Comments on: Sweet, sour, strip mall

By: Annie G.

Annie G. — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 23:09:03 +0000

A note for anyone else who's using the Tamicon brand of tamarind concentrate, like I did: You should definitely use less than the 3 tablespoons called for here (maybe 1 T.?). My soup came out much too sour to eat with the full 3 T., but I was able to turn it into a pretty good curry by draining off much of the liquid and adding enough coconut milk to make a thick stew, which I ate over rice.

By: Annie G.

Annie G. — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 23:09:03 +0000

By: Pierre

Pierre — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 16:06:26 +0000

If you're interested in tamarind BBQ, check out my recent post at: http://www.thegrinninggourmet.com/?p=891

Great blog!

By: Sharmila

Sharmila — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 14:52:07 +0000

Hi Molly, I'm Sharmila.
Came across your recipe yesterday. Made it yesterday. And please may I say, it is genius!!!!

I'm Indian -- and I loved the way you blended Indian and Italian food ingredients. Marvellous.

I used real dried tamarind btw -- for the first time (I'd been using pastes)-- and I was taken by how wonderful and rich the flavor is.
It's a bit messy because one has to use hands in a bowl of water to wring the joice from the pulp/seeds, but sooooo good.
Thank YOu

By: Molly

Molly — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 02:38:00 +0000

RoboPithaya, thank you for filling in the (admittedly sizable) gaps in my tamarind knowledge! I've seen aguas frescas offered in a couple of Mexican spots here in Seattle, actually, and while I can't speak for their quality or authenticity, I'm very curious to give them a try. A tamarind version sounds <>wonderful<> - what a good antidote, as you mentioned, for a hot day! A must-do for next summer.Anne, I know <>exactly<> what you're talking about. I should have mentioned it earlier, but as with other bad memories, I must have blocked it out! There is one brand (or maybe style?) of tamarind concentrate that seems to be a <>lot<> more concentrated than the rest - very sour, very dark brown, and almost gelatinous in texture. I think it is < HREF="http://www.ethnicgrocer.com/ccp1405-tamarind-concentrate-1065090.htm" REL="nofollow">this one<>. Brandon and I made the mistake of buying it one day last summer, and he - like you - tried to use it as he had used other brands, with wildly sour, somewhat nasty results. I am unsure of why it is so different from other varieties. The tamarind concentrate I used successfully for this soup is a Thai variety, light brown and soupy. The other, darker, more concentrated, and thicker one was made in India. If you can only find the latter, it's safe to say that you should definitely use less, as you wisely caution. Thanks so much for the heads-up, and better luck next time...

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 12:28:00 +0000

love your blog…made the chick pea soup with tamarind concentrate… The tamarind concentrate I found was very dark and thick…I foolishly persevered with suggested amount in recipe…..my soup is VERY sour…….I’m still trying to rescue it 🙂 the smell and taste is great otherwise….just a heads up on being sure one has the same product or being more restrained if not sure.Anne

By: RoboPithaya

RoboPithaya — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 05:44:00 +0000

Hi, I’ve been reading this blog for I while and I love your recpes, I wanted to add how popular tamarind is in Mexico, it is made into a drink mostly, you need to boil the strips (if you get it whole) without the seeds and then blend them with the water and add sugar, its reallllly refreshing cold and tangy for hot days also there is at least 50 different candies based on tamarind in Mexico, you should look into the different “aguas frescas” which is something I dont usually see outside of Mexico, they are drinks made from things like pineapple, starfruit, tamarind as I mentioned, mango, hibiscus flower, usually its diluted juice so it’s what we usually have our food with maybe you could try a recipe for horchata or something in the summer!!

By: Molly

Molly — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 00:06:00 +0000

Thank <>you<> for stopping by and commenting, Kitchen Queen! I see that you too are a Washingtonian – in the West-Coast sense – and it’s lovely to meet you.

By: Kitchen Queen

Kitchen Queen — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 04:35:00 +0000

Longtime reader, first time commenting….I adore tamarind, and chickpeas too, and your soup sounds awesome! I discovered tamarind while living in Mexico, their combination of it with heat drove my tastebuds wild. I’ve just started exploring Indian cuisine and was delighted to find it there too. Thanks for such an inspiring site (and congrats too)!

By: Molly

Molly — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 23:46:00 +0000

Kayenne, that soup sounds <>delicious<> - salty, spicy, and sour! And Carin, many thanks for reporting back on your experience with the chocolate featherweight cookies! I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed them, even if the process was a bit different than I'd described. You're right - the batter is definitely quite glue-like, but mine has always been fairly thin, or at least not what I would describe as thick. I would guess that the difference could come from one of two sources: a difference in the quantity of liquid (maybe your eggs were smaller?), or a difference in the amount of dry ingredients (sugar, cocoa). Where the latter is concerned, know that when I measure dry ingredients, I use a "spoon and level" method. I use a spoon to scoop the dry ingredient into the measuring cup, and then I run a knife across the top of the cup to level it. That way, I can be sure that I'm not packing my dry ingredients too much. But given that your cookies weren't too sweet (or too darkly cocoa-y, I assume), I imagine that the culprit was the size of the eggs. Hmph! I'm sorry that I can't give a more conclusive answer, but that's my best guess. But you're right - this cup business is fairly unscientific when compared to weights. I will certainly try to give ingredients as weights where it isn't too much trouble, but because many of the recipes I use and adapt call for American (cup) measurements, for the sake of ease I generally base my own final recipe on the same system. Oh, and as for the cocoa dust, I know! I ran into that problem too - although only for a split second, until I got more of the liquid incorporated into the cocoa. I don't know any way around it, I'm afraid, because if you were to instead add the dry ingredients to the wet ones, you would likely wind up with lumps. I would advise trying to pour the egg whites evenly around the bowl before turning on the mixer, and keeping the mixer on as low a speed as possible. Good luck, and happy baking and eating!