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Tamarind- Three recipes and one story

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tamarinds

Photo by Lisa Ciolino Ambrose

The first two things I eat when I get to Mexico is a boiled or roasted ear of satisfying chewy Mexican corn and a tamarind popsicle.  I simply adore the sweet-tart flavor of tamarind ! Just thinking about them makes my lips pucker and my mouth waters in anticipation.   While it has not traditionally been used in savory cooking, chefs in Mexico are now using them in all kinds of sauces like the following ribs recipe from the San Miguelito restaurant in Morelia but tamarinds are a favorite snack food. The variety opf sweets made with tamarind in a market candy stand is mind boggling.   There are soft drinks, candied tamarinds, tamarind and chile balls and pastes, margaritas, barbecue sauces.  You name it. (See gallery below with website addresses where you can order the products.

Tamarind, Carob (Ceratonia siliqua) is native to Africa and has been grown in Mexico since the late 16th century,  probably introduced with the slave trade.  I don’t know why but I always assumed that tamarinds grow on bushes but during my college years I visited a family in Mismaloya, right outside Puerto Vallarta,  and there to my surprise was a huge tamarind tree. I picked and ate to my heart’s content and learned a lesson that, depending on your constitution, can be good or bad–tamarinds can act as a laxative!

I am including one of my favorite recipes I cook a home from Claudia Roden’s book Jewish Cooking.   The dish is Indian but could easily be Mexican and always reminds me how many similarities there are between the two cuisines.

Recipe: Lamb with red chiles and tamarind

Summary: This is one of my favorite dishes to cook at home. It comes from Claudia Roden’s book on Jewish Food.

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs onions, sliced or coarsely chopped
  • 6-8 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 4 Ѕ lbs lamb shoulder or fillet of neck or a mixture of the two
  • 6-10 large garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons ground cloves
  • 8-10 tiny dried red chilies
  • 3 lbs tiny new potatoes
  • 3  oz creamed coconut in a hard block or 8 oz canned coconut cream 3 tablespoons tamarind paste
  • 3 tablespoons sugar

Instructions

  1. Fry the onions in 3-4 tablespoons of oil on very low heat until soft and golden, keeping the lid on and stirring occasionally to keep the onions from burning. It may take 30-45 minutes because of the large quantity.
  2. Trim off the skin and excess, but not all, fat from the meat and cut it into 1 Ѕ inch pieces. Fry in 3-4 tablespoons of oil in batches in a large, heavy-bottomed pan, turning the pieces to brown them all over.
  3. Add the garlic, cumin, and coriander to the onions and stir well for a minute or so, then add the spiced onions to the meat. Cover with about 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Remove the scum and add cinnamon, cloves, and chilies, then simmer, covered, on low heat for 1 Ѕ to 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender. One may also choose to remove the chilies at this stage.
  4. Now put in the potatoes, peeled or simply well washed and add about 2 Ѕ cups of water-just enough to cover. Add the creamed coconut cut into pieces or the canned coconut cream, the tamarind, and the sugar and simmer for another 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. There should be a lot of sauce. Serve with plain rice, chapatis, or bread.

Cooking time (duration): 60

Number of servings (yield): 6

Meal type: dinner

Culinary tradition: Indian (Northern)

Copyright © Zarela Martinez.
Recipe by on.
Microformatting by hRecipe.

Recipe: Huesitos a la Tamarindo

Summary: This recipe is adapted from the San Miguelito restuarant in Morelia, Michoacan

Ingredients

  • 2 racks baby back ribs, about pounds 1 cup catsup 1 whole medium onion, cut in half, unpeeled 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled 3 bay leaves, 6 whole cloves 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns For Tamarind Glaze 1 pound dried tamarind pods, peeled 6 medium-sized ripe, red tomatoes 2 dried chipotle or morita chiles 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon powdered chicken base (optional) 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste 1 teaspoons sugar 3 chipotle chiles en adobo, finely chopped

Instructions

  1. For the ribs: Place the ribs in a large Dutch oven. Add the catsup, onion, garlic cloves, bay leaves, cloves, black peppercorns, and salt. Add water to cover by 3 inches. Bring. to a boil over high heat and skim off any foam that accumulates on top.
  2. Lower heat to maintain a simmer and cook, covered, for 1 hour or until very tender. Remove from the stock and let cool.
  3. Meanwhile, heat a barbecue grill or broiler. You can cut the ribs into serving pieces or leave whole.
  4. Coat with the tamarind glaze and place on the grill and cook until heated through.
  5. For the Glaze:
  6. Place the tamarind, whole tomatoes, and dried chiles in a medium-sized heavy-bottomed saucepan and add water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat then adjust temperature to maintain a slow rolling boil. Cook, covered, for 2 minutes or until the flesh of the tamarind is soft. Let cool.
  7. Wipe the saucepan clean Pass through a fine-meshed sieve or chinois into a bowl using a wooden spoon as a pusher.
  8. Heat the olive oil in the saucepan until fragrant. Add the tamarind-tomato paste, stirring well to avoid spattering. Add the powdered chicken base if using, (Otherwise, you add about 1/2 cup concentrated chicken stock), the salt, and a little bit of sugar. Taste and adjust seasoning. It should be neither salty or sweet. Add the chile strips and let simmer together, covered, for 5 minutes.

Number of servings (yield): 6

Culinary tradition: Mexican

Copyright © Zarela Martinez.
Recipe by on.
Microformatting by hRecipe.

Tamarind balls

tamarind balls

 

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