Fruit Skewers with Tamarind Sauce
To date, I’d never prepared anything using fresh tamarinds before. Previously I used tamarind paste to make the sauce for this recipe and that was ‘fresh’ out of a package. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to know that wasn’t all as raw as it was supposed to be. Yes, I cheated. So I vowed to take the high road this time and make it all from scratch.
Little did I know what I was getting myself in for.
We picked up a box of fresh tamarinds at Whole Foods and I set about preparing them for the final feast. Unfortunately, what I read on the box completely commiserated with what I’ve read about them in the handful of other spots I had read about them: they need to be soaked. Yes: before you can even get at the meat of those pod babies, you need to soak them overnight. I did that. Plus a whole day more. I kind of forgot about them in the morning, went about my business and oh no! what were those pods still doing in my kitchen?
What are These Things?
‘Shelling’ the pods was unlike anything I’d ever done. They’re not like beans or anything. More like a bizarre alien life form. Remove the pod and there is some weird skeleton-like thing that pulls away with it, leaving the pulp and seeds behind. Then you need to remove the pulp from the seeds. It’s kind of messy work and I just kept dipping my hands in the soaking water to clean them off. Let me tell you, if you ever liked playing with mud as a child, you’re gonna’ love this! It’ll take you right back to your first mud pies.
If you’re not into mud, it might have you wondering why you didn’t cheat and get the tamarind paste. Because you will need to take the shells off every single one of those tamarinds. There’s no going back.
I listened to an audiobook while I was performing this task. Originally, I started out with a movie but once those otherworldly exoskeleton things started coming out, I wasn’t going to take my eyes off what I was doing for a minute. Not for nothing, but I was afraid something might spring to life and attatch itself to my face. I wanted to be prepared. I wish I had taken a picture of this because if you look online, theres no available image that truly conveys the reality of this fruit. Everything looks so much cleaner and not nearly as strange. It almost makes me feel like I was doing something wrong. Or perhaps my tamarinds really were alien life forms in masquerade!
The Final Frontier
Of course, in the end, there was nothing to fret over. It was late by the time I’d removed all the pulp and put aside some seeds to dry. Just in case I ever decided to grow these things myself.
The next day, putting everything togather was a breeze. No muss, no fuss, no dehydrator. And what we got tasted like something that could have been served in the best of Asian restaurants. Five stars! I will, definitely do it again. Since I’ll know what to expect it won’t be nearly as disconcerting and when you get to eat it at the end, you forget all about what you went through to get there. Kind of like childbirth.
The only caution offered: tamarind is a very powerful laxative that’s been used since antiquity to solve digestive issues. In Thailand they give bunches of it to elephants to make them poop. And if it works for elephants…
RAW VEGAN RECIPE: Fruit Skewers With Tamarind Sauce
For Marinade:
tamarind pulp from 1 box tamarind pods/ soaked overnight, peeled, pulp removed
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 Tbsp. raw agave nectar
Juice of 2 oranges
Juice and pulp from 1 1/2 limes
pinch pink Himalayan sea salt
Combine all ingredients in blender and blend to form a paste.
For Fruit Skewers:
1 large red onion, cut into 1 1/2 inch squares
1 pineapple, sliced 1/2 inch thick and cut into 1 1/2 inch squares
Pint of cherry tomatoes
2 red or orange bell peppers, sliced into 1 1/2 inch squares
2 firm mangos, sliced into 1 1/2 inch squares
Put fruits and vegetables in a large metal bowl with the marinade.
Toss to incorporate and let marinate for 2-3 hours, refrigerated.
Thread fruits and vegetables onto skewers.
Serve over lettuce.
