EASY AND HEALTHY RECIPES, TIPS FOR HEALTHY LIVING, FOOD REVIEWS, ETC

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Ribeye with Young Tamarind Leaves

My potted tamarind plants are loving the blisteringly hot weather outdoors.  They are budding like crazy and are sending out hundreds of young, succulent leaves.  These have a pleasant but sharp, tart flavor.  In south east Asian cooking, young tamarind leaves are traditionally used in stews, soups, chutneys, pulses, candies or jams.

With leftover grilled rib-eye staring at me in the fridge, I decided to do a rib-eye rice bowl makeover by briefly searing the cubed rib-eye in a pan, adding young tamarind leaves, cooked carrots, red bell peppers and a sweet and tangy sauce made with raw, organic honey and balsamic vinegar to tie everything together.



Did you know?
In South Asia and Africa, fresh leaves and fruit of tamarind is a common health remedy.  In many parts of India and Africa, it is used for digestive problems.  In Malaysia, Philippines, Borneo and Indonesia, a leaf infusion is used in managing malaria and fever.

30 comments:

Dewi said...

This is pretty new to me, I never thought that tamarind leaves are edible and delicious. Thank you for the info :)

Heather S-G said...

You have a tamarind tree!? I'm so jealous...very cool =) And YES, please do submit this for GYO this month (just add in a link to the post and email all of the info)! Thanks so much...this meal sounds wonderful...I've never eaten the leaf, only the fruit! Very intriguing.

Katerina said...

I love the combination of two. Great colors.

Abby said...

I love the sound of the tamarind paired with honey, sweet and tangy.

Claudia said...

I've never seen tamarind leaves - or the plant (?) in MN. I've "heard" of it - but wonder if it could be found here. I love the sound of it and the description. I also love the simplicity of the stir fry - letting everything shine.

tigerfish said...

How good it is to have tamarind grown-your-own. We used the pulp to cook some of the tangy curries in SE Asia. Love it!

Barbara said...

I love the deep colors in your rib eye rice bowl! And lucky you to have a tamarind tree! I didn't know that about the health qualities; thanks for the info.

Unknown said...

Yummy, I didn't know you could use the young leaves in cooking, thanks for sharing your recipe:)

Julie M. said...

I've never had tamarind leaves before. They sound really tasty and I love all the health benefits you can get from them. That's a beautiful bowl meal! Thanks for sharing!

Megan said...

Can't say that I have ever tried tamarind leaves...but now I really want to try! Looks yummy!

A SPICY PERSPECTIVE said...

It looks delicious! Wonderful colors!

Zurin said...

THis is an interesting post. I am frm Malaysia and I (ashamed n embarassed) did not know the use of tamarind leaves. I use the pods often in cooking but never the leaves. Tamarind juice is good for sore throats. That much I know.

you have a lovely blog and I hope u try the cookies. Thanks or visiting n commenting :)

Koko said...

Wow I don't think I have seen fresh tamarind leaves before. That's so cool that you grow your own!!

Anna said...

I have never seen tamarind leaves, I use to have lots of tamarind juice when I was living in Brazil. But never seen the actually tree. Your dish looks mouth watering.
The colors are gorgeous, such pretty combination.

Mimi said...

This looks so tasty. I guess I need to find a tamarind plant,
Mimi

Anonymous said...

The addition of tamarind leaves is very intriguing! How cool that you are growing tamarind yourself!

My Little Space said...

Actually, I love using the leaves in my shower! hehe... They smell fantastic. Thanks for the info. so thoughtful of you to do that. Enjoy your day.
Cheers, kristy

Simply Life said...

oh I'm sure the flavor in that is amazing!

Stella said...

Hi Mom Gateway! I'm not much of a meat eater, so I'm probably not the best judge of dishes like this. However, I think it looks delicious. And I love your way of using the tamarind leaves. I've never tried them, but the fruit is so nice...

Juliana said...

Wow, this beef dish looks awesome...SO SO tasty and just a perfect match with the rice...YUMMIE!

Chef Dennis Littley said...

I did not know that about Tamarind, thanks for the info! Your beef looks wonderful, such a nice presentation, The sweetness of the carrots and the tamarind, what a nice combination of flavors!

Momo said...

lovely, colorful dish!

Andrea@WellnessNotes said...

I've never used tamarind leaves. Thanks for sharing!

Joanne said...

I've never had tamarind leaves before and wouldn't even know where to find them! I bet they would be awesome with the ribeye though, from the way you describe them! So cool that you have a tamarind tree.

lequan@luvtoeat said...

Hi MomGateway,

I've never used tamarind leaves before, but I do love tamarind sauce. That's so awesome that you have a tamarind plant, must be very convenient. great looking dish you've got there, my hubby would surely enjoy this one.

MaryMoh said...

Beautiful combination of flavour and colour. Perfect match with rice. I like it.

Rico said...

looks good enough to eat right now yummy,

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Heather S-G said...

Yay! So glad you sent this over to GYO this month...I absolutely adore it! =)

Bonnie said...

What a beuatiful dish. The colors are stunning. I don't think I can find tamarind leaves in my area. Any ideas for substitutions?

Andrea Meyers said...

Wow, you are very lucky to have a tamarind tree! I've seen them and tasted the fruit but didn't realize the leaves were also edible. Love that you used them with the rib eye and rice, it looks and sound delicious! Thanks for joining in again for Grow Your Own. :-)