By Jehan Yusoof  |  Updated October 07, 2026  |  ★ 4.4 (9 reviews) | 7 comments

Sri Lankan date and lime chutney.
A spoonful of this sweet and spicy chutney makes a meal better. I’ve been known to finish a bottle within a few days.
Cooked in vinegar with dates and raisins, this sweet chutney is lip-smacking good
In Sri Lanka, you’ll also see it sold as lime and date chutney or date and lime pickle.

★★★★★
If you try this, I’d love to know how it turned out. Just tap the stars in the recipe card; it helps other cooks find this recipe.

The ingredients list for date and lime chutney.

• Mustard seeds are soaked to blend. You can use mustard powder if available.
• Minced Garlic.
• Minced ginger.
• Coconut vinegar or white vinegar.
• Red chilli powder increases or decreases as per your need.
• Sugar, you can use a natural sweetener like jaggery.
• Dates- seeds removed.
• Sri Lankan pickled lime(also known as lunu dehi in Sinhalese).
• Raisins are soaked in water to turn them plump and easy to crush.
• Water as needed.

Tips, Faq’s and variations in date and lime chutney.

• Tips
  • Use soft dates that break down easily.
  • Constantly taste and balance the flavours of the chutney.
  • Simmer in low heat so the date chutney cooks evenly and combines flavours.
  • Store the date chutney properly in air-tight glass jars for a longer shelf life.
• Questions’s.
  • What type of dates should I use for the chutney?
    • There are various types of dates in the market, under different brands.
    • For the chutney, make sure you choose dates that are soft and will break down easily as they cook.
    • Avoid using extremely dry dates, as they need to be soaked overnight.
  • Is the lime pickle you use for the recipe the same as a lemon preserve?
    • The Sri Lankan lime pickle we use for this chutney is different from the preserved lemon.
    • I would advise you not to replace the lime pickle(lunu dehi)with any type of lemon preserves.
    • Although not the same, you can use Indian pickle as a substitute, but there might be a slight change in taste.
  • Workflow to make Sri Lankan date chutney.
    • Soak mustard overnight.
    • deseed dates.
    • heat, spice and sugar.
    • Combine all ingredients and slow cook.
  • Variations.
    • Date and tamarind chutney. Substitute lime with tamarind pulp.
    • Date, pineapple and green chilli chutney.

What you will need in the kitchen

• Two medium-sized bowls
• A heavy non- reactive pan; I am using a clay pan, a non-stick pan would work as well.
• A wooden spoon
• A clean and dry jar with an airtight lid

How to make date and lime chutney

The day before

Soak the mustard seeds overnight in vinegar.
If you are using store-bought mustard powder, there is no need to make it overnight, but mix it with vinegar on the same day.

Preparing the ingredients

Have all the ingredients you need ready.

Mustard seeds.
Soak mustard seeds overnight in 1/4 cup of vinegar(out of the vinegar volume mentioned in the ingredient under vinegar).
Half an hour before making the chutney, blend the mustard (including the vinegar in which the mustard seeds were soaking).
If you are using mustard powder, mix the mustard powder with 1/4 cup of vinegar.

• Raisins
  • Soak the raisins in half a cup of water for 3 to 4 hours or until plump; this will make them easy to crush with a spoon.

Stone the dates. Cut the lunu dehi into thin strips and remove every seed.
Half an hour before cooking, blend the soaked mustard with its vinegar, then stir in the garlic and ginger.

Mix in the ginger and garlic into the mustard paste.

Sri Lankan pickled lime(lunu dehi)
Cut the Sri Lankan Lime (lunu dehi) into small strips and set them aside. Remove all the seeds from the lime pickle.
If there are any seeds, then your chutney will become bitter, so make sure to remove all the seeds.

How to make the date and lime chutney.

Place a cooking pan over very low heat and add the mustard, ginger, and garlic paste to the cooking pan.

Pour the vinegar into the clay pot, and maintain very low heat.

Add the red chilli powder, sugar, and stir to dissolve over low fire.

Season with salt.

Add the dates, lime, and raisins(including the water the raisins were soaking in)into the pan and bring them to a boil within a few minutes.

Once boiled, immediately reduce and slow-simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the chutney thickens.

As the chutney reduces and thickens. Make sure to constantly stir to avoid the chutney sticking to the bottom of the cooking pan.

Using a wooden spoon, constantly break down the dates, lime and raisins into smaller pieces until it reaches a smooth consistency.

Always taste the chutney to balance the flavours.
If you find using a spoon hard, use a blender to blitz the date and lime chutney for a smoother texture.

Once the chutney is done, remove the pan from the fire, let the chutney completely cool, and then transfer the chutney into dry bottles and refrigerate.

What to serve with date and lime chutney

It’s at its best beside a Sri Lankan rice and curry or a biryani, and just as good on a cheeseboard.

• Serve with short eats: samosas, fish cutlets, Sri Lankan fish rolls, kebabs.
• Add a dollop(not too much)to your hot dog or burger to give them an Asian twist.
• Top a roast paan(bread)with seeni sambol or coconut sambol and add a little of this date and lime chutney.
• Biryani
  • Egg biryani (one-pot rice dish/stove-top)
  • Chicken biryani (Hyderabadi)
  • Chicken Pot Biryani
• Serve with a  Sri Lankan rice and curry menu
  • Yellow rice, slow-cooked beef curry, potato curry, spicy green beans stir-fry (bonchi thel dala), and this sweet date chutney.
  • Coconut rice, dhal curry, spicy devilled potato, gotu kola sambol, beetroot curry, kalupol-Sri Lankan chicken curry(spicy black chicken curry), and date chutney.

Storing Date and lime chutney

• Storage
  • Once the chutney is completely cool, transfer it to a dry, airtight container.
  • Keep refrigerated and use a dry spoon.
• Freezing
  • Can be frozen in zip-lock bags and used as needed. Can be frozen up to 3 months.

Gift a bottle of Date and lime chutney

The perfect homemade gift for any festive occasion.
Now that you have the recipe for the chutney, make a few bottles ahead and gift them to your loved ones over the festive season(Sinhala-Tamil New Year, Eid, Christmas).
Take bottles as a housewarming gift or take a few for your loved ones living overseas.
They’ll love and appreciate the thoughtful gift as it’s homemade with a lot of love.

More chutney recipes

Sweet and sour sauce with Pineapple
Spicy BBQ sauce(barbecue sauce)
Pineapple chutney(Sri Lankan)
Tomatoes with dates and green chilli chutney

Watch more Sri Lankan recipes on my YouTube channel

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JEHAN
Recipe creator. Food Blogger. Video creator
I’ve been cooking and sharing Sri Lankan recipes, along with other dishes I love making at home on Island Smile since 2015. I’ve tested every recipe on this site more than once in my own kitchen before it goes on the blog.
I grew up eating this food, and I still cook it the same way my family taught me, just written down clearly enough that you can follow it too.
If a recipe doesn’t work the way I say it will, tell me in the comments; I read every one, and I’ll help you fix it.