This recipe is for people that like Worcestershire sauce, Coca-Cola, and A-1 sauce, but don't know quite where that flavor comes from.
Tamarind Concentrate, 2 oz./60ml
Garlic, fresh, two heads, peeled.
Anchovies, canned, 2 oz/60 g, with oil.
Peppercorns, 1 oz/30 g.
Vinegar, white, 1 cup/240 ml.
Tomato paste, 1 can 6 oz./175 g.
Corn syrup, 2 cups/480 ml.
White sugar, 1 cup/240 ml.
Kosher Salt, approx. 2 Tablespoons.
Blend anchovies and garlic to a smooth paste, and mix with the remaining ingredients. This recipe will fit in a regular blender!
The dried Tamarind pods look like this.
It is sold in several forms, this is a block of the pulp, with stems included. The block is soaked and the pulp is rubbed off.
I buy the concentrate!
The seed pods from the tamarind tree produce a fibrous pulp that is extremely dark in color and high in tartaric acid. This means it is very tart, but distinguishable from lemon juice or vinegar. While the trees are grown extensively in the American south, they are used mostly for shade and landscaping.
Once separated from the fiber, the syrup is not only thick, it is DARK. Dark like Worcestershire sauce, Coke, and A-1.