We all love some zing in our food, right? What can you use instead of vinegar when a recipe calls for souring agents? Learn about the common natural sour ingredients that are used in Indian cooking!
Of all the tastes we know, the two I can't give up are salty and sour. Almost all the dishes I make—whether it's simple peas and corn salad or the more nuanced shahi paneer—need a sour ingredient. Cooking without one feels like a world without color!
My cooking style, as you know, focuses on simplicity and natural ingredients such as tamarind, lime, and tomatoes over synthetic vinegar when cooking with souring agents. A splash of lime juice, a couple of tomatoes, or a spoonful of tamarind extract not only elevates the dish but also adds its own unique flavor.
For easier navigation, I have organized this article into sections. Feel free to use the links below to jump to the section you want to read first.
Jump to:
- Which acid is souring agent?
- What are the souring agents used in Indian cuisine?
- Lime and Lemons as Sour Ingredients
- Is tomato a souring agent?
- Tamarind - the main sour ingredient in South Indian cooking
- Curd - the ubiquitous sour ingredient!
- Amla (Indian gooseberry) - the superfood!
- Green (unripe) mango - a seasonal delight!
- Pomegranate - sweet and sour
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Comments
Which acid is souring agent?
The most common acids that are used as souring agents in cooking are:
- Citric acid - found in lemons, limes, and pomegranate.
- Ascorbic acid - found in amla and oranges.
- Tartaric acid - found in tamarind, grapes, and bananas.
- Malic acid - found in plums, peaches, apricots.
- Acetic acid - found in vinegar.
- Lactic acid - found in fermented foods such as curd (yogurt) and buttermilk.
- Oxalic acid - found in dark leafy greens, nuts, and green (unripe) mangoes.
What are the souring agents used in Indian cuisine?
Indian cuisine, for the most part, relies on natural souring agents. Some of the most commonly used sour agents for cooking in India are:
- Limes and lemons
- Tomatoes - both green and red
- Tamarind
- Homemade curd
- Amla (Indian Gooseberry)
- Pomegranate
- Green mangoes - fresh and dried
Some not-so-common souring agents that are used in some regional cooking are:
- Kokum (Garcinia Indica)
- Star fruit, also known as carambola.
- Bael, also known as stone apple.
Vinegar in Indian cooking
Vinegar, a dilute solution of acetic acid, is not a commonly used souring agent in Indian cooking. It is used in certain regional dishes and for specific purposes such as pickling.
Vinegar is most commonly used in Goan dishes such as vindaloo and balchao. It is also used in Indo-Chinese dishes such as chowmein and manchurian.
White vinegar and apple cider vinegar are the most commonly used ones.
Lime and Lemons as Sour Ingredients
Although limes and lemons are often used interchangeably, did you know they differ significantly in tartness? Limes are more tart than lemons.
When I think of limes, I think of lime pickles, something I grew up on. As a little girl, I remember helping my mom dry salted wedges of lime in the winter sun and, once dried, mixing them with oil and spices to make delicious and spicy lime pickles.
If you have eaten North Indian food at any restaurant or roadside eatery in India, you will almost always be given a few lime wedges to squeeze over your dal, paneer tikka, or aloo palak! I use lime juice to also zing up my chutneys (this chana dal chutney 😊!).
Read more about the difference between limes and lemons.
The best way to get maximum flavor from lemon or lime juice is by adding it at the end of the cooking process, after taking the dish off the heat, as I do in this sweet potato turmeric soup and this yellow lentil soup.
Note:
Since lemon juice is less tangy than the juice of lime, if a recipe calls for lime juice and you want to use lemon instead, just increase the quantity of lemon juice.
Lime juice is a good substitute for vinegar in pickling. These quick pickled carrots and daikon have no vinegar in them. The acidity of limes helps tenderize the vegetables in this chia seed salad and brings together all the flavors in this mung bean salad. Nimbu paani, or shikanji, is a refreshing summer thirst quencher popular across India.
Buying and storing limes and lemons: Look for ones that are plump and feel heavy in hand, indicating they contain plenty of juice. Store them in the refrigerator for the best flavor and longest life.
Top tip:
To make the fruit pliable and easy to squeeze, take the lime or lemon out of the fridge 10 minutes before you need it, massage it between your palms for a few seconds, and then cut it.
Is tomato a souring agent?
Yes, tomatoes—both green and red—are natural souring agents commonly used in cuisines around the world. They add tangy and umami flavors to dishes.
💡 Fun fact:
Did you know that tomatoes are fruits and belong to the nightshade family (as do eggplants, potatoes, and chilies)?
Tomatoes being such a versatile ingredient, I love using them in all their forms—raw, cooked, sun-dried, pureed, and baked—in curries, gravies, sauces, soups, and salads.
When I cook Indian dishes like this dhaba style palak paneer and dal palak, tomatoes provide a subtle tangy flavor. In dishes like aloo matar, bhindi masala, and smoked eggplant curry, the tomato flavor is more predominant.
Tomatoes are the main vehicle for flavor in dishes like macaroni tomato and hearty marinara sauce, as well as a serving sauce for paneer zucchini recipe.
Buying and storing tomatoes: When buying tomatoes, look for ones that are evenly red and still firm. If possible, buy ones on the vine and store them without removing the stalks. The vine keeps them nourished and fresh for much longer!
Top tip:
Refrigerating tomatoes reduces their flavor. Store them in an open basket at room temperature.
Tamarind - the main sour ingredient in South Indian cooking
My childhood food memories are incomplete without the flavor of tamarind. Whether it’s the tangy-spicy pulihora (tamarind rice) or the sweet and sour tamarind sauce served with street foods like chaat and pakoras, tamarind is in my blood.
Tamarind, a seed pod filled with seeds and fibrous pulp, is a fruit that grows on trees. The word tamarind is derived from the Arabic word tamar hind, which means "Indian date."
The dark brown pulpy flesh of the fruit has a sweet-tangy, date-like taste. Tamarind is widely used as a souring ingredient in Indian cooking as well as in Southeast Asian and Latin American cuisines and is sold as fresh fruit pods or as an extract.
Tamarind extract - a quick recipe:
Soak 50g of deseeded tamarind in 200 ml of hot water for 10 minutes. Squeeze the fruit well with your fingers. You will get an extract that is thick and pulpy. Scoop the pulp and fibers out with your fingers or strain through a sieve. Store in a glass jar in the fridge.
See this post for the detailed tamarind paste recipe.
I use tamarind extensively in my cooking and always have a bottle of homemade tamarind extract in my fridge!
My onion chutney, mint coconut chutney, and dosakaya pachadi (spicy cucumber salad) are incomplete without it!
In this bitter melon recipe, and mukkala pulusu (mixed vegetable stew) tamarind and jaggery together balance the flavors.
Curd - the ubiquitous sour ingredient!
In most parts of India, curd is a mandatory part of a meal because the good bacteria in it aid digestion. Curd is also commonly used to add tanginess to a dish.
In most Indian homes, setting curd is a daily activity, usually made with full-fat cow or buffalo milk.
It is made by adding a small amount of already prepared curd (containing natural lactic acid bacteria) to warm milk and allowing it to ferment at room temperature. Since the cultures used are not standardized and can vary, curd tends to have a variable taste and texture, depending on the type of milk and environmental conditions. Depending on the dish, I use either fresh curd (as soon as it sets) or allow it to ferment until it reaches the desired level of tartness.
Cooking with curd can be tricky. Over the years, I have learned some tricks that work! For instance, when making gravies and sauces, I whisk it well and almost always add a binding ingredient such as rice flour or chickpea flour. I then turn the heat to its lowest setting and add the curd to the dish. To prevent it from curdling, I let the curd come to a boil gently and then let it simmer, rather than boiling it rapidly.
Another way I like to include curd in my diet is as raita. This cucumber raita comes together in five minutes and is a regular feature in our household. Beetroot raita and this tomato raitha are perfect for scooping up with roti or naan.
Amla (Indian gooseberry) - the superfood!
Amla in Sanskrit literally means “sour.” Ayurveda, the ancient science of healing, holds this ingredient in high regard and gives it the status of a superfood.
As a child, when I felt under the weather, my grandfather, an Ayurvedic practitioner, would ask me to eat some hot, soft-cooked rice with ghee and a chutney made of amla.
When cooking with amla, bear in mind that a little goes a long way! It adds a delicious piquancy to the dish and tastes best when balanced with other flavors. In this amla pudina chutney, for instance, it blends beautifully with cilantro and mint.
Buying and storing amla: When buying fresh, look for plump, glossy ones that are evenly light green. You will find fresh or frozen gooseberries in most Indian supermarkets.
Store amla in the refrigerator, and they will stay fresh for about 3-4 days. If you have bought a large quantity, cut them into pieces, discard the stone, and freeze them in bags.
Green (unripe) mango - a seasonal delight!
Mangoes, a summer fruit, are delicious and versatile, adding a burst of tropical flavor to any dish! In India, the mango is much loved and revered as the king of fruits.
The flavor of unripe mangoes ranges from mildly tangy to tongue-tingling sour, reminding me of Indian summer and the seasonal ritual of making pickles for the whole year!
When in season, unripe mangoes are added to dishes—from green chutney to dal and salads—giving them a fresh burst of flavor.
To prepare mangoes for cooking, start by peeling the skin with a sharp knife or vegetable peeler. Then, cut the fleshy part of the fruit into small, bite-sized cubes, discarding the tough, fibrous seed at the center.
Aamras, a refreshing drink made with green mangoes, is extremely popular in Northern parts of India during the summer months when the sun is scorching and temperatures can reach up to 120°F (50°C) in some parts!
Have you ever tried raw mango wedges dipped in a mixture of salt and ground red chili? This is a popular summer snack in South India. Yum! 😋
Buying and storing mangoes: Pick ones that are evenly green, firm to the touch, and have a lovely fragrance. Since unripe mangoes have a short season, the best ways to use them when out of season are to freeze or sun-dry and make them into a powder (more on that later).
Freezing green mangoes:
Peel and cut them into cubes, discarding the seed. Freeze them in freezer-safe bags for up to 3 months.
Another popular way to preserve them is to make amchur—powdered mango.
Amchur is easily available in Indian supermarkets, but if you have a bounty of green mangoes and want to make it at home, peel, slice, and sun-dry them until they are completely dry and have turned dark brown. Place them in a high-speed grinder jar and grind them to a fine powder. Cool it completely and store it in a clean glass jar for up to one year.
Pomegranate - sweet and sour
The pomegranate is truly a gem of a fruit! Its ruby-red seeds and sweet-tart juice add a sparkle to dishes.
Thought to have originated in Persia, pomegranates feature in many Indian dishes, where the fruit adds a distinctive flavor to gravies, chutneys, and even drinks.
Fun fact:
The jewel-like seeds, known as arils, are high in fiber, vitamins C and K, folate, and potassium.
Buying pomegranates: The best pomegranates are available from July through December. Look for ones that feel tight and heavy, indicating that they are fresh and full of juicy seeds. The leathery skin should be shiny and free of cracks or spots.
Releasing the seeds of a pomegranate: Getting the seeds out of the tough skin can be quite tricky. Releasing the seeds without having the deep red juice squirt out on your clothes and kitchen counter is a skill!
Score the pomegranate around its perimeter with a sharp knife. With your hands, pry open the fruit in half. Flip it over, seeds side down, and bash it with the back of a spoon or a small chopping board to release the seeds. Discard the white membrane and pith.
Storing pomegranate seeds: Although the fruit itself can stay unspoiled for weeks, once the seeds have been separated, they will last only a few days in the fridge. However, you can pack them tightly and freeze them for up to three months.
A common way of preserving the seeds is to sun-dry them and grind them into a fine powder (anardana powder). This not only intensifies the flavor but also preserves them for months without needing to freeze them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, kokum is a souring agent commonly used in Indian cuisine, particularly in the coastal regions of Maharashtra, Goa, and Kerala.
It is the dried rinds of the fruit Garcinia indica and it imparts a tangy, slightly sweet flavor to dishes. It is often used in curries, dals, and beverages. Kokum is also known for its cooling properties and is a popular ingredient in summer drinks like sol kadhi.
An example of souring is the process of using yogurt as a marinade to tenderize and flavor meat in dishes like tandoori chicken. The acidic nature of yogurt, particularly due to its lactic acid content, helps break down the proteins in the meat, resulting in a tender and juicy texture.
Another example of souring is the use of lemon juice to curdle milk in the process of making paneer, a type of fresh cheese popular in Indian cuisine. When lemon juice, which is acidic, is added to hot milk, it causes the milk proteins to coagulate and separate into curds and whey.
There are many souring agents used in cooking. Some of the common natural ones are limes, tamarind, tomatoes, curd, pomegranate, unripe mangoes, and amla.
Yes, vinegar is one of the commonly used souring agents in cooking. Its acidic nature makes it effective for adding tanginess and brightness to a wide range of dishes. Whether it's apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, rice vinegar, or balsamic vinegar, each type offers its unique flavor profile and acidity level. Vinegar is used in various cuisines worldwide, from salad dressings and marinades to pickling brines and sauces.
If you have found this souring agents article helpful, please take a moment to leave a comment and a rating below. This will make me super happy and motivate me to create more good content for you! You can also engage with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram xx Padma
Indu says
Cannot imagine my kitchen without limes. I do prefer them over lemons.
Padma Kumar says
Me too Indu. Love limes and do keep some lemons handy as well.
Dave says
Interesting read! Pomegranate seeds as a souring ingredient is a first for me.
Padma Kumar says
Thank you Dave! Pomegranate is indeed an interesting souring agent. It add a lovely fruit flavor to the dish.