Tamarind has been quite the kitchen essential in most Indian households. Vinaya Govind shows you how to milk the best out of this fruit.
The very sight of this fruit makes you salivate and its taste gives that chataka to the chutneys, sambar, rasam, gojjus (sauces) and the hulis (buttermilk-based curries) of the south. Be it raw or ripe, Tamarind’s acidic, sweet and sour taste makes dishes palatable. Here are a few mouth-watering tamarind dishes you could try out:
Raw tamarind pachchadi
Ingredients: 200g raw tamarind pods, ¼ tsp each of mustard, fenugreek seeds, turmeric powder and asafetida, 8 green chillies, 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves, oil for tempering, salt to taste. (Mustard and cumin seeds – ¼ tsp each, a little oil for the second tempering – optional)
Method: Wash the raw tamarind pods and lightly scrape off the outer rough skin. Use a mortar-pestle and roughly pound the pods to remove the seeds. Heat a tsp of oil in a shallow pan, add mustard and fenugreek seeds and fry till they are lightly browned. Turn off the fire, add asafetida, green chillies, turmeric powder and coriander leaves. Let this mixture cool before you grind these ingredients along with the raw tamarind pods into a coarse paste, adding very little water. Heat a tsp of oil, pop in the mustard and cumin seeds. Once the tempering is cool, pour it over the pachchadi. Use as a spread for rotis and bread or as a chutney for rice, dosa and idlis.
Imli-gur chutney
Ingredients: Tamarind – ¼ kg,(soak tamarind in water for about 20 minutes, mash well and extract the pulp), 3 whole dry red chillies, a small piece of ginger, ¼ kg pounded jaggery, a pinch of turmeric powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 5 green chillies, salt to taste. (For the tempering: 2 tbsp oil, ½ tsp mustard).
Method: Heat oil in a wok, add mustard. As the mustard splutters, tip in the red chillies, ginger and green chillies. Fry till they are lightly browned. Pour in the thick tamarind extract. Add the pounded jaggery, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and a little salt. Allow the mixture to boil till it thickens like sauce. Serve with samosas, kachoris or cutlets.
Sour tamarind curry
Ingredients: Tamarind pulp extracted from a lemon-sized ball of tamarind, 2 finely chopped onions, 2 finely chopped tomatoes, 1 peeled and crushed pod of garlic pod peeled and lightly crushed, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 ½ tsp sambar powder, 1 bowl of mixed vegetables of your choice (cubed), 2 sprigs of curry leaves, salt to taste. (For the tempering: Oil – 3 tbsp, ½ tsp mustard, ½ tsp fenugreek, ½ tsp asafetida)
Method: Grind tomatoes and curry leaves to a smooth paste. Heat oil, add mustard, fenugreek and asafetida. Tip in the onion, sauté till they turn light pink. At this stage, pour in the tomato-curry leaves paste and crushed garlic.
Fry till you notice oil floating on the mixture. Pour in the tamarind pulp and a cup of water.
Add vegetables and salt. Cover and cook till vegetables are done. Sprinkle jaggery powder and stir well. Remove from fire and serve with rice or rotis.