Tamarind Sauce
As mentioned above, phulourie is perfect with tamarind sauce, and is a good sauce for any duck or poultry dish. Tamarind is a tree-pod much like vanilla that produces a very fruity sour pulp. Sugar is used to sweeten the dish, but it can be used in many sweet-and-sour types of sauces.
Ingredients:
- 1 lbs tamarind (either in the pod, or in a brick, commonly sold at Caribbean grocery stores) with seeds.
- water
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
Directions:
Remove tamarind from pod by peeling away the brown outer layer with a spoon. Place tamarind in water to soften, let sit for about 20 minutes. When softer, use hands to break apart the tamarind, and remove seeds. When all seeds are removed, press tamarind in a cheese cloth to drain.
Put tamarind, sugar, and ginger into a mixing bowl. Add water until it is a thick sauce (thickness of sauce depends on preference). Beat the sauce together with a whisk until fully mixed. Make sure to taste the sauce to ensure it is sweet enough, if not, add more sugar and ginger.
Note: for something even more special; add hot peppers, cumin, mint, or even garam masala for different flavors.
Could you please tell me whether this would be the ‘sour’ my Guyanese husband is referring to which he says is often eaten with phulourie and egg ball?
Thanks so much for such a helpful and delicious collection of Guyanese recipes. I’m English and have lived in Barbados for the past 15 years, so familiar with some Caribbean recipes, but I am just a poor old rookie where Guyanese dishes are concerned!
That sounds just about right (mango achar) my mother fixes all these dishes, just the way you have your recipes, lived in Berbice, the hot peppers is what I like about these dishes.