Musika (Tamarind) Purée
Annabel Hughes Aston is an award-winning chef, organic gardener, forager and writer, who lives with her husband on a farm in the Zambezi Valley, upstream from Victoria Falls in Livingstone, Zambia.
- Servings Yield: Varies according to how much fruit pulp is used
Ingredients
- Musika/tamarind fruit pulp
- Warm water
- Granulated sugar
Preparation
1. Place the musika/tamarind pulp into a medium bowl. Add warm water, ensuring all the fruit is well-covered, and soak for 3-4 hours, or until the pulp starts separating from the seeds and turns into a thick puree. If it becomes too thick, add a little more water.
2. Transfer the puree to a heavy-based saucepan and add the sugar. I use 118 ml (½ cup) sugar to every 473 ml (2 cups) tamarind puree.
3. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, stirring regularly until the sugar has dissolved. Once boiling, turn down the heat and simmer until the consistency of the puree becomes smoother and starts to soften, about 30 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat, cool, and store in sterilized preserving jars in the refrigerator. The puree will last for months.
Annabel Hughes Aston
Annabel Hughes Aston is an award-winning chef, organic gardener, forager and writer, who lives with her husband on a farm in the Zambezi Valley, upstream from Victoria Falls in Livingstone, Zambia. Annabel is an advocate for hyperlocal, plant-forward, sustainable dining. She has spent the past nine years, since moving to Livingstone, developing an organic garden and experimenting with, and fusing, wild and indigenous ingredients with the produce she grows. She uses locally-produced dairy, meat and fish, while the garden, the market, the village and the wilderness make up the mainstay of her pantry: fresh organic garden produce, indigenous heirloom grains and seeds, bush fruits, tree nuts, wild mushrooms, legumes, roots, leaves and more, which she crafts into an ever-changing menu according to the seasons.
Courtesy photo
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