OPOS Tamarind Paste

Another method to make Tamarind Paste at home, which can be substituted for pastes purchased at shops. This paste or the other Tamarind Paste which is made traditionally, eases the work while cooking. In this fast forward world one need to do things in a faster pace. These also help those who have doubts in their cooking or for those who are not so confident as to how things need to be done properly.

Take a kg of tamarind, cover it with water, add 50 gms kulambu/ sambar powder, 50 gms salt, 5-6 pinches asafetida, a spring curry leaves and pressure cook for 3 whistles. Strain out solids. Bottle the pulpy paste. Lasts for ever refrigerated. Use this in place of store bought paste for making the following

Tamarind Chutney

Ingredients:
Tamarind paste - 1/2 cup
Jaggery grated - 3 cups
Roasted Jeera Powder - 2 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Black salt - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp

Method:
Add 5 cups of water to tamarind paste and boil it in low flame for about 10 mins. Strain it through a seive and add jaggery, chilly powder, cumin powder, salt, garam masala and mix thoroughly. Cook again on low flame till jaggery dissolves completely and the mixture gets semi thick. Remove from flame. This chutney thickens even more when cold.

Can be stored in an airtight container. The recipe stays good for about 3 months. When serving if it is thick can be thinned by adding a little warm water to it and mixed thoroughly. Great side dish for samosas, kebabs etc.

Katta Meeta Chutney

A great side dish for chats, samosas, tikkas and kebabs.

Ingredients:
Dry Grapes - 50 gms
Dates - 50 gms
Jaggery - 3/4th cup
Tamarind Paste - 3 tbsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Red Chilly Powder - 1 tsp
Cumin - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:
Dry roast cumin seeds in a pan and grind it to a fine powder.
Cook grapes and dates in water. (Add the required quantity of water, which will make them soft and tender). Grind them to a fine paste using the same water. Add jaggery, tamarind paste, salt, garam masala, chilly powder, cumin powder and bring it to a boil.

Instant Tamarind Rice

Tamarind Rice have different varieties. The traditional Tamarind Rice can be made either as instant rice or using Pulikaichal. 

Ingredients to make Instant Tamarind Rice: 
Cooked Rice - 2 cups
Gingely Oil - 1/4 cup
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Bengal Gram Dal - 2 tbsp
Ground nuts - 2 to 3 tbsp
Cashewnuts - 10 to 12 nos
Curry Leaves - 1/4 cup
Red chillies - 2 to 4 nos
Tamarind Paste - 6 tbsp
Multi purpose Powder - 3 to 4 tbsp
Powdered Salt - To taste

Method to make Instant Tamarind Rice:
Add 1 tbsp of gingely oil in a pan and when hot add the mustard seeds. When it splutters add it to the rice spread on a flat bowl. Mix well without damaging the rice. Add oil again in pan and fry the Bengal Gram, Ground nuts, cashew nuts, Red chillies and curry leaves to it. After sauteing it for a few minutes add the tamarind paste and bring it to a boil. Add Multipurpose powder and mix well. Add it to the rice and  add salt to it. Mix well without damaging the rice. Instant Tamarind rice is ready.

How to make Pulikaichal to make Tamrind Rice

Preparing and storing Pulikaichal will help in making Puliyodharai easily whenever needed.

Ingredients:
Tamrind - 1 tennis ball sized
Salt - (Better Rock salt) 1/4th handful or to taste
Vendhayam(Fenu greek) - 1 tbsp
Red chillies - 10 to 12 nos
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Asafodeita - 1/2 inch piece
Mustard seeds - 2 tspn
Gingely oil - 1/4th cup
Bengal Gram - 1/2 cup
Groundnut (Raw) - 1/4 cup
Curry Leaves - 1/4 cup

Method: 
Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract tamarind juice. The juice should be thick. This size of tamarind will give 2 to 3 cups of thick extact. (Alternatively around 12 to 14 tbspns of Tamarind Paste can also be used)

Dry roast methi seeds. Fry 1/4 cup of Bengal gram in 1 tsp of gingely oil along with 6 Red chillies. Grind bengal gram and red chillies together with methi seeds and asafodeita to a fine powder.

Heat pan and add gingely oil to it. Add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add the groundnuts to it and fry it till it turns crispy. Add bengal gram and fry till it turns golden brown. Add the remaining red  chillies and curry leaves and saute it for a few mins.

Add turmeric powder and salt to Tamarind extract (add 2 cups of water to the Tamarind paste) and add it slowly to the pan. Simmer the stove and let the extract boil. When it becomes a saucy consistency add the methi seeds powder and boil it again. When the oil comes out remove from flame. Let it cool and store it in a dry container. If stored outside, it had to be used within 3 or 4 days. It can be used for almost a week to 10 days if stored in fridge.

Tamrind Chutney Recipe

Ingredients:

Tamrind Paste - out of 200 gms of Tamrind (close to 1 1/2 cups)

Jaggery - 2.5 to 3 cups

Jeera Powder - 2 tsp (Jeera roasted and ground to fine powder)

Red Chilly Powder - 2 tsp

Black Salt - 1 tsp

Garam Masala - 1 tsp

Salt to taste.

Method to make Tamrind Chutney:

Make tamrind juice to the paste by adding about 4 cups of water and cook for about 10 mins. Simmer the flame and add jaggery, chilly powder, cumin powder, salt, garam masala. Cook till the jaggery dissolves completely and the chutney becomes semi thick.This chutney thickens on cooling.

Recipe for Hot and Sour Paste

Ingredients:
Tamrind Paste - 5 to 6 spoons (better thick paste)
Red chilly - 20 (more if you want it more spicy)
Salt - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp

Method:
Grind salt, cumin seeds dry and keep aside. Grind the tamrind and chillies together and to it add the powder and grind again to make everything blend finely.

Use this paste to make sambar or rasam in a hurry