yes, halfpint, your chunk idea is MUCH better! pour boiling water over a chunk to soften. That tamarind brick can be a B__tch to use! A suggestion,M: go to an Indian store and buy a plastic jar of tamarind paste (no fibers, dark dark brown/black, the thickness of tar)- that is soooo much easier to work with. I use it for an armenian dish and i still have my original jar after eons!! The Indonesian jars are yucky- light brown, fibrous thin paste- so don't get those.
I would put into a pot and cover with a little water. Turn on the heat and let the tamarind soften. Take a potato masher and gently mash the pulp into the water. Add more water if needed. When you have a thick-ish pulp sauce, that's kind of like a thick gravy, strain out the fibers and seeds in a large mesh strainer or colander. Discard the seeds and fibers. I would store the pulp in a jar in the fridge or freeze in small portions (like an ice cube tray) until you need it for a recipe.
I wanted to add that tamarind stores for a long time in its brick form. It might make more sense for you to cut off a chuck for use whenever you need it, rather than turning it into a paste that would need to be stored in the freezer for longevity. A brick of tamarind is a lot of tamarind. You don't really use the whole thing for even 3 dishes. My mother use to go through 1 brick every 6 months and that's with making hot and sour soup about once a week.
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