Indian-ish Nachos With Cheddar, Black Beans and Chutney

For tamarind sauce: Heat ½ - 1 tsp ground cumin in the bottom of a dry pan until fragrant, about 30 seconds, Add ¼ cup each tamarind paste, date syrup/maple syrup, juice of ½ lime and a pinch of salt. Simmer over low heat until heated though.

How do you make tamarind sauce from tamarind paste? Is it as simple as soaking some of the paste in hot water and blending?

I LOVED this! The cilantro chutney would be great for all kinds of other recipes. My changes: beans are not my friend, so I cooked skinless, boneless chicken thighs in a crock pot with a masala simmer sauce from Trader Joe’s until it easy easily shredded. I had no time to go get tamarind sauce, so made a combo of the maple syrup & some sweet chutney. No cumin seeds, so I used ground cumin in ghee. I look forward to making it with tamarind sauce, but this is definitely a keeper. So much flavor!

Amazing! A flavor sensation! I added pickled jalapenos because I can't make nachos without them. I had never used date syrup for tamarind sauce, but found some at the Indian market. This was by far the best tamarind sauce I've ever made: Heat 1/2 - 1 tsp ground cumin in the bottom of a dry pan until fragrant, 30 sec., add 1/4 C ea. tamarind paste and date syrup, juice of 1/2 lime and a pinch of black salt. Simmer over a low heat until heated though. These are the best nachos EVER!

It was good, but maybe too good. We ate too much and felt sick afterward. If you make it, have more than two people or control yourself.

If the tamarind sauce is a reference to "mithi chutney" used in Indian chaat dishes (likely given the green chutney), then its made of dates and tamarind + spices. That is work and those ingredients may not be everyday ingredients that some may want to purchase for a single dish. An easy substitute would be apple sauce + lemon juice + cumin powder + red chili powder + salt + water to thin to desired consistency. Most Indians who eat mithi chutney regularly cannot tell the difference in taste.

SH in SC + all: It's easy to make friends with beans with the help of kombu, a seaweed that mediates the hard-to-digest sugars in beans responsible for the toot factor. Eden brand canned beans are cooked with kombu before canning, or you can get packaged squares of kombu (I like Pacific brand) from Amazon or Whole Foods. You rinse off a square and pop it into your slow cooker or bean pot for the duration of cooking; it first gets a bit slimy and then cooks down and disappears into the recipe.

Made using papadums instead of tortilla chips!!

These were the BEST nachos I’ve ever had. You think you’re nachoed out and then this comes along. We had no black beans, so we cut up boneless chicken thighs and pan fried them first in chilli powder and cumin. Accidentally put chutney and tamarind sauce on each layer before baking, so they were a bit soggy (which I kinda dig anyways), next time one giant layer and sauce on after. It’s true about the chhonk! Don’t miss it! These will definitely happen at our next gathering, thank you NYT.

I’ve made these nachos three times and they are always a hit, especially with the teenagers. 4 cups of cheese made it too greasy. I’ve used half the cheese and prefer it that way.

Replace the black beans with channa masala and enjoy an even more amazing nacho. Love it. It was an experiment after having leftovers from take-out, but now I just order an extra side to make this with. Also, the scoop-shape chips work exceptionally well-- a sort of pani puri.

Pomegranate molasses is an excellent substitute for the tamarind sauce!

Do it just like that. Forget yogurt; go straight to sour cream. Forget it being an appetizer; eat it for dinner. Really.

Just made these at the cottage! SO good. Someone even said “best nachos ever.” We did the maple syrup variation on the tamarind sauce and it was the perfect hit of sweet with the tart chutney and spiced chhonk. Recipe is perfect as-is and easy to follow. Thank you!

My sister's tamarind chutney recipe: Lemon sized ball of tamarind soaked in hot water (or 3 tsp of concentrate) ½ cup dates chopped and soaked in hot water (rehydrated in hot water) Blend the two ingredients above and then strain. Should yield about 3-4 cups of liquid Add ½ tsp ginger powder ½ tsp cumin ½ tsp red chili powder 1 tsp salt 3 Tbsp Jaggery or brown sugar In a sauce pan on medium-low heat, reduce to 2 cups or so. Taste and adjust. Should be thick syrup.