Tesi Johnson, Gleaner Writer
Left: Grandma Audi puts in the extra work to make her tamarind balls big and sweet. - PHOTO BY Tesi Johnson. Right: Delicious plantain tarts. - Norman Grindley /Deputy Chief Photographer
I have fond memories of buying tamarind balls in high school from a friend who sold them on behalf of her grandmother.
When visiting the said friend at her home, Ivy Narcisse, or 'Audi' as she was affectionately called, would always offer up a bag of tamarind balls as a treat - no charge.
Many years hence, Grandma Audi is still busy rolling tamarind balls. Her refrigerator is always stocked with the sweet and sour delight to hand out to the occasional house guest or for sale, especially to travelling Jamaicans who wish to take some island cuisine with them.
She shared her recipe, which she says, "is no big t'ing, but is hard work."
Ingredients
Tamarinds with the shell removed
Brown sugar
Red rum (optional)
Method
1. Pick the weevils from the tamarinds, if any, as it will spoil the entire batch.
2. If you so desire, tip a bit of red rum over the tamarind flesh, which will add flavour and make it more palatable.
3. Rub the tamarind flesh into the brown sugar, and form into little balls. The more sugar you combine, the bigger the balls will grow, and the tartness of the tamarind will be masked.
Plantain tart
As a child, I always wondered why the filling of a plantain tart was red, when the flesh of a plantain was yellow. I thought is one of those magical things that happened when pastry was placed in the oven, and was actually quite disappointed to learn that food colouring actually gives the filling its characteristic red colour. There went my belief in magic, but the plantain tart is still one of my favourite Jamaican pastries.
Ingredients (for pastry)
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. Soft margarine
5 tbsp. Shortening
1/3 cup cold water
Iingedients (for filling)
1 lb (450 grams) ripe plantain
1 tbsp. Soft margarine
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. red food colouring (optional)
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Baking time: 15 minutes
Method
For filling:
1. Cook plantains in boiling water and drain. Remove skin and mash while hot.
2. Add margarine, sugar, spices and food colouring. Mix well.
3. Allow to chill, until the pastry is ready to be filled.
For pastry:
4. Preheat oven to 450 0F / 200 0C.
5. Place flour and salt in a bowl. Rub in fat, which should be cold and fairly hard.
6. Add cold water (using less or more ) to make a stiff dough.
7. Leave pastry to relax in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes before rolling out.
8. Roll out pastry and cut into rounds about 10 cm/ 4" in diameter.
9. Put a teaspoon or more of the filling on each round.
10. Moisten edge of pastry with cold water. Fold over and seal. Prick top with a fork.
11. Bake for about 10 minutes, then reduce heat. Continue cooking until pastry is delicately browned.
Serves/yields: 12-16
Recipe taken from http://www.gracefoods.com./I>
