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Guinean tamarind juice
Jus de tomi: Conakry's chilled sweet-sour tamarind drink
Tomi is the name for tamarind in Guinea, and in Conakry its juice is poured from plastic bottles kept on ice at markets, bus stops and family celebrations alongside bissap and ginger juice. The sticky brown pulp is soaked in hot water, kneaded and strained into a drink that is brown-gold, fruity and pleasantly sour, sweetened with sugar and lifted with a little ginger and vanilla. It is especially welcome at sunset during Ramadan. Chef's tip: soak the pulp in hot, not boiling, water and knead it well; boiling the tamarind is a common mistake that pulls out bitterness from the seeds and skins.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 9 oz tamarind pulp blockbroken into pieces
- 3 cups hot waterabout 70 °C
- 3 ¼ cups cold water
- 5 ½ oz sugaror to taste
- ½ oz fresh ginger (optional)grated
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 fresh mint leaves (optional)
- ice cubes (optional)
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Put 9 oz tamarind pulp block in a bowl with 3 cups hot water and leave to soften.
20 minStep 2: Knead and squeeze the pulp with your hands to loosen it from the seeds and fibres until the water is thick and brown.
Step 3: Pour through a sieve, pressing the pulp hard with a spoon. Pour 1 ¾ cups cold water over the leftover pulp, squeeze again and strain into the same jug. Discard seeds and fibres.
Step 4: Add the rest of 1 ¾ cups cold water, 5 ½ oz sugar, ½ oz fresh ginger and 1 tsp vanilla extract and stir until the sugar dissolves. Taste and adjust.
Step 5: Chill for at least an hour and serve over ice cubes with 6 fresh mint leaves. Keeps 4 days in the fridge.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 170 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 43 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does guinean tamarind juice take?
- About 30 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of vanilla extract?
- Vanilla bean paste, same amount.
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