Is there a substitute for amchoor as it really is impossible to find here. I live in a small French village and until I can get to a major town/city to buy some I need to know if there is something else I can use in the meantime.

Thanking you

It is a bit specific and depends on what its being used for in a dish, but its a sort of fruity/citrus taste so you could possibly use something like citric acid powder, lemon/lime juice or lemon/lime rind maybe

Steve

Thanks Steve for coming back to me so quickly. I will try the lemon juice for now but I am going to the UK in the next week or so. I will then stock up on any ingredients that I think I am going to need.

Thanks again

Amchoor is a souring agent. If you do not have it, use lemon juice/tamarind paste/ground up preserved lemons or lemon pickle.

Patricia,

I've only just discovered what this is! Mango-based, right?

Even if you get to a big town here (don't know where you are in France), I doubt whether you'd find it. The French, for all their wonderful culinary traditions, have a limited knowledge of spices.

At a pinch, you could also try sumac which is a powdered souring agent often used in Middle Eastern and African cuisine, which may be obtainable from the Arabic stores in France.

Many thanks! That's useful info! We have a great Arab quarter in Montpellier: I'll check it out.

sumac is a little tart, but not as tart as amchor, which dried and powder green (unripe) mango. Because it is fruit pulp based, it will deteriorate rather quickly, like paprika. The sour agent in amchur is probably malic acid, found in many fruit, especially of the genus Malus!

Sumac is also dark red, or maroon, great as a sprinkle on food,, but a bit lost in food. Pomegranate seed powder is another souring agent used in Indian cookery.

A good alternative could be fresh sour plum flesh.

Thanks for that, Lapis: most interesting!

Afraid in emergencies I 'cheat' and use citric acid (E330) from the chemist.

As well as adding tartness to the dish it obviously will reduce the pH level so making it last longer and the citric acid lasts for years so is a good store cupboard standby!

To add tartness, add any of the following;

Amchoor; powdered, dry mango slices of unripe mangoes

Anardana; ground pomegranate seeds

Lemon juice

Ground up or mashed lemon/lime/other pickles. They are especially good in dry, vegetable bhajies,

Tamarind paste

Green or half ripe tomatoes

Lemon; I sometime add sliced lemon, skin and all, to dals during baling. Some dals have dry mango slices added to them traditionally during cooking, like puy lentil (sabut Masoor). Since I have given up mangoes, lemon works very well for me.

Sumac; I have no experience of using it.

Kokum powder, available from Indian stores.

At last, I've found a use for my pomegranate seeds!