Khatti- Meethi Imli
As a souring agent, the khatti-meethi tamarind has long been a lasting resident in Indian kitchens. Tamarind is used in a variety of dishes, including Puliyoghare, Sonth ki chutney in Chaats, our childhood favourite Imli ki Goli, and even soaked and squeezed tamarind pulp to flavour sambhar. The tangy fruit has the potential to open a box of happy memories- I remember sitting down with a group of mischievous classmates from school to play Chowka Baara with tamarind seeds and climbing on the car roof trying hard to reach a bunch of them while on a road trip.
The tamarind tree branches out into reddish-pink tender leaves that mature to green. The plant begins to bloom as tiny yellow flowers, then grows into a green pod with a sharp, sour taste at this stage before turning into a rich brown sticky pulp. However, would you have considered tamarind as a contributor to Root to Shoot cooking when discussing it? While exploring deeper into the concept, I was amazed by how every part of the tamarind tree is used in an edible manner. And believe me when I say that each of these bits are used in the most delectable way. The tamarind wood is also utilized, but as a medium to cook food for it’s tendency to burn for longer hours.
To begin with tamarind seeds- they were traditionally consumed as a snack in rural India after they were roasted and skinned. It was thought to be beneficial for people who had a habit of constantly nibbling because these tamarind seeds were brittle to chew and required saliva to soak the seed for easy chewing. Another remarkable Mangalorean delicacy that appears to be a forgotten dish is tamarind seeds soaked in buttermilk; which Annapoorna Prabhu Sanoor discusses in her blog as a simple dish in which tamarind seeds are roasted until aromatic, peeled, and soaked in buttermilk and salt overnight until soft, and then savored the following day.
As I dug deeper I came across another, rather appealing use of these seeds in the form of Laddoos known as “Pulinkuru Undas” in Malayalam. This intrigues me because tamarind is often associated with sour notes, that using the seeds of a souring agent to make a sweet preparation was not something I could think of, but voila! Tamarind seeds powder, roasted rice powder, jaggery powder, some grated coconut to hold the mix and cardamom powder is all the recipe calls for, to be rolled into ball sized Undes then topped with a cashew.
Another part of the tamarind tree that has interesting uses in Indian kitchens are the leaves. They are usually cooked when they are tender, which is easy to determine because of their pinkish-red appearance. The Chinta Chiguru as the tender leaves are called in Telugu find their place in Andhra kitchens, where they were used in pappu, with mamasam (meat), and even in pachadis.
I was intrigued by all the preparations I came across while researching, and could not wait to try my hands on the greens of this nostalgic fruit. My house-help assisted me in obtaining these greens from her village and we indulged in merrily pounding a chutney as she happily recounted her school days as a child. She and her friends would pluck some tamarind leaves on their way home and share them as a friendly exchange with their neighbor in return for some salt. The neighbor would quickly make a fresh chutney out of the leaves and distribute it in the neighborhood.
Recipe for the Chutney :
Serves 4
Ingredients:
Tender tamarind leaves — 1 cup
Peeled Garlic Cloves — 5 cloves
Green Chilli — 3
Grated Ginger- 1 tsp
Jaggery — 1 tsp
Grated Coconut — 1 tbsp
Split Roasted Gram — ½ tbsp.
(I had a mix of tamarind leaves, pods and flowers, and hence used them all to make the chutney)
Method:
-First, wash and clean the tamarind leaves, flowers and pods to get rid of mud.
-Next, heat a kadai and dry roast green chillies, split roasted gram and the tamarind leaves on low flame for a few seconds until the leaves slightly wilt. Ensure the heat is low to prevent it from burning.
- Immediately transfer the dry roasted ingredients into a mortar and pestle, or in a mixer jar and allow it to slightly cool. Then add peeled garlic cloves, jaggery, grated ginger, grated coconut and pound it/grind it until it becomes a coarse paste.
- Add salt as per taste and serve with Akki Roti/ Dosai or Rice
We ate the chutney with hot rice and ghee, and my dadu (grandfather), who had no idea what chutney had been served to him, immediately shared that it reminded him of his younger days, when he would pluck tamarind flowers on his way back home (from school) and eat them with a dash of sugar.
Hope this read took you down memory lane!
It’s time to guess the next plant- yet another childhood favorite. Yellow, green and orange in color; pickle the raw ones or puree the sweet ones. It’s seasonal availability is the biggest clue- Uff ye garmi!
Sources:
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