Your food does not need to be bland when you run out of amchur spice. You can use various alternatives to spice up your foods without struggling.
You may also need to use amchur replacements when you want to experience something new or wish to surprise your loved ones with new tastes in your delicacies.
If you wish to learn more about amchur substitutes, here is the right place.
Table Of Contents
What is Amchur?
Also known as Mango Powder, or Amchoor, Amchur is an Indian spice made from dried unripe mangoes. The powder offers a tangy and tart flavor to your food. Amchur is fundamentally a dried unripe green mango powder.
Mango Powder can be useful to even out your dishes by using the acid to balance out sugar, heat, and salt.
Amchur is easy to find because it is made of unripe green mangoes readily available in most parts of the globe. You can find Amchur in most Indian grocery stores or purchase it from online marketers.
12 Best Amchur (Mango Powder) Substitutes
1. Tamarind Paste
Tamarind is rich in earthy, tangy, and sweet flavor when added to various dishes. Tamarind spice is a prevalent ingredient in Indian kitchens.
You can prepare this spice by sopping ripe tamarind fruits in hot/warm water and stirring until they form a paste or heavy juice.
The tamarind’s taste is very close to that of the Amchur powder. Therefore, it can make an excellent amchur powder substitute in meats, chutneys, vegetables, curries, sauces, and lentils.
Additionally, tamarind paste is easy to use and affordable. You can find tamarind powder and paste readily available in supermarkets and most Asian ingredient shops.
Further reading: 14 Tamarind Paste Substitutes
2. Lemon/Lime Juice
Lemon/lime juice is among the most accessible mango powder substitute to make. The juice works well as an amchur alternative unless you need a spiced dish that avoids added moisture.
My mother used lemon juice as a replacement whenever she ran out of mango powder. She always kept lemon juice in her kitchen to add that tart/sour taste to food.
Note that lemons and limes may have different acidity levels; providing an exact substitution ratio isn’t easy.
3. Raw Mango
Raw mango can accurately replace mango powder since it can offer an almost identical flavor.
The only difference is that raw mango will be slightly more fruiter than dried mango product. Raw mango can replace amchur so well in chutneys and chaats.
The challenge of using raw mango in place of mango powder is that raw mangoes are highly seasonal; hence cannot be found year-round. However, you can use grated raw mangoes instead of amchur.
4. Yogurt
Yogurt is a common substitute for amchur, especially in liquid-based recipes. The extra good thing about using yogurt as a spice is that it contributes to your diet due to its various health benefits.
The ingredient is high in calcium, probiotic bacteria, disease-fighting vitamin D, and proteins.
Yogurt is also readily available and pocket-friendly.
This amchur alternative offers a tart flavor offering the sourness like the one present in mango powder. Yogurt works best in curries, dressings, and chutneys.
5. Vinegar
You cannot go wrong with vinegar as a replacement for amchur, especially if you wish to add a sour flavor to your delicacies.
Vinegar does well when added to chutneys and salads. It may also be a good spice in curries depending on your cooking abilities.
However, you should always use vinegar cautiously due to its extreme acidity levels. Also, remember that non-fruit vinegar is chemically manufactured but is safe for human consumption.
Also, always remember to use sweetening agents along with vinegar to balance the ingredient’s extreme acidic character.
Fruit vinegar such as apple cider is highly recommended over non-fruit vinegar because the former may fail to achieve some fruity aroma present in dry mango powder.
6. Citric Acid Powder
Commonly, citric acid is used as a preservative in various recipes. However, the citric acid powder can be a good amchur substitute that can add sourness to foods.
The sourness degree of the citric acid powder depends on its grade. Food-grade citric acid is a better option for adding sour flavors to your recipes and can be an effective substitute for amchur powder.
In most cases, you may find crystalline citric acid powder in the market and not powder as the name suggests.
Consequently, you may need to grind the crystalline citric acid in a mortar and pestle or use a food processor to make it suitable to add to spice blends or dry recipes.
7. Sumac
Sumac berries are dried and ground to produce sumac spice powder used as a dried mango powder substitute.
It can also be an astringent souring agent produced from dried and powdered sumac flower berries.
Sumac adds sourness to various vegetable, lentil-based, and meat-based recipes. You can find sumac spice powder in supermarkets or source it from online stores.
8. Tajin
Made from lime, salt, and chili, Tajin has a sour taste that allows it to play a similar role as mango powder in many recipes.
This article does not highly recommend using Tajin as a substitute for mango powder. However, you may try to find out if you would like foods with Tajin.
Most Indian recipes use salt and chili; hence you can adjust yours to accommodate Tajin when you run out of mango powder.
9. Dry Pomegranate Powder
Dry Pomegranate Powder is a common ingredient in Indian kitchens used particularly in legume and lentils recipes. The ingredient can be used as a mango powder substitute.
You can find both powder and whole pomegranate seeds. Whole dry pomegranate seeds can be ground into powder using a food processor and used as an alternative for amchur.
Dry pomegranate powder has a unique texture and a slightly sweet taste. The advantage of dry pomegranate powder is that you can find it year-round in most Indian grocery stores.
Dry pomegranate powder works well in dry recipes such as spice mixes. You can also add it to liquid-based recipes such as dressings and chutneys.
10. Tomato
Tomato is probably the most available product of all the amchur powder substitutes recommended in this article.
Tomato is highly affordable and can be a great replacement for mango powder due to its tart taste. You can use tomatoes in both dry and liquid-based recipes.
Ripe tomatoes release malic and citric acids that together can offer a nice sour and tart flavor to various recipes.
However, tomatoes are highly watery and should be cautiously added to recipes. They are highly perishable; hence, you need to avoid adding spoilt tomatoes to your delicacies.
11. Dried Kokum
Kokum fruit has a sweet fragrance and a sour taste. It is a tomato-sized fruit available in most Indian grocery stores.
The fruit is primarily used in places such as Goa, West Karnataka, and Maharashtra in western Indian recipes.
Dried kokum seeds are soaked to remove the pulp utilized as a mango powder replacement to add a sharp tart taste alongside a slightly fruity fragrance. Find out if the ingredients leave a pinkish color in your utensils.
Kokum fruit can also be used as a digestive health ingredient due to its ability to relieve gastric problems.
12. Persian Loomi
You can make Persian Loomi by boiling limes in salty hot water, then dry them to turn black. Persian Loomi has a sour and salty flavor.
This amchur alternative can be versatile and used in various liquid-based and dry recipes.
Persian Loomi goes well with lamb, meats, seafood, and vegetables. You can purchase this ingredient from supermarkets and Mediterranean ingredient stores.
Loomi is a dry lime primarily from Persia used in most recipes to replace dry mango powder. It is known to have a sour and salty taste.
FAQs About Amchur (Mango Powder)
What is Amchur powder used for?
Amchur Powder is used as a souring agent in most Indian recipes. You can add it to snacks, chutneys, dressings, beverages, legume-based recipes, lentils, and vegetables.
Where can I buy Amchur powder
Amchur powder is available in various Indian (South Asian) grocery stores. You can also find it online.
How do you make mango powder?
Get small unripe/green mangoes from an Asian grocery store if you wish to make mango powder. Dry the mangoes, then slice them into small slices. Blend the portions to produce a fine amchur powder.
What is the taste of mango powder?
Mango powder has a tart and fruity taste.
Does Amchur powder contain salt?
Amchur powder does not contain any added salt. Its sour taste is natural from dried green mangoes.
Conclusion
Various fantastic amchur substitutes are available in various forms. You should not eat bland foods even if your amchur runs out. Some of the substitutes presented in this article can provide unmistakably delicious tart and tangy taste, almost that of mango powder.
The substitutes recommended in this piece work well in various recipes and do not have substantial disadvantages.
Depending on your need and accessibility, you hopefully will use at least one of the eleven amchur substitutes in your foods in the future to achieve the sour, tangy flavor you probably are looking for.
