Tamarind Margarita

The Washington Post, August 20, 2008

• • Course: Beverage

Summary:

This sweet and spicy frozen margarita is served up by the house bartender, José Luis Rivera Ibarra, at the Sauza Distillery in Tequila, Mexico.
Tamarind is a fruit used to sweeten desserts in several cuisines, including Indian and Thai. You can find tamarind concentrate at Wegmans, at Asian or Latino food stores or online. Be sure to use blanco tequila in this recipe; the more subtle flavors of reposado tequila would be lost.
Some of the salt mixture will be left over, a good reason to make the recipe twice.

2 servings

Ingredients:

For the salt mixture

• • 3 tablespoons kosher salt
• • 1 teaspoon chili powder
• • 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest

For the margarita

• • 1 cup ice
• • 4 ounces blanco tequila
• • 3 ounces tamarind concentrate, such as Laxmi brand
• • 1 ounce simple syrup

Directions:

For the salt mixture: Combine the kosher salt, chili powder and lime zest in a bowl. Moisten the rims of two chilled margarita glasses and dip into the salt mixture to coat all around the rims.
For the margarita: Place the ice, tequila, tamarind concentrate and simple syrup in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into the chilled, garnished glasses.

177 calories, n/a fat, n/a saturated fat, n/a cholesterol, 1mg sodium, 6g carbohydrates, n/a dietary fiber, n/a sugar, n/a protein.