What a Tart! : THE ABANDONED HUSBAND’S GUIDE TO SURVIVAL

What a Tart! : THE ABANDONED HUSBAND’S GUIDE TO SURVIVAL:

It is by far the most common tree you will see all over India. It is found in forests, as ancient holy groves, in gardens and orchards. It lines the sides of many state and district roads.

Tamarind, a deciduous forest tree yields one of the essential ingredients of Indian Cooking. It is by far the tartest fruit that can be used. Small kids spend hot afternoons under its shade, chucking stones up into the tree and picking up the fruits as they fall. The green pulp is under the woody skin of the pod. With the husks removed, sometimes the seeds too, the pulp dries into a reddish chocolate color. The dried tamarind is slightly hygroscopic but can keep and in fact matures over months and even a couple years of storage. The active source of the Sourness and Tartness is Tartaric Acid, rather than Citric Acid which comes from other citrus fruits like lemons.

The Tamarind Tree has an iconic status among the flora of India. Some rever it, some fear it – “You’ll get possessed by a Vethal (Demon) if you sleep under one”.

Yet the most revered tamarind tree shades the grave of a great saint of music – Mian Tansen. He was one of the “nine gems” of Mogul Emperor Akbar’s Court in the 16^th. Century. The Tree is believed to be that old too. The pilgrimage is to Gwalior Fort, where Mian Tansen’s grave and the tree is. The ritual, for any promising singer is to take just two leaflets from this tree and the singer will get gifted with a Golden Voice – by the Saint. I heard this story sometime when I was already in my forties, but it was a pilgrimage I have not been able to make. Now, if I can even get the chance, I see little use of a Golden Voice for a 60 plus old Rocker, who’s almost retired. I’d probably be better off taking one of the younger and more nubile young female singers, and perhaps they may be a little grateful for their Golden Voice.

Tamarind trees grow really old. At Nallur, a small village near Bangalore, we found a grove of Tamarind trees at least 300 years old. They were near an older temple. We also found that the village lay on top of a ruined town – walled and about half a mile wide. We found the ruins of another temple, and going by the architecture, could possibly be from the Ganga Dynasty – about 7^th. Century AD.

There are hundreds of such groves all over the country. Many had rather macabre pasts. In the 1830s, William Bentick discovered an ancient secret society – the “thugees”. They roamed the main travel routes disguised as travelling groups of Pilgrims. They would latch onto a group of genuine travelers and invite them to rest in such groves. Suddenly, at a signal from their leader, the Thugees would murder the genuine travelling group. For this they used a “roomaal” or Silk Scarf to strangle their victims. They would then rob all the valuables and after beheading their victims, buried the skulls together in the grove. Several such gruesome mass graves have been found in these groves. Bentick, alongwith Col. Sleeman – a British officer who penetrated into the heart of the Thugees, learnt their ways and secret sign language by disguising himself as a Thug, finally destroyed this secret society.

A good sized old tamarind tree could yield around 10 kgs. of cleaned & de-seeded material each year. This is more than what even a large family would need for a whole year. For each dish, the amount of tamarind required is actually quite small.

Even for “pullikaachal” – a concentrate of spiced Tamarind, 50 grams could make quite a lot. To make “Pullikaachal”, take between 25 to 35 grams of Tamarind – without husks or seeds and soak in two cups of water for about an hour. If you want to speed up this, use hot water or put into a microwave for about half a minute. Once the tamarind is soft, you will have to squeeze all the pulp and juices into the water with your fingers – a pretty messy thing – and you’ll be in a hurry to wash your hands.

Put  4 Tablespoons of Til or Gingelly oil into a frying pan and when the oil is hot, add the seasoning: 1 Teaspoon each Kadalai / Channa Dal and Urud Dal; A quarter teaspoon of  Asafetida; half teaspoon of Methi (Fenugreek) seeds; 10 to 12 dried red chilies – chopped. When the dals brown, add half teaspoon of Kadugu (Mustard seeds) and throw in a sprig of Karvepillai (Curry leaves).

As the Musturd crackles pour in the Tamarind Water. Add half a teaspoon of Turmeric Powder and salt. Now let it all boil – for a rather long time. The Tamarind water should boil down into thick slurry and the color will also change. You could also add a teaspoon of “Sambhar Powder”. In Kerala, ginger ground down into a paste is also cooked along with the Tamarind Water.

Pullikaachal is spicy Chutney which makes a nice tartly dip for Chappathis, Dosas, Idlis etc. It can also be used as a spicy spread on bread slices. The thing is, it will keep for quite some time – the tartaric acid acting as a preservative. For the busy, always in a hurry ABANDONED HUSBAND, Pullikaachal is, like the various dry Chutney Powders I’ve described in earlier chapters, an essential for that instant meal or snack.

 It can be added to rice to make Pulliyogore – the standard “prasadam” at Vishnu Temples.

Boil rice – in a rice cooker or pressure cooker with a little lesser amount of water – about 75% of what you will normally use. Mix 3 or 4 teaspoons of Pullikaachal into the hot cooked rice – add more Til / Gingily oil if needed and your Pulliyogore is ready. Serve with any standard Coconut Chutney.

In south India, the Tamils prefer the almost blackish variety of Tamarind, while in Karnataka, we prefer the more reddish and slightly sweet “Malur” type. There is also available packaged Tamarind Concentrate in Departmental Stores. I am personally not in favor of this concentrate and prefer to soak the raw tamarind to get out the juice. But I suppose this will have to do for the average TamBrahm of Boston or California.

For the ABANDONED HUSBAND Tamarind is a must to have around. I have been able to have Ragi Mudde – that very rural Karnataka thing, with a “Gojju” prepared with a few green chilies, an onion and a few pods of Garlic – all mashed up together – no cooking. I’ve also seen some strange applications. At Chunni Lal’s in Allahabad, easily the best “Chole Bhature” in the world, a side sauce of just Tamarind water is also given. This dish is garnished with finely chopped beetle leaf!

Tamarind is used in Veththai Kozhumbu, Molagu Kootu, (typically TamBrahm preparations) Sambhars and Rasams for their sour / tart taste. But a small bit of tamarind can also be added to various Chutneys and other side dishes. Some spinach like Methi, Manthakaali are a bit bitter. Cooking them with a little tamarind water helps.