vindaloo

I need help in finding a recipe for mussels vindaloo. Does anyone have one?

Your inquiry certainly peaked my interest because meat preparations of vindaloo often require the marinating of meat in a firey vinegary paste including wine and garlic. Then slow cooked with water so that the paste becomes more sauce-like. So, I'm not sure that the preparation that you find at The Gage, which appears to be the Chicago venue that serves this dish, is traditional vindaloo.

It appears from online descriptions, that the mussels are cooked in butter and wine, then slowly steeped in a "vindaloo" sauce to warm and flavor them at the Gage.

There are a number of good prepared bottled curry sauces made by Bombay Authentics, available at Treasure Island that may help you achieve something close to what you're looking for here. The sauces come in varying degrees of heat- all clearly marked on the jar including one called Vindaloo.

I also enjoy the Bombay Authentics line of bottled curries.

...tried them out a few years ago and subsequently apprehended that they were a new introduction to one of the trade shows. Of course nothing beats home cooking, but compared to other off-the-shelf British-made Indian fare I've tried(chutneys, pickles, some truly execrable papadum) Bombay Authentics is far and away the better.

Now, Indian-produced MRE's(or, rather boil-in-bag stews and womens' collectives papadum) are something else entirely...i.e. very, very good

...again...only if you aren't making it yourself(and who makes their own papads?)

I am trying out a lamb vindaloo recipe that calls for tamarind paste. The author warns that ready-made tamarind paste can be bitter and recommends combining pure tamarind pulp and boiling water, let sit for 30 minutes, pour over mesh and squeeze, creating a paste.

Any suggestions for where I can find pure tamarind pulp? I tried Patel Brothers on Devon. They had fresh tamarind and tamarind concentrate, but no tamarind pulp. I didn't have time to work my way down the street. I live on the Northside and would prefer somewhere close-ish to home.

Failing that, has anyone tried the bottled stuff? Is one brand better than another?

Check the frozen food section at an ethnic grocer. Usually, the exotic fruit pulps are kept there, as they don't hold up well if not frozen. Most of the ethnic places have several exotic pastes, but a Hispanic store may be your best bet for tamarind.

Oh, great idea. I will try Cermak and possibly Harvest Foods (which isn't technically ethnic but has an astonishing variety). I'll report back.

Thanks!

I've purchased tamarind paste from a non-Chicago location of Savory Spice Shop (Lincoln Square) for use in some Thai recipes. While I'm not sure if the Lincoln Square location carries it, you might want to check (or contact another spice shop). But I didn't find it to be bitter.

Pretty sure Harvestime on Lawrence has tamarind pulp. Check both the frozen section and the dry goods aisles.

SWAD mades a tamarind paste, that I've seen in supermarkets that stock a lot of Indian groceries.
It's thinner than starting with tamarind pulp, so less sweet and less sour. I will use more of it next time to make up for it.

cleanplateclub wrote:I am trying out a lamb vindaloo recipe that calls for tamarind paste. The author warns that ready-made tamarind paste can be bitter and recommends combining pure tamarind pulp and boiling water, let sit for 30 minutes, pour over mesh and squeeze, creating a paste.

Any suggestions for where I can find pure tamarind pulp? I tried Patel Brothers on Devon. They had fresh tamarind and tamarind concentrate, but no tamarind pulp. I didn't have time to work my way down the street. I live on the Northside and would prefer somewhere close-ish to home.

Failing that, has anyone tried the bottled stuff? Is one brand better than another?

Are you using the recipe from last summer's Saveur? In that issue it's suggested starting from "blocks of pure tamarind pulp" instead of using concentrate ("which can be bitter"). Those little bricks, the size of a bar of soap, should be available on the shelves of most South and Southeast Asian markets. In the past I have definitely purchased tamarind blocks at Patel, on the shelf near the jars of tamarind concentrate. But I haven't found the blocks offer many advantages. You still have to soak it and strain out the fibers (so it's really not "pure tamarind pulp") and the blocks are a pain to cut or break into smaller pieces. Most importantly, I've found the flavor to be generally inferior to fresh pods (there may well be better quality bricks than the ones I've used). I often use tamarind concentrate (currently I have Tamicon; not claiming it's the best), finding it completely adequate for many purposes and extremely simple to use. When tamarind is a major focus of a dish, I'll usually go to the trouble (it's not difficult!) of peeling, soaking and straining fresh pods. Vindaloo has such complex spicing that I think you likely could get away with a spoonful of concentrate. Of course, fresh would be better but I wouldn't worry too much about finding the bricks.

After writing the above, I went looking for a photo of a tamarind block and came across this excellent essay from SheSimmers. Leela, our local Thai authority, has convinced me it just might be worth soaking tamarind blocks and freezing the juice for future use (I'd never considered freezing it). Still, I wouldn't worry too much about it for your next batch of vindaloo. I'd simply use whatever form is most convenient.

The 'bricks' of tamarind from Hispanic or Thai/Vietnamese stores work well - look for one that is somewhat soft and gently yields as you try and bend. Many brands at the Indian stores tend to be a bit more dried and compressed. The softer ones are easier to cut, tend to have less fibers and reconstitute on soaking (after it soaks, just squeeze with fingers to work into the pulp).
The paste works in a pinch, isn't really that bitter, but from what I remember about why I stopped buying it is that it (used to) have more sand or ground shells or whatever.

That said, any recipe that uses tamarind* for vindaloo is sillier than cream cheese in maki.
Sure you need some tartness - it's why the spices, mostly dried chilies are (soaked) ground and mixed with vinegar - palm vinegar (yes, should be in the same Oriental/Asian store you can get the tamarind in) or malt or cider vinegar, even wine vinegar (red or white ).


*Surely, a (British) attempt to try and reclaim some Indian bona fides for dish that has Portugese roots via Africa; surely you see the irony if you make this dish with Mexican chiles back in the New World.

To be clear, the paste I have from Savory is essentially a "brick" and contains nothing but tamarind. But it's called tamarind paste. I suspect it's good to always inspect the label.

Thanks one and all for the great advice. I found pure tamarind pulp at both Cermak and Harvest Time. The vindaloo turned out pretty good. I will probably use a little less vinegar and a little more chilis next time (I was conservative with the heat since my family does not like really hot food). Also I would use pork in stead of lamb. The recipe I used (the one from Saveur) didn't really allow for the meat to brown, which I found kind of unappealing. All in all, it was great fun to track down the ingredients and try something new, so a good experience overall. My New Years resolution was to make a new dish every week. The vindaloo is probably in the middle of the pack in terms of success, so far.