ashley!
We loved this sauce! It’s the perfect mix of spicy, sweet, and salty and we are using it all the way in East Africa with some very fresh seasonal tropical fruit!
Quick question, do you use fresh ground ginger or ground ginger powder (we went with the powder to be safe but wanted to verify).
Thanks!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Tejal! That’s so great to hear! To answer your question, I use ground ginger powder 🙂
Aparna Devershetty says
Thank you for the recipe. I substituted Cayenne with Red Chilli Powder and it still came out really yummy. I posted it on my blog too. Referred to your link there.
My Heart Beets says
Aparna, I’m so glad to hear that 🙂 Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you!
Kaushala Murali says
First time I am trying this out. Used instant pot. I also used coconut sugar instead of using. Jaggery. But the source did not thinker. I need to be liquidity or much creamer?
Anu says
Looks yummy! Are you supposed to grind the cumin after roasting it?
My Heart Beets says
Thanks! Yes – I grind it! Will make that more clear in the directions, thanks for asking!
purvi says
Does it have to be coconut jaggery? Or is regular jaggery is fine?
My Heart Beets says
regular jaggery 🙂 I just list coconut sugar as an option for those following a paleo diet 🙂
Namrata says
How long does it last in refrigerator?
My Heart Beets says
You can keep it in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for I’d say up to a month or two.
Jill | sugarspicelifeblog says
I love this idea! it is a perfect side dressing for veggies and lentils during the summer! I’m sure it gives you that chaat flavor without having to pull out the bag of deep fried mixes!
My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Jill! 🙂
Maneesha says
I was just thinking to myself that I have soo much jaggery at home and that it’ll take me a lifetime to finish it all! And then, ta-da! Your chaat sauce recipe popped up! Perfect! Can’t wait to try this! Your coconut flour naan is on the menu for this weekend too!
My Heart Beets says
Maneesha, that’s awesome! I can’t wait to hear what you think of the chaat sauce and the coconut flour naan 🙂