This is it! The samosa dipping sauce everyone loves and wants to make at home!
There are many dipping sauces for samosas. I have quite a few here on the blog. But this red samosa dipping sauce is everyone's favourite.
The sauce is a delicious combination of sweet, sour, savoury and spicy. If there is one samosa dipping sauce recipe you need to know, it's this one!
About This Samosa Dipping Sauce Recipe
This is a Pakistani samosa dipping sauce. You will see it at Bangladeshi and Indian restaurants too but it is Pakistani in origin.
I shop a lot at a couple of local Pakistani grocers and they always give me some of this sauce when I purchase their homemade samosas. I asked for the recipe and they wrote it down for me. Of course their version was to make a large batch but I have reduced that down for the home cook. You're going to love this!
I made their recipe at home and it tasted exactly like the original. Then a thinned it some with more water and vinegar and also added chopped garlic which was also very good and authentic tasting.
What makes this samosa dipping sauce so popular?
It is the combination of sweet, sour, savoury and spicy flavours that make this the perfect dip for samosas and many other things such as onion bhajis and poppadoms.
You should use this recipe as a guide though. All of the ingredients are there but have a play with them so that you get the perfect flavour for your own personal taste preferences?
Ingredients
Fresh ingredients are key to getting the best flavour from this Samosa Dip recipe. You’ll find the ingredients listed below, while the precise amounts are provided in the recipe card at the end of the page. For smooth cooking and the best outcome, it’s a good idea to have everything measured and prepared before you begin.
See recipe card for quantities.
- rice vinegar
- water
- Kashmiri chilli powder
- ground cumin
- tsp ground coriander
- amchoor (dried mango powder
- chaat masala
- dried ginger
- mint sauce
- rapeseed (canola) oil
- tomato paste
- brown sugar
- red food colouring powder (more or less to preference and optional)
- garlic, minced (optional)
How do you adjust the flavour?
You need to try it just before taking it off the heat. There are four flavours that you can adjust.
- Sourness: You can make this samosa sauce more sour by adding a drop more vinegar or even a little more mint sauce. If you fine it too sour, add a drop more water.
- Savouriness: The savoury flavour comes from the chaat masala. You can add more of that or season with sea salt to taste.
- Sweetness: You get a hint of sweetness from the tomato paste but the sweetness is mainly from the jaggery. Feel free to add more.
- Spiciness: I use more chilli powder than suggested in this recipe. I like my samosa dipping sauce spicy. You might like that too and if you do, add a little more chilli powder.
Adjusting these key flavours will make the samosa dipping sauce perfect for you. You might also like to add more of the other ingredients. Be careful with the dried ginger though. It can quickly overpower the dip.
How do you serve this samosa dipping sauce?
This sauce is perfect on its own with samosas. You might like to go all out though and bring some more flavours to the table.
If so, try a few of my raita recipes or chutneys.
Step by step photos
Below, you’ll see step-by-step photographs to guide you through the recipe. At the bottom of the page, you’ll also find the full recipe card, which includes the complete list of ingredients and written instructions in an easy, printable format.
- Step 1: Pour two tbsp oil into a pan over a medium heat and stir in the tomato paste.
- Step 2: When the oil begins to separate from the paste, stir in the jaggery or light brown sugar.
- Step 3: Slowly melt the jaggery or sugar being very careful not to burn it.
- Step 4: Slowly melt the jaggery or sugar being very careful not to burn it.
- Step 5: Pour in the water, vinegar and spice mixture. If too thick for your liking, you can add a little more water or vinegar and adjust the seasoning.
- Step 6: Once you are happy with the consistency and flavour of the sauce, you can add a little red food colouring if you like. This is optional.
- Step 7: This is how my sauce was originally. Quite thick and I loved it. After his I added a drop more vinegar and water and some minced garlic. Perfection for me. My wife liked it better thick.
- Step 8: Whatever you decide, you are going to love this samosa dip!
Storage
Fridge: Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Flavours often develop even more after a night in the fridge.
Freezer: Portion and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge, then reheat gently on the hob or in the oven until piping hot.
Top Tip
Let the sauce sit for at least 30 minutes before serving – this allows the spices (especially amchoor, cumin, and ginger) to blend and the flavours to deepen.
FAQ
No, it’s purely optional and only affects the look, not the taste. The sauce will still be delicious without it.
Yes – it actually tastes better the next day as the spices develop. Store in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to a week.
You can replace it with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice for tang, though the flavour will be slightly fresher rather than the deep fruity sourness of amchoor
Related
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Pairing
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Have you tried this recipe?
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Samosa Dipping Sauce
This samosa dipping sauce is just like those you find at the best Pakistani shops and restaurants. The flavour and thickness can easily be adjusted to how you want it to be.
Ingredients
- 70ml (1/4 cup) rice vinegar
- 70ml (1/4 cup) water
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp amchoor (dried mango powder
- 1/2 tsp chaat masala
- 1/4 tsp dried ginger
- 1/2 tsp mint sauce
- 2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 4 generous tbsp jaggery or light brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp red food colouring powder (more or less to preference and optional)
- 1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
Instructions
- Pour the rice vinegar, water, chilli powder, cumin, coriander, amchoor, chaat masala, dried ginger and mint sauce into a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In a saucepan or frying pan, heat the oil over a medium heat and add the tomato paste. Fry the paste for a couple of minutes or until it begins to darken slightly and separates from the oil.
- Add the jaggery or light brown sugar and continue frying until it melts into the oil. Be very careful with the cooking temperature. You want to dissolve the sugar but not burn it.
- Pour in the water, vinegar, and spice mixture and bring to a boil. Take off the heat and allow to cool. At this stage, you can add food colouring to preference but that is optional and for presentation purposes only.
- Check for seasoning and consistancy. If you want a thinner sauce, you can add a little more vinegar or water. I ended up adding finely chopped garlic to mine too which was very nice.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 41Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 19mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 1gSugar: 9gProtein: 0g
Chantal says
Sir, this is the type of sauce you gatekeep, bottle up and sell commercially. Heavenly!
Dan Toombs says
Thank you, I love it too.
Dan
Edu Gomes says
Where do you add the garlic???
Dan Toombs says
You can add it, as the instructions in step 5 if you like it, as I do.
Thanks
Dan