For Muslim's breaking their fast during Ramadan, Phoenix Dactylifera, dates to you and me, are a good source of energy and will slowly help restart the digestive process back to its pre-fasting norm. This pickle uses both the fresh kind and the dried. The fresh taste a little like a sweet coconut apple and the dried have that unique sticky and cloying moreishness.
Popular in Iran and Iraq this gooey pickle is great with fried or scrambled eggs or as a bracing accompaniment to cheese.
Ingredients
500g fresh and dried dates
150g sumac
200g tamarind brick
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
juice of 2 lemons
Seperately, soak the Sumac and tamarind in a little water overnight. Stone the fresh and dried dates and soak them foe a few hours. Then roughly chop them. Add the strained tamarind and sumac, the rest of the spices and the lemon juice. Spoon all the lovely gooeyness into sterilized jars and keep in a cool place. The fridge is a little too cool and the mixture has a tendancy to crystallize but the pickle will probably last longer if refrigerated.
Ken Doherty is a chef and journalist.
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