or Tamarind Soda, in the manner of Jarritos’s Tamarindo. All that is required is tamarind syrup, topped up with soda water, tonic water or ginger ale. The plain tamarind syrup is nice, but I love the tamarind-ginger version as the flavours are very gingerale’sque. You’ll need ice, a stirrer and an umbrella. Just because. You’ll pour the […]
Month: March 2015
The Makings of Tamarind Syrup
I opted for cold-brewing dried tamarind. I rinsed the pods in water and put them in a jar. Then I topped up with sugar and water and refrigerated overnight. I gave it a few shakes in the course of its rest, to encourage the sugar dissolve and extract some of the earthy flavour of the […]
How To Process Agbalumo
Another look. Consider this the follow-up to The Anatomy of Agbalumo post. In the last few months, I’ve learnt more about agbalumo than I ever though, from its versatility as an ingredient to its nutritional qualities, its provenance across West Africa from Nigeria to Ghana, where it is known as Alasa, Alansa, Adisaa in Twi. The […]
Tamarind: Sweet, Dried, Velvet
Sweet, Sour & Earthy, tamarind is common across India, Thailand, West Africa and other parts of the world in various forms. Taking its English name from the Arabic, tamar-hindi, meaning “Indian date,” tamarind is typically used in equatorial cuisines, such as Indian, Mexican, and Thai. Also known as imli, tamarind is used as a souring […]
How to Chiffonade Scent leaves & Other Herbs
Soft herbs with wide leaves like scent leaves, basil, mint make great chiffonade. Chiffonade, French for ‘made of rags’ is an easy technique with beautiful results, like in the scent leaf bits which garnished my Tuwon Shinkafa in pepper soup. Here’s how to chiffonade soft herbs Wash leaves. Arrange in a pile. Roll length ways into a […]
Salted Agbalumo Caramels
If at first you don’t succeed, dust yourself off and try again. Whether that be in love or toffee. No, I don’t give up that easily. Where powdered milk and glucose wouldn’t do the trick to form a delightful Agbalumo toffee, cream, maple syrup and light corn syrup did. While I applaud my genius and […]
The Best In-flight Entertainment for Food Lovers
I love travelling yet there are many aspects that I would gladly do without – the entire visa application process (I just emerged from a traumatic experience) which is tedious and can go awry, packing, traffic to the airport, checking in…almost everything up to the minute I sit in my (often economy) seat. All’s well […]
Agbalumo at Border Control
I’m amazed when they both know what it is. They arent familiar with African Cherry but when I mention star apple they say yes. They can’t remember agbalumo but the White American gentleman says Udara as does the South American. The dried one has them stunned. ‘I know it …but I’ve never seen it dried’. […]
Did You Know? On Storing Bread
I can’t count the number of times I’ve begged family and friends not to keep bread in the fridge. I can tell you that the resistance I’ve faced is something else. I don’t know when I learnt about bread and the best storage mechanism. Did you know that bread is best stored at room temperature? […]