Something clicked in my head while reading about tamarind on some website, and suddenly I remember making my own tamarind paste from a tamarind “brick” not too long ago. That effort was the death knell for my last blender. It sputtered, smoked and fizzled out to an unhealthy sounding electrical hum; but the rendered tamarind paste was superb and certainly worth it. I unearthed one of my individually frozen tamarind paste portions in a freezer, and I set out to create a recipe for the organic chicken thighs I had just brought home. After a little research and some pondering, I came up with the following creation. Without a doubt, it’s a mouthwatering, tangy-sweet tamarind glaze that can be used with any grilled fare instead of store-bought glaze or BBQ sauce. I hope you like it!
Ingredients for Chicken and Glaze
(yields 6-8 servings)
- 8 skinless boneless chicken thighs (fat trimmed)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced
- juice of one lime (grate and reserve peel)
- 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 28 ounces chicken stock
- pulp of one grated or mashed nectarine
- 1/2 cup mango-orange-peach juice (or plain orange)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons tamarind paste*
- ½ Tbsp grated lime peel
- ½ Tbsp grated fresh ginger
Ingredients for Beans & Corn Salad
- 1 small head red leaf lettuce, washed and chopped
- 1/2 cup green mong dal beans (or your favorite dal or other small bean)
- 1/2 cup black-eye beans (or your favorite medium size bean)
- 1 small red onion, finely sliced
- 1 grilled ear of corn, kernels scraped off husk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Your favorite vinaigrette dressing (I added chopped cilantro to mine)
Rinse beans several times and let soak in a bowl of clean water for several hours. Boil beans in salted water until just tender. Drain well, rinsing with cold water, and set aside to cool.
Place the chicken thighs in a bowl. Combine the next 7 ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour mixture over chicken, turning to coat well. Cover and chill at least 1 hour.
In a large saucepan, mix the broth, juice, sugar, butter, nectarine pulp, tamarind paste, lime zest, and ginger. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat for about 30 minutes, stirring often until it’s reduced to about 3/4 cup of thick glaze. Season with salt and pepper and let cool.
Meanwhile, prepare barbecue to medium-high heat. Coat or spray the ear of corn with vegetable oil (to avoid drying out) and grill it several minutes per side. When lightly charred, remove corn from the grill and, once cooled, scrape the kernels off the husk with a sharp knife. Place the chopped red leaf lettuce, red onion slices, beans and corn in a large bowl. Just before serving, add vinaigrette to taste and toss to coat well.
Next, grill the chicken about 3 minutes per side, until cooked through, basting with some of the glaze. Add the dressing to the salad and toss. Transfer the salad to dinner plates, top with the grilled chicken thighs, and spoon the glaze over the chicken pieces. Optional: serve with grilled pita slices.
* Tamarind paste is available at Indian, Asian, and some Middle Eastern markets.
RSA