Tamarind Chatni
Ingredients
3 tablespoons dried tamarind pulp
250 ml/8 fl oz/1 cup hot water
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons jaggery or brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground fennel
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
pinch chilli powder (optional)
lime or lemon juice to taste
Directions
Put tamarind pulp in a bowl with hot water and soak until water is cool. Knead vigorously, dissolving pulp in the water. Strain through a nylon sieve, pushing all the pulp through and discarding fibres and seeds. If necessary, add a little more water to dissolve any remaining pulp around the seeds. The liquid should be thick. Stir in salt, sugar and other ingredients.
Recipe excerpted from Encyclopedia of Asian Food by Charmaine Solomon (Periplus Editions, 1998)