The multi-talented tamarind

Known as the ‘Indian date’ tamarind is a versatile fruit used all over the world in everything from chutney to desserts, marinades and stews. In Asian cooking, tamarind is used as a base for savoury dishes or sometimes stirred into drinks and relishes. In other parts of the world, tamarind sweets and candies are popular. It’s even used in British Worcestershire sauce.

The tree is often thought to be indigenous to the Indian continent, however tamarind originates from tropical Africa and was later transported to India. In the 16^th century it was introduced to Mexico and South America where it is used extensively. Today, India is the largest producer of tamarind followed by the US.

  

What does it look like?

The tamarind is a bushy tree which grows up to 59 feet in height. A mature tree is capable of producing up to 386lb (175kg) of fruit per year. The leaves are evergreen, bright green in colour whilst the flowers are red and yellow. The fruit is found in a bean-like hard brown shell known as a pod. Inside the pod are a few inedible large seeds and an edible, sticky, reddish brown flesh. When the pod is young, the pulp is very sour and is often used as a pickling agent. Once ripe however, the fruit is sweeter and less acidic and tastes a bit like a sour date. It can be eaten fresh or is used in desserts as a jam, blended into juices or sweetened drinks, sorbets and ice-creams. In Mexico agua de tamarindo is a very popular drink, made by boiling tamarind pods, removing the pulp and straining the water, and adding sugar.

In Indian food, tamarind can be used to make sauces or curries and as a flavouring for meals and snacks. Tamarind chutney is very popular in north India, made by soaking tamarind pods, squeezing the pulp and mixing with jaggery (cane sugar). Across the Middle East tamarind is often mixed with dry fruits and added to savoury dishes and meat based stews. Combined with chilli in south India and in Thailand it’s used to make the famous Pad Thai noodle dish.

With a unique, strong, sweet and sour taste tamarind is high is tartaric acid, vitamin B and, unusually for a fruit, calcium. It comes in seeded form, or the pulp can be pressed to form a cake or processed to make a paste. If still in the shell, the best way to prepare is to break the shell and remove the sticky pulp by hand.

Beef marinated overnight in a tamarind infused liquid becomes more tenderised and succulent. Medicinally the fruit is used as a poultice applied to the foreheads of fever sufferers. It is thought to cure conjunctivitis and is also used for treating dry eye syndrome. Rich in antioxidants tamarind can protect the body from diseases like cancer and lowers cholesterol. It’s also great for polishing brass and copper mixed with a bit of salt and water.

Tamarind Prawns 

Serves 4 to 5

15 large prawns with shell and tail 

4 oz fresh tamarind

2 tbsp veg oil

2 cloves garlic

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

Pinch of salt

2 tbsp of water

1.     Remove tamarind pulp by breaking pods and removing with hands, removing seeds. Rinse under running water.  

2.     Peel and de-vein the prawns leaving tail on.

3.  Marinate prawns with tamarind pulp and sugar.

4.     Heat oil in wok or deep frying pan. When heated toss in the prawns together with tamarind pulp.

5.     Mix together dark soy sauce, soy sauce, minced garlic and water and pour over prawns.

6.     Fry on medium heat for around 4 minutes stirring until prawns are evenly coated in sauce . When almost ready turn heat on high so that the shells become slightly charred and gravy caramelised.

6.     Transfer to serving plate and serve on a bed of cucumber with rice.

Lamb Shanks with a flavour of India by Memsaab Restaurant

This recipe from Amita Sawnhey who co-owns and runs Memsaab restaurant in Nottingham, gives an exotically spiced makeover to the famous British dish of Lamb Shank.

Lamb Shank

Ingredients (Serves 4 people)

• 4         Lamb shanks
• 4 tbsp Cooking oil
• 2         Large onions, thinly sliced
• 2         Large tomatoes, diced 
• 2 tbsp Garlic paste
• 1 tbsp Ginger paste
• 2 tsp   Coriander powder
• 1 tsp   Cumin powder
• ½ tsp  Turmeric powder
• ½ tsp  Red Chilli powder
• 2 tsp   Garam Masala powder
• 100ml Single Cream

Salt to taste           

Fresh Coriander for garnish

Method

Heat the cooking oil in a heavy bottomed pan suitable for the oven and, on a medium heat, sauté the onions to a golden brown colour. Remove the onions using a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Blend the onions into a smooth paste adding a little water, if required. Separately blend the tomatoes, garlic and ginger pastes together, again into a smooth paste.

Heat the oil left from the frying the onions and add the onion paste. Sauté for a further 2-3 minutes. 

Then add the tomato paste and all the powdered spices. Stir and mix well.

Sauté the resulting (onion, tomato and spice) masala for about ten minutes, until the oil begins to separate from it. Then add the Lamb shank to the masala. Season with salt to taste and stir to fully coat the lamb pieces with the masala.

Sauté until the shank is browned well. Then stir in ½ cup of hot water, mixing well. Cover the pan and simmer for 10 minutes. Place the covered pan into the oven at 150 degrees. Cook for about 45 minutes until the lamb is tender.

When cooked, remove the pan from the oven and gently stir in the single cream. The ‘gravy’ should be fairly thick when done.

Remove from the pan onto a plate and garnish with chopped coriander. The lamb shanks can be served with mashed potato and blanched wild spinach leaf!

Enjoy!

Memsaab in Nottingham - it's the woman's touch!

Amita with Atul Kochhar of Benares

The Observer recently put Memsaab among the top five curry restaurants in the country which is a pretty impressive accolade for fine diner in Nottingham's city centre. I went along to check it out ...

I have many fond memories of the city of Nottingham. Back in the 1980s when I lived and worked there, the burgeoning Indian restaurant scene was more exciting by the day.  At that time, the name on everyone’s lips (with legendary memories for me), was the Mogal E Azam – a venue which seemed, at the time, streets ahead in terms of ambiance, service, and food, where waiters handed out hot towels and the meal ended with the presentation of a casket full of aniseed, fennel and liquorice to sweeten the bill.

Returning to the city after almost 30 years and was glad to see the Mogli (as we used to call it) still going strong and still dishing up the old favourites. However, as the curry industry has developed with ever higher expectations from diners, a host of new restaurants has arrived in Nottingham and now they are putting the wow factor back into Indian dining.

And the cream of the crop is Memsaab. Situated on Maid Marion Way, the main thoroughfare to Nottingham’s bustling city centre, Memsaab is an elegant, upmarket destination which speaks class as soon as you walk up to its imposing glass door. With an array of awards and two AA rosettes, its pre-eminence amongst the plethora of top-notch diners has a great deal to do with its owner, Amita Sawnhey.

Amita runs the restaurant along with her husband, Deepak, and family member Sanjeev Sachdeva. She came to the UK from Calcutta in 2008 from a family with strong associations with the restaurant industry; in fact her father pioneered the introduction of northwest frontier food into southern India. With such a heritage it’s not surprising that she, herself, became a pioneering force in the Indian restaurant business in Britain. She bought Memsaab in 2011 and runs the 200-cover restaurant with a passion her staff members describe as ‘contagious.’

Arriving on a busy Saturday evening, we received a warm welcome from front-of-house manager, Asif, before being shown to a window seat on a raised area looking out over the bustling Maid Marian Way. The interior befits a fine-dining restaurant with clean and crisp tablecloths and the atmosphere is welcoming, but not too formal. Large mirrors make the room seem even more spacious than it is (and that’s pretty big). Quirky and humorous paintings depicting Indian characters and comical maharajahs line the walls. A burgundy and white colour scheme is enhanced by pendant lights and the whole restaurant has a warm, cosy glow. There are also plenty of children and families around, but the overall ambiance is still one of sophistication. With two private rooms at the back, Memsaab does a good trade in parties and weddings but there’s still an exclusive, grown up atmosphere – it’s a great venue to do business, throw a party, have a romantic dinner or maybe do all three!  

Quirky paintings at Memsaab

Amita has a soothing, calm presence – drifting around the restaurant with grace and charm, visiting tables, chatting to guests and making everyone as though they are cared about, cosseted, indulged at every whim. Sanjeev, who is a very genial chap says that every restaurant needs a woman’s touch. It’s certainly apparent at Memsaab, in the cut of the wine glasses, in the china, in the crisp, white linen, in the luxurious bathrooms with their fresh flowers, Moulson and Brown hand gels, even in the computerised toilet seat covers that miraculously replace themselves. Amita’s recipe for success is in making everyone feel at home. She is known for providing a personalised customer service that makes the customer fall in love with Indian food, and her maxim is to always exceed expectations.

Sanjeev admits that they inherited a “good ship” when they took on the restaurant, however, the owners recognise how important it is to keep ahead of the game. At the moment they’re busy taking Memsaab up to the next level and with a clutch of rave reviews from publications such as The Sunday Telegraph, The Guardian, and Hardens Guide, it seems they have succeeded. And not only in the dining sector, also in the corporate community where their regular customers include the likes of Siemens, Boots, Experian and Capital FM.

Amita is an expert in food and wine and champagne pairing so unsurprisingly, the wine list is impressive. She plies us with champagne, which (reluctantly, of course) we have to drink, before we receive our poppadoms – perfectly bubbled and crisp with orange and apricot, spiced onion and apple and mint chutneys.

The menu is just the right size to be interesting yet, reassuringly, every dish is prepared fresh. Amita says they go to extraordinary lengths to source the best ingredients – lamb is bought at a certain age, chicken is a certain size – they may have to pay a bit more but it is worth it to achieve top quality.

Seven chefs work in the kitchen specialising in food from different regions of India, including the Punjab, Lahore, Kerala and Goa. As the menu states, the emphasis is to achieve a foundation of ingredients selected for flavour, freshness and seasonality in order to make uncomplicated, delicious dishes. Each dish is defined by its main ingredient and leading spices compliment that base ingredient.

Our starters included Chicken Reshmi Kebab, charcoal grilled minced chicken; the salmon tikka was moist flavoured with fenugreek leaves and garam masala; Lahore lamb chops were served with the bone conveniently wrapped so we could get to grips with them. Aloo and Paneer Bhaji, lightly fried potato filled with paneer and sweetcorn, seasoned with coriander was crisp and fresh tasting; Jhinga Hara Masala, succulent grilled king prawns were seasoned with carom seeds.  In between courses we were served a melon sorbet with mint garnished with lemon to refresh the palate.

The texture of the sauces was luxurious and rich, flavoured with fresh spices. The slow cooked lamb flavoured with cardamom was tender without being overcooked. Kerala Alleppey, steamed monkfish wrapped in a banana leaf was served with a mixed vegetable pariyal, and pan fried sea bass comes with spiced ratatouille. Goan king prawns, venison kebab and Tandoori Ostrich are on the menu along with Soft Shell Crab with spicy squid.

Even the dessert menu presents a mix of modern and traditional Indian sweets including Gajar Ka Halwa, a carrot pudding with pistachio kulfi, homemade and artistically presented. 

Judging from this visit the Observer's top 5 rating could be a more than fair assessment. It must be the woman's touch.

Memsaab 12-14 Maid Marian Way, Nottingham NG1 6HS

0115 957 0009