Italy may be a long way from India, but the two countries’ cuisines combine beautifully in this simple-yet-delicious dish. A traditional caprese salad usually involves just tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil—but Indian influences kick this version up a notch.
Adding a homemade tamarind dressing creates a wonderful depth of flavor for a caprese salad unlike any you’ve tried before.
Recipe by Nik Sharma, abrowntable.com.
Makes 4 servings
Prep time
15 min.
Cook time
60 min.
Ingredients
- Tamarind Dressing:
- 1⁄4 cup sour tamarind pulp or paste
- 1⁄2 cup boiling water
- 1⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1⁄2 tsp fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp jaggery or muscovado sugar
- 1⁄2 tsp ground coriander
- 1⁄2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1⁄2 tsp dried urfa biber chili flakes or dried Aleppo pepper flakes
- 1⁄4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- Salad:
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise
- 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
- 4 to 6 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella, cut crosswise into four pieces
- 3 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1⁄2 tsp fine sea salt
How to make it
Make the dressing:
Put tamarind pulp in a heat-proof bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover and let sit for at least 1 hour.
Massage and squeeze pulp or paste to soften. Press through a fine-mesh strainer suspended over a small bowl, discarding the solids.
Put strained tamarind in blender and add olive oil, lime juice, jaggery, coriander, salt, chili flakes, and black pepper. Pulse on high until well-combined.
Make the salad:
Put the tomatoes in a large bowl and add mozzarella, cilantro, olive oil, and salt.
Add half the tamarind dressing and toss gently to coat evenly. Serve with the remaining tamarind dressing on the side.
