Tamarind Brandy Sour

Leslie and I?  We're talking TAMARINDOS today.  Tamarinds (or tamarindo en español) are legumes that  grow on trees that can get to be as tall as 80 feet high.  Each tamarind pod contains a soft pulp that surrounds hard seeds.  The pulp is edible and acidic and ranges from sour to sweet.  It grows in warm, tropical climates and is used to make refreshing beverages, candies and ices, and even used as a savory ingredient in pickled dishes, meat or fish dishes, or condiments like Worcestershire sauce.

Ponche Navideño {she made, ella hace}

For this month's edition of she made, ella hace, Leslie and I thought that it would be fun to make Ponche Navideño (basically, Christmas Punch).  We just call it Ponche around here.  Every year around about the beginning of December, you can long rods of sugar canes leaning against one wall of our local Mexican Mercados.  I'm talking TALL.  Taller than six foot each and standing straight up like pool sticks.  I remember about ten years ago just standing there and wondering what in the world they were used for.  I wanted to bring one home just for the fun of it.  But I waited.  And I went home and asked the hubs about them.  Not long after that, I was pretty educated in the ways of Christmas in Mexico.  And the glories of Ponche.

Mi esposo gets a far-off look in his eyes when he remembers  his mami's simmering pots of Ponche...and really, I can't blame him.  If you come home to a warm home that is permeated with the warm, sweet scent of cinnamon, apples, oranges, and tamarindo...you'd swear it was Christmas Eve then and there.  It puts you in a very dreamy state of mind.  For those of you who've never tried it, it is very reminiscent of spiced cider.  Or maybe a Hot Toddie.

Recipes and methods for making ponche vary from state to state, town to town, and person to person...just like any cherished family keepsake.  And now I feel extra cool when I saunter into the mercado in December and walk out with a rod of sugar cane that is taller than me in one hand and a bag overflowing with tamarindo, tejocotes, piloncillo and canela among various other things in my other hand.  You can use crab apples instead of tejocotes if you aren't able to find any.  You could add pears or raisins.  You could even add other spices, if you choose.  Add fruit whole, halved, sliced...find your favorite way of doing it.  Some people like to cut their fruit into chunks small enough to fit in their cups.  We prefer to leave them larger and pull just ladlefuls of steaming liquid from the pot or bowl.  And just like Mexi grew up doing, we serve a slice of cañe that you can dip into the liquid and then pull through your teeth...chewing along the way to release that sweet liquid.  Heck, in a pinch you can even buy Ponche "mixes" (basically dried fruit and spices or fruit suspended in liquid in glass jars) in the right mercado.

Here's the way we make our Ponche...and now I'm headed over to see how Leslie made hers!

Ponche Navideño

{Christmas Punch}

from the kitchen of girlichef

yield: just over a gallon

1 lb. tejocotes (hawthorne apples)

1 lb. guayabas (guavas)

9" stick of cañe (sugar cane), or the equivalent

3½ oz. tamarindo pods (tamarind)

2 large sticks canela (Mexican cinnamon)

2 naranjas (oranges)

2 large manzanas (apples)

4 oz. ciruelas (prunes), pitted

7 oz. piloncillo (unrefined sugar cone)

3 quarts + 2 cups cold water

to finish:

rum, brandy, tequila or other alcohol (optional)

Prepare fruit:

Cut tejocotes in half and remove the large seeds.  If you like, you can blanch them for a few minutes in boiling water, then remove.  This will let you easily half and seed them...plus, you'll be able to just slip off the skins.  If you want to do this, I recommend measuring out the amount of water called for and then doing it right in this water, so as to not lose any flavor.

Cut guayabas in half, crosswise.  Slice oranges.  Cut the apple from the core and slice.  Cut ciruelas in half, lengthwise.

Cut the sugar cane into sections by carefully whacking your knife down on one of the "divider" lines hard a few times.  You should be able to just use your hands to break it off the rest of the way...or else just continue to cut through with your knife.  Slip the edge of a sharp knife under the outer "lip" of the outside of the sugar cane.  Carefully push down with your knife while pulling back on the hard "bark".  Basically, you're peeling it.  Do this all the way around.  Once it is peeled all the way, cut into strips, lengthwise.  You could shell and seed the tamarindo, if you'd like to...but I don't.

Place everything except the alcohol into a large pot and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and let slowly bubble for ~30 minutes.

Serve hot from the cooking vessel or transfer to a punch bowl.  Plop one of the strips of sugar cane into your cup to use as a swizzle stick and then ladle in the warm punch.  Drink and enjoy.  

Or add a healthy shot of rum (or other alcohol) to the cup and then ladle in the warm punch.  Drink and enjoy even more!

*Head on over for a cup of mi amiga Leslie's Ponche!*

What happens when two American girls who are both married to Mexican guys find out that although one of them lives in the U.S. and one of them lives in Mexico, they both love eating the same food?  Well, naturally they decide to get "together" the only way they can and cook up the same dishes.  Or perhaps take the same ingredients and talking about them in their own voice or using them in their own way. 

Leslie and I have teamed up to occasionally cook/bake/make a our own versions of the same food.  We want to see how similar (or how different) they turn out.  Other times we will pick an ingredient and use it however we choose...or maybe just talk about it.  Good food knows no borders and we hope to share the food we love with you.  It's not a competition, it's a showcase.  We will post on the same day as each other and would love to hear your thoughts on what we've made and how you make it. 

Join me (here at girlichef) and Leslie in her kitchen (at La Cocina de Leslie) for some delicious food.

I am sharing this post with:

Agua de Tamarindo

Up until about 10 years or so ago, I didn't know much about the tamarindo (family Leguminosae).  Not much beyond a Jarritos bubbly beverage or a delicious, sour, hot, chewy candy that could be quite addictive.  My hubby on the other hand was quite familiar with that sticky fruit that surrounded pit-like seeds and lay enclosed in a hard, brownish pod.  Growing up, my suegra (mother-in-law) used to give him and his hermanos cut up pieces of tamarindo instead of candy.  To them it was like watching all the other kids in the neighborhood get an ice cream cone from the ice cream truck while he had to have a popsicle from his own freezer...like eating a "house burger" when all the other kids were eating Mc D's.  If only we had known then what we know now, huh?

 

Ha ha ha ha....okay...back to tamarindos.  Another thing mi suegra makes is Agua de Tamarindo.  Tamarind Water.  It is called Agua Fresca (fresh water) or sometimes an Agua Preparada (prepared water).  I'm definitely going to be making several kinds of Agua Frescas over the summer...they're so cooling and, well, fresh go figure.  This is mi suegras method for making Agua de Tamarindo...I've added in "amounts" for the ingredients, but they are really up to your own tastes.  Like most all of the seasoned home cooks in Mexico...and elsewhere, just fits my story to say Mexico...my MIL uses her hands and her eyes to measure.  I've given you the measurements I came up with while making it her way...

Agua de Tamarindo
from la cocina de mi suegra

~1/2 - 3/4 lb. tamarindo pods
~1 1/2 qts. water
~1/2 c. piloncillo, crushed  (if you don't have access to piloncillo, you can substitute brown sugar)

Begin by peeling the hard pod away from the sticky fruit inside.  Grab the stem-end and snap it.  There are strings that run the length of the pod...gripping the stem, pull down, releasing the strings from the fruit.  This will crack the pod on the way down.  Peel off what remains of the pod.  You will be left with a long, sticky tamarindo.  The bumps are the areas where there are seeds.  You do not need to remove the seeds now for making the Agua Fresca, but they do pop out pretty easily if you make a little slit in the side.  Or just take a bite off and slide it off in your mouth.  It's sour, but delicious! And you will be left with sticky fingers once all of your tamarindos are shelled.

Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy pot.  Add the shelled fruit and the piloncillo.  Boil for a few minutes to dissolve the sugar and loosen the tamarindo from the seeds, then cover and turn off the heat.  Let the pot sit for 3 or 4 hours...or even overnight.

Remove the lid and stick in your clean hands and massage all that tamarindo pulp around...make sure it's mashed up good and that it's released from the seeds.  Strain it into a pitcher that holds at least 2 quarts.  Press on the pulp and seeds to make sure you get all that great flavor out.  If you don't like the cloudy sediment (which is delicious and harmless), then strain it again, but this time set a damp coffee filter inside your strainer to hold all the larger sediment.

Add enough cold water to make 2 quarts.  Taste and if you like it sweeter, stir in a bit more crushed piloncillo.  Mi suegra sometimes just makes the water initially w/out the piloncillo and sets a whole cone of it in the water while it's sitting...letting it dissolve as it will.  You can do it either way...whatever you like!

That's it! Serve it nice and cold.

I store and serve it in my favorite clay pot, but I wanted to give you a clearer view of it, too...so here it is, a little more visible.

This is my entry into My Legume Love Affair from Susan at The Well Seasoned Cook and hosted this month by Diana at A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa.



*I am also entering this in Recipe4Living's Summertime Sipper Contest (thanks Sophia!!)!

AND OF COURSE THIS IS MY REAL FOOD POST FOR TODAY...TWO FOR TUESDAYS!!