Trini Tamarind Wings Recipes

TAMARIND CHICKEN WINGS

Steps:

• Chop the shallots.
• Throw all the marinade ingredients into a food processor and whiz till you get a nice smooth paste.
• Taste the marinade. It should have a pronounced tamarind-y and sweet flavour. Don't worry about the saltiness yet.
• Take the chicken wings and cut each wing into two at the joint.
• In a large bowl, add the chicken wings and marinade and mix well with your hands.
• Cover and leave it to marinate overnight in the refrigerator, even 24 hours if you can.
• After the marinating time is over, you'll find that some of the marinade has pooled in your bowl.
• Transfer the chicken wings to another bowl, gently shaking off any excess marinade.
• Now you'll have marinated wings in one bowl and excess marinade in the other.
• We're about to deep-fry the chicken wings and the excess marinade will form our dipping sauce.
• The wings must be fried only when required so they stay hot.
• To make the sauce, take a pan, heat it, and pour the extra marinade into it.
• Add about 1/2 cup of water or chicken stock and cook over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes till you have a sweet and fruity-sour sauce the consistency of tomato ketchup.
• At this point, taste the sauce for saltiness and flavour balance.
• Adjust if required. Turn off the heat.
• For the wings: In a frying pan, heat about 300 ml oil for deep-frying.
• Fry as many wings on medium-high heat at one time as you can without crowding them too much.
• This should take about 5 minutes or till it turns a nice brown (not golden brown; we want them darker than that.).
• Remove the first batch to a platter and dry the extra oil off with paper towels.
• Repeat this till you've fried the entire batch of wings. Resist the temptation to eat them after they're fried. Actually, go ahead, try one piece. ;).
• Now you have deep-fried wings and a dipping sauce.
• How you want to take it from here is up to you.
• You can serve the wings with the sauce on the side, or you can pour the sauce on top of the wings with a spoon to coat them. The second option is messier to eat, but more fun.

SPICY TAMARIND-GLAZED GRILLED CHICKEN WINGS

Steps:

• Whisk tamarind purée, fish sauce, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, cumin, and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a medium bowl until combined and a loose paste forms. Set tamarind glaze aside.
• Pat wings dry with paper towels, then season all over with remaining 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt. Place in a large bowl; add half of tamarind glaze and toss to coat. Chill 15 minutes. Set remaining glaze aside.
• Meanwhile, place onion in a bowl of ice water and set aside.
• Prepare a grill for medium indirect heat (for a charcoal grill, bank coals on one side of grill; for a gas grill, leave one or two burners off). Arrange wings on grate over indirect heat, making sure not to overcrowd. Brush top of each wing with some reserved glaze. Cover and grill 15 minutes. Uncover, turn wings over, and brush other side with glaze. Re-cover and grill until wings are golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a wing registers 165°F, about 15 minutes.
• Brush wings with more glaze, then move over direct heat and grill until charred in spots, 1-2 minutes per side.
• Transfer wings to a platter. Drain onion and place on paper towels; pat dry. Scatter onion over wings and top with cilantro. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing over.

TAMARIND CHICKEN WINGS

Steps:

• Put the wings in a large bowl, followed by honey, olive oil, salt, garam masala, cumin, paprika, and cayenne. Toss to combine, then transfer to a zip-top bag. Let rest 30 minutes, overnight, or up to several days in the refrigerator.
• Bring 2 cups of water to a simmer in a small saucepan, then add the asafoetida, ginger, cayenne, and garam masala. Meanwhile, toast cumin and fennel in a small skillet until they're fragrant and slightly smoky. Transfer to a small bowl to cool, then grind the seeds in a mortar and pestle until they're coarse and sandy. Add to water-and-spice mixture, followed by the sugar, and stir to combine. Add tamarind and continue cooking for 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. After 20 minutes, check chutney for consistency-it should look like a chocolate sauce. Remove from heat to cool. Meanwhile, line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil; place a wire rack on top of the baking sheet and arrange the marinated chicken wings in a single layer. Bake 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer wings to a large bowl. Toss with the chutney, then replace wings on the rack and bake again, 5-10 minutes, until golden brown.
• Remove chicken wings and serve.