The Sweet And Tangy Middle Eastern Sauce That's Perfect For Grilled Kebabs

Summer has officially arrived after its unofficial start on Memorial Day weekend, and there's only one way to celebrate: by firing up the ol' grill, whether it be charcoal or gas, and getting to work. Maybe you'll cook steaks, burgers, or hot dogs — or maybe you'll load up some meat and veggies on a skewer and grill up some tasty kebabs. But, the question remains: how do you kick those kebabs up to the next level? What marinade should you use, or what sauce should you dip them in? Well, there's a terrific answer to those questions, and it's only four letters long: amba sauce. (Well, okay, that's actually nine letters, but "amba" itself is four.)

Amba sauce, for those who don't know, is a popular condiment in Middle Eastern cuisine made from mango pickle. Mango, of course, is a tropical fruit — which is to say, not indigenous to the decidedly non-tropical Middle East. The sauce made its way there thanks to Iraqi Jewish merchants, who brought it from India back home to Baghdad sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century. There, it became a popular accoutrement for street food and spread across the Middle East, where it is enjoyed to this day.

So what do you need if you want to make your own amba sauce to go with a delicious kebab? Obviously, the number one ingredient on your shopping list ought to be mango — traditional recipes will have you get a green, unripe mango (which you can and should eat), but if you have a ripe mango you can go ahead and use that. If you have trouble peeling the mango, you can make use of this terrific water glass hack. Then, you'll need a whole bunch of different herbs and spices, including mustard seed, turmeric, coriander, and fenugreek (which can also help take your tilapia to the next level). If you'd rather not gather up all those ingredients, you can make your way to a Middle Eastern supermarket where they'll probably have some prepared amba for you.

And once you have it, you can use it for all sorts of different things. You can use amba sauce to add some extra flavor to your kebabs, you can use it as a dipping sauce not unlike hummus, or you can spread some on your sandwich. It's sweet, it's savory, it's acidic, it's bold, and it's unforgettable.