How to make tamarind paste?
 

Hi all, I am new here!

I am a European, but I absolutely love both eating and cooking Asian and Indian food.

Anyway, I digress ... I bought some Massaman Curry paste from my local Asian supermarket. The recipe called for tamarind paste, but all they had in the supermarket were big blocks of tamarind fruits (with seeds) squished together into a big square block.

I bought the tamarind block and went ahead and made the curry with it anyway ... it was absolutely delicious - literally indistingushable from something I would expect to be served in a good asian restaurant - so I was pleased with the result!

The only problem was that I had to keep picking the tamarind seeds out of the dish as I ate it!

Now I really like the flavour of the tamarind from the block, but how can I turn it into a paste?

I am thinking of boiling the whole block in some water until the tamarind flesh falls away from the seeds, then I can pick the seeds out, then continue to boil the mixture until it reduces to a paste that I can cool, put in a tub, and freeze.

But will that impair the flavour of the tamarind? What do you guys think?

How to make tamarind paste?
 

In article >, XmisterIS.6ac5718.921347
@foodbanter.com says...
>
> Hi all, I am new here!
>
> I am a European, but I absolutely love both eating and cooking Asian and
> Indian food.
>
> Anyway, I digress ... I bought some Massaman Curry paste from my local
> Asian supermarket. The recipe called for tamarind paste, but all they
> had in the supermarket were big blocks of tamarind fruits (with seeds)
> squished together into a big square block.
>
> I bought the tamarind block and went ahead and made the curry with it
> anyway ... it was absolutely delicious - literally indistingushable from
> something I would expect to be served in a good asian restaurant - so I
> was pleased with the result!
>
> The only problem was that I had to keep picking the tamarind seeds out
> of the dish as I ate it!
>
> Now I really like the flavour of the tamarind from the block, but how
> can I turn it into a paste?
>
> I am thinking of boiling the whole block in some water until the
> tamarind flesh falls away from the seeds, then I can pick the seeds out,
> then continue to boil the mixture until it reduces to a paste that I can
> cool, put in a tub, and freeze.
>
> But will that impair the flavour of the tamarind? What do you guys
> think?
>
>


Depending where you live, it can be a nice place to buy...

http://www.spicesofindia.co.uk/acata...-Concentrated-
Paste.html#aGRO001_2dp


Gerardus

How to make tamarind paste?
 

In article >,
XmisterIS > wrote:

> Hi all, I am new here!
>
> I am a European, but I absolutely love both eating and cooking Asian and
> Indian food.
>
> Anyway, I digress ... I bought some Massaman Curry paste from my local
> Asian supermarket. The recipe called for tamarind paste, but all they
> had in the supermarket were big blocks of tamarind fruits (with seeds)
> squished together into a big square block.
>
> I bought the tamarind block and went ahead and made the curry with it
> anyway ... it was absolutely delicious - literally indistingushable from
> something I would expect to be served in a good asian restaurant - so I
> was pleased with the result!
>
> The only problem was that I had to keep picking the tamarind seeds out
> of the dish as I ate it!
>
> Now I really like the flavour of the tamarind from the block, but how
> can I turn it into a paste?
>
> I am thinking of boiling the whole block in some water until the
> tamarind flesh falls away from the seeds, then I can pick the seeds out,
> then continue to boil the mixture until it reduces to a paste that I can
> cool, put in a tub, and freeze.
>
> But will that impair the flavour of the tamarind? What do you guys
> think?

The "standard" method is to hack off the amount you need for a given
dish (usually a tablespoon or so, maybe more...), soak it in hot water
for a while (~10 minutes is fine), then strain through a sieve and
mash the pulp through to make the paste. Your suggested method might
work, but will leave you with a _lot_ of tamarind paste to store. I
don't _think_ it goes bad particularly quickly, but I don't know.

How to make tamarind paste?
 

On Sat, 14 Aug 2010 12:31:31 +0000, XmisterIS wrote:

> Now I really like the flavour of the tamarind from the block, but how
> can I turn it into a paste?

Soak it in the same volume of hot water, microwave gently if needed or
simmer, then press it through a colander or seive.

-sw

How to make tamarind paste?
 

On 8/14/2010 11:26 PM, Sqwertz wrote:
> On Sat, 14 Aug 2010 12:31:31 +0000, XmisterIS wrote:
>
>> Now I really like the flavour of the tamarind from the block, but how
>> can I turn it into a paste?
>
> Soak it in the same volume of hot water, microwave gently if needed or
> simmer, then press it through a colander or seive.
>
> -sw

You'll have to work the tamarind a bit to separate the flesh from the
pits. An easier alternative is the liquid tamarind you find in Thai
groceries - like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Thai-Tamarind-...2007543&sr=1-2

If you use this, though, add a little more than the recipe calls for,
since its a bit less concentrated than the pulp should be.

Ian

I work in an Asian restaurant and we use the tamarind concentrate that Ian posted. To be honest I think its rarely worth it to make you own.

You can make your own tamarind paste. Just search to any asian cooking website. :)

Start of letting him do his thing... let him take control for a little bit just to get warmed up. Then, to drive him crazy, roll it all over so you are on top and tease him just the same way he was teasing you.