Tuesday 28 September 2010

Chipotle & Tamarind Ketchup

Chipotle chillis are smoke-dried jalapenos, used in a lot of Mexican cooking. I haven't had much experience of Mexican cooking myself but I do know that I am utterly addicted to these shrivelly brown little numbers.

They are pretty fiesty; I chucked in a whole chipotle into this recipe and the results set alight to the mouth; ideal for me, really. What you get is a gorgeously sticky, sweet, tangy and fiery sauce to dip your whatevers into. Sweetcorn fritters were my dipper of choice this time, but I imagine some totopos (that's nachos, innit?) would make a good vehicle too. When I ran out of fritter I just used a spoon.

You can buy chipotles in Bethnal Green, at Casa Mexico. You can also shop there online.


Chipotle & Tamarind Ketchup

1 chipotle chilli
1 decent tin of plum tomatoes
Half a white onion
1" of ginger
2 cloves of garlic
2 sprigs of thyme
1 tsp tamarin pulp
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

In a small saucepan, simmer the chipotle chilli in water for about 20 minutes, until soft. Either remove the seeds or leave in whole. Mince finely with the onion, garlic, ginger and thyme (I used a mini chopper) and then add a little oil to make a paste. Fry this on a low heat in a saucepan for a good 10 - 15 minutes until deep brown and fragrant.

Drain the juices from the tin of the plum tomatoes (save it for your bloody mary...) and then pulverise the tomato. Add to the chilli mix, season, add the tamarind and the sugar and simmer on the lowest heat for a good 40 - 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. It will initially make plopping fart noises, decorating your hob with specks of red until the liquid separates a bit.

After this, work the sauce through a fine mesh - unless you like it slightly chunky, in which case don't.

15 comments:

Greedy Diva said...

Nice one, Lizzie. Is that a corn fritter I see? Why must you do this to me? Must have one now.

LexEat! said...

Sounds like a good way to fire up tomatoe sauce!
The colours in the first photo are gorgeous!

Food Urchin said...

I have chipotle chillis in the cupboard, I have sweetcorn in the fridge. Cheers Lizzie, that me set up for cooking tomorrow night.

S said...

oh my god, Lizzie, this looks AMAZING. i love condiments, esp spicy ones. this can go with samosas, kebabs, grilled cheese sarnie, the lot. sooo scrummy. x shayma
ps i love that red puddle photo.

Jonathan said...

Nice. I can taste the colours. Have you ever made a chipotle bloody mary made with bourbon? If not, do it. They're amazing.

An American in London said...

Thanks for the tip on where to buy chipotles in London. One of my weeknight staples used to be buying chipotle peppers in a jar (easily found in ordinary supermarkets in NY and DC) and using them in sweet potato mash. Seriously easy and delicious.

Unknown said...

So impressed you made your own - I am just lazy and get the bottled stuff.

Dan said...

mmmmmm What a useful recipe, I really fancy some of this now, reckon it would go lovely with some slutty nachos slathered in cheapo melted cheese and sprinkled with jalepenos (my dirty secret munch). Nice work Lizzie!

Anonymous said...

I used some chipotle past the other day and was immediately won over.
Must try this ketchup recipe...

Anonymous said...

I used some chipotle past the other day and was immediately won over.
Must try this ketchup recipe...

Hengki Budi Prasetyo said...

This ketchup looks very delicious as a friend of eating fried chicken. Do you think that chipotle chilli same with red chilli as grows in Thai, Malaysia, or Indonesia? Thank you very much.

BribedwithFood said...

Try dipping fried green plantain in it...
In Panamá we call it "patacones" and there's a whole "scientific" way of preparing it.

Maybe we should arrange a session: you bring the ketchup and I take care of the plantain :)

offmotorway said...

Great recipe, and I love your description of the cooking process!

Northern Snippet said...

Sounds and looks lovely, I bet it would be nice chunky too though.

Hollow Legs said...

Greedy Diva - it is I'm afraid. Go forth and make!

LexEat! - thank you. It makes a great addition to the usual.

Food Urchin - Excellent, let me know how it goes.

Shayma - thanks! On a grilled cheese sandwich sounds awesome.

Jonathan - NO! That sounds ACE!

AAIL - Ah, are they chipotle abobo? I'm going to make that soon when I can get enough chipotles together.

GC - Thanks! the bottled stuff is different, this has a rather fresher flavour.

Dan - slutty nachos - love it.

Gourmet Gorman - Chipotles are so addictive.

Hengki - no, chipotles are smoked dried jalepenos, so it's not grown this way.

BribedWithFood - You're on!

Offmotorway - thanks!

Northern Snippet - It is still great chunky, though a bit full of seeds. Seedy, if you will.