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Mamta's Kitchen Tamarind Ketchup

Ingredients

  • 400 g dry tamarind pulp, with stones/skins intact
  • 1 l hot water
  • 1 tsp oil
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • large pinch asafoetida powder
  • 6-7 tsp salt *
  • 100 g jaggery or brown or muscovado sugar *
  • 1 tsp chilli powder *
  • 2 tsp roasted cumin powder
  • 1-2 tsp garam masala

Instructions

  • Break the tamarind block up as best you can and soak in hot water for an hour or longer. This will soften up the dry tamarind. It should be squishy.
  • Massage the pulp to help separate seed and skins. I followed mum's advice to wear rubber gloves as tamarind is quite acidic.
  • Mash and squeeze the pulp to release a thick liquid of the flesh and water. Mum usually uses a colander or sieve to squeeze the pulp against for this step however the most recent time I made the ketchup, I was at a friends and found her steaming set a great help – a large pan with small colander-sized holes in the base that fits snugly on top of a large saucepan – much more stable than mashing into a colander or sieve balanced in a pan or bowl!
  • Depending on how well you've extracted flesh from the seeds and skins, you might want to re-soak the remnants in a smaller volume of hot water and make a second pass of mashing and squeezing. I do usually do this.
  • You should end up with a large quantity of thick liquid.
  • If you used a colander for the previous step, you may wish to strain the liquid through a sieve to get rid of any remaining lumps of skin or seed but if the liquid looks smooth and lump-free, don't bother.
  • Discard the seeds, skins etc.
  • In a large pan heat the oil. Add the cumin seeds and asafoetida powder.
  • When the seeds splutter, pour in the tamarind liquid and all other ingredients except the garam masala.
  • Allow it to boil briskly, stirring from time to time.
  • Taste and adjust salt, jaggery/sugar and chillies to reach your preferred balance of sweetness, acidity and heat.
  • If the liquid is too thin continue to heat to reduce volume and thicken up. Note, this ketchup is not intended to be really thick and gloopy but of a pouring consistency.
  • Add garam masala and stir in.
  • Take off the heat and allow to cool.
  • Pour into sterilised, airtight bottles or jam jars.

Notes

* The quantity of these ingredients should be adjusted during cooking, according to taste. The tarter the tamarind, the more salt and sugar it will need.