Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Gin n' Tamarind Fizz

Gin n' Tamarind Fizz

Instead of a picture, how about an excerpt from a poem by Rudyard Kipling.  As you all know, he was an Anglo writer who grew up in colonial India and therefore I assume he was familiar with both gin and tonics and tamarind juice.  This poem is  called "The White Man's Burden." 


"Take up the White Man’s burden—

Send forth the best ye breed—

Go send your sons to exile

To serve your captives' need

To wait in heavy harness

On fluttered folk and wild—

Your new-caught, sullen peoples,

Half devil and half child"


Full text at http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5478/, and at a number of other websites, and also at your local library!


Bodger and I just started up graduate school so we have had much less time for cooking lately.  We have been drinking a lot of gin and tonics to compensate.  This drink is a cousin of the gin and tonic, but the sour and bitter flavors come from tamarind juice.


Ingredients (Makes 2):

1 can tamarind juice or nectar, or some quantity x of concentrate
Soda water
Gin (I prefer Hendricks because I am a classy lady and Bodger prefers Burnett's because he is cheap)

Mix juice and soda water to taste-- if you're using tamarind concentrate, you will obviously want less.  I like 1 part juice to 2 parts soda water, but do it to your tastes.
Add gin.  One shot should be tasty, but I won't judge you if you put more in.

4 comments:

  1. I can't say I'm a big fan of gin, but I like tamarind, so this has me intrigued.

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  2. Seriously, seriously, seriously, it's amazingly good. The gin adds some floral notes. Get one of them teeny bottles from the liquor store and try it.

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  3. Gin by Hendricks, nectar by Jumex, watch by Timex.

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  4. This sounds like a good place for Aviation gin. It's locally made in Portland and has a stronger citrus flavor than most London Dry style gins.

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