Raspado de Tamarindo
If you’ve never tried tamarind before, this shaved ice is a great introduction to the fruit because its delicious tartness is balanced with the sugar. Plus, it’s a very popular flavor that’s found all around Mexico. It’s also one of the best flavors to prepare diablitos or chamoyadas, modern twists on traditional raspados.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Put 6 cups of the water and the tamarind in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened to a paste; this may take 2 to 3 hours. Let cool and strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing the solids with the back of a wooden spoon to extract as much liquid and tamarind pulp as possible. Let cool to room temperature.
Step 2
Meanwhile, combine the remaining cup of water with the sugar in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil and the sugar has dissolved. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the syrup has thickened and has a consistency like corn syrup. Let cool to room temperature.
Step 3
Add the syrup to the tamarind mixture and mix thoroughly with a whisk or handheld blender. Refrigerate until completely chilled.
Step 4
For each serving, mound about 1 cup of shaved ice in a serving dish. Drizzle 6 to 8 tablespoons of the tamarind syrup over the ice and serve immediately.
Step 5
Diablitos literally means “little devils.” These shaved ices are made with fruits like tamarind, mango, or strawberry and topped with fresh lime juice, salt, and ground chiles.
Step 6
Chamoyadas, as the name suggests, are prepared with chamoy. Essentially, they’re diablitos served in a glass, with some of the devilish “toppings” in the glass and more on top.
Step 7
Adored by young Mexicans, chamoy is a red liquid that is salty, tart, and sometimes spicy. It is made from pickled fruit (most commonly plums and apricots) and used as a condiment with fresh fruit, sorbets, and raspados—there are even many paletas nowadays with a chamoy filling. It is definitely an acquired taste, but is appreciated throughout Mexico. Chamoy is made by brining fruit in salt and/or vinegar, straining it, then adding chili powder. Sometimes a portion of the fruit is blended then combined with the mixture to make a thicker paste, or the amount of liquid is adjusted to achieve a thinner consistency, which is the most common.
