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Tamarind/Apple hot sauce featuring Brain Strains

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DocNrock

I got inspired by reading all the recipes. I love tamarind and today it dawned on me for a complementary flavor...apples! I had ordered some Brain Strains earlier in the week and needed to use them for something. So, I went online and came up with an idea to make a tamarind/apple hot sauce. I just finished and it seems to taste pretty good....and hot as hades!

I'm going to let the flavors marry overnight. If it still tastes good tomorrow, I'll post my "recipe" and pics at the stages of processing.
 
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So this tastes pretty good!

done-1.jpg


Stars of the show:

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Supporting cast:

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Here is how it got there:

1 handful of tamarind
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup water
one lemon, juiced
one large red onion
one sweet bananna pepper
one pod garlic
one root ginger
2 medium gala apples
dash of cumin
salt to taste
23 brain strain chilis

First to break down the tamarind. After shelling and removing the long fibers, simmer them in 1/3 cup AC vinegar and the lemon juice. Then remove the seeds.

tampasteone.jpg



There was not much tamarind paste and quite a bit left on the seeds, so I did a second round with another 1/3 cup water. Much less left on the seeds, but still some. Anyway, got a lot more tamarind paste total.

tamtwo.jpg


Next I chopped the remaining ingredients and sauteed them.

sautee.jpg


Peppers chopped and deseeded. I put a few in the sautee pan. Man, I had to turn on the vent hood over the cooktop!

choppedpeppers.jpg


After everything was sauteed, it went into the food processor along with the tamarind paste and chopped peppers. Then it went onto the stove to simmer and reduce.

Before:

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After:

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Done!

done-1.jpg


Enjoy, but probably use MUCH fewer brain strains. I completely overdid it. Way too hot and now that I tried more of it, it has a soapy pepper aftertaste. I think the recipe is a keeper based on tasting the base stock before adding the last of the peppers, but fewer peppers would be the way to go, IMHO.
 
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I was going to say the same thing - you are braver than I am to be using so many of those. It looks like it'll set the house on fire. I like the idea of apples though. Maybe peel them though to get a smoother texture?
 
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Greg H said:
I was going to say the same thing - you are braver than I am to be using so many of those. It looks like it'll set the house on fire. I like the idea of apples though. Maybe peel them though to get a smoother texture?
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Thanks. Its still usable in very small amounts. Unfortunately in the small amounts, the flavor of the other items doesn't really come through. Just had about 1/8th of a teaspoon of it on my hashbrowns. Nice heat and not overwhelming, at all. No soapy taste in small quantitities.

My Wife makes awesome curries. She's going to use some of this in some chicken curry this weekend.

Next time I will peel the apple. I had planned on straining this but its a bit too thick. Like trying to strain applesauce!

Thanks for looking.
 
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Lucky Dog Hot Sauce said:
sounds like a good combo to me. I love tamarind. Get the balance right between the peppers, tamarind and apple and add more acidity and you have a real winner there I think. :cheers:
Click to expand...

It came out pretty good for just guessing at things. I think the next batch I will do more like a spicy condiment with fewer peppers. Your balance comment is spot-on. I think a bit more tamarind, a bit less apple (maybe a sour apple), and a bit more vinegar.

I've got some supers in the freezer from a few recent buys. In a couple of weeks, I may give this another go.
 
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The time has come for me to try this again, this time with a few tweaks. Here is what I think I will do.


4 tablespoons of tamarind paste (storebought)
1 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
3 large lemons, juiced
2 large red onion
2 pods smoked garlic
1 large root ginger, peeled
1 large green apple, peeled
2 dashes of cumin
salt to taste
undecided on cilantro
Multiple types of smoked chilis ( have a lot of superhots and hots on hand now) I'm thinking about using mostly yellow peppers. If so, I just might add a bit of turmeric for color/additonal flavor.

This is going to be more of a salsa than a hot sauce. Of course I might puree half of it and make some hot sauce, especially if there are leftover peppers.

Breaking out the smoker this weekend for smoked chickens. The peppers will b a perfect way to utilize the spare rack space.
 
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Hi Doc
Peeling the apples should help with consistency... it won't make it any less hard to strain though. The source of apple pectin is the crushed pulp (pomace), and its presence will make it extremely hard to strain through a fine screen or jelly bag. You might do better using a food mill to process the fruits and vegetables after cooking. It also might be easier to extract the pulp of the tamarind from the seeds and fibers with one.
 
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stickman said:
Hi Doc
Peeling the apples should help with consistency... it won't make it any less hard to strain though. The source of apple pectin is the crushed pulp (pomace), and its presence will make it extremely hard to strain through a fine screen or jelly bag. You might do better using a food mill to process the fruits and vegetables after cooking. It also might be easier to extract the pulp of the tamarind from the seeds and fibers with one.
Click to expand...

Hey Rick, that was the reason I bought some tamarind paste. Way too much work to extract the pulp from whole tamarinds the last time around and for not much yield.

Now I've got to look into getting a food mill... :)
 
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Thanks for posting this DocNRock! I just happened to have a block of tamarind that I needed to use up, along with a bunch of Trinidad Moruga Scorpions from my garden...Perfect solution! I did modify the recipe a bit to more suit my tastes. If it works out, I'll post the modifications I made for mine. Thanks again!
 
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metalbird said:
Thanks for posting this DocNRock! I just happened to have a block of tamarind that I needed to use up, along with a bunch of Trinidad Moruga Scorpions from my garden...Perfect solution! I did modify the recipe a bit to more suit my tastes. If it works out, I'll post the modifications I made for mine. Thanks again!
Click to expand...

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
 
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A co worker just got back from a business trip in Mexico and came back with a gift basket with Mexican sweet treats.  One of the items was " Ollita de Tamarindo". It's a little clay pot filled with Tamarind paste and a touch of chiles. Nice bitter sweet with a touch of heat.
 
So I did a google search and one of the top hits brought me to this thread. Like the others in the thread, I'm going to give it a go and see what comes of it. I have a pint of fermented Reaper mash, garlic, with added vinegar from 2014 in the fridge. I'll use  a little of the mash along with tamerind, some citrus, brown sugar. apple juice and see what happens.
 
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