Spicy Tamarind Brandy Sorbet

Summer's here. A wretchedly hot one at that! All cold things are a welcome bliss. So it's no wonder that when my beloved grocery store, Towness announced a recipe contest for their customers, my brain cogs turned towards icy ideas.

The theme for the contest was tamarind. Though puliyogare is at the top of my favourite tamarind based dishes, I wanted to be creative with my recipe submission. And I mean a little more creative than my usual navane puliyogare (made with foxtail millet instead of the traditional rice) which many of you tasted at VGF in Feb.

So I thought of making a tamarind based ice cream. But that idea flew right out the window the moment I started picturing how any kind of mylk would coagulate as soon as I started stirring the tamarind in. So I decided on a sorbet.



It started out being a goody goody sorbet, but somewhere in the process of putting random ingredients together, I felt the urge to slosh some brandy into it. *slurp* It added a kick and enhanced all the flavours. I tested it out on a couple of willing 'guinea pigs' (no animal testing here folks, only human testing). Two out of the three people who tried it said it was really good. And since I also enjoyed it thoroughly, I declared it tried, tested and contest worthy.

And guess what, it won me a dinner voucher to Imli!!! Yay! :D

I've heard many people speak well about this place so I'm really looking forward to going. I'm getting super hungry just looking at their menu. Yum!

There were 30+ recipes submitted and 15 of those were shortlisted by the judges for trial. They picked the prepared food from the 15 peoples' homes this last Sunday and after tasting everything for themselves, the winners were announced yesterday.



Here's the recipe if you want to try this out yourself. If you don't consume alcohol, don't worry, just skip the brandy and add a little more chilli powder. It'll still be yummy. :)

Spicy Tamarind Brandy Sorbet

2 T tamarind paste
2 T date syrup or jaggery syrup
1/4 tsp chaat masala
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
2 C water
Big splash of brandy *hic*

Blend everything together.
Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for 2 hours.
Whip vigorously and freeze again for 5-6 hours.
Transfer to a grinder jar and blend for a minute.
Put back into the airtight container and freeze for two to three more hours.
Serve in small scoops.
Enjoy! :) *hic*

This is this the point where I usually end my blog posts, but I realized that while I was talking about prizes, I had to tell you about the one I won in Feb. Heheh yep, apparently I'm on a prize winning streak since I won that Green Foodie Recipe Challenge by The Alternative as well as the VVP T-Shirt in December. :D

Towness had a Food Photography contest for Valentines month and my Baked Akki Rotti Bites photo got the 2nd Prize. :)





When I was asked which restaurant I'd like to have a romantic dinner at, I opted to get vouchers to my favourite grocery store instead. So for the last month, I've been having many romantic dinners. Thank you Towness! :)