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SPINACH SALAD WITH TAMARIND DRESSING




Source of Recipe


Gourmet


Recipe Introduction


You may have had pappadams — light, crisp wafers made of lentil flour — at Indian restaurants. Here we use them as a stand-in for croutons


List of Ingredients




For pappadam croutons
About 2 1/2 cups vegetable oil for frying
4 (8-inch) plain or black pepper pappadams

For dressing
2 1/2 tablespoons warm water
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon mild honey
1 1/4 teaspoons tamarind concentrate
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil

For salad
24 cups baby spinach (15 oz)
2 seedless cucumbers (usually plastic-wrapped; 1 1/2 lb total), quartered lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices

Special equipment: a deep-fat thermometer



Recipe



Fry pappadams:
Heat 1/2 inch oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet (2 inches deep) over moderate heat until thermometer registers 350°F (see cooks' note, below). Fry 1 pappadam, turning over once, until blistered and pale golden, about 1 minute total. Lift pappadam from skillet with tongs, letting excess oil drip back into skillet, and transfer to paper towels to drain (pappadam will crisp as it cools). Return oil to 350°F and fry remaining pappadams, 1 at a time, in same manner.

Make dressing:
Whisk together water, lime juice, honey, tamarind concentrate, and salt in a small bowl, then add oil in a slow stream, whisking until combined.

Assemble salad:
Toss spinach and cucumbers with dressing in a large bowl. Break pappadams into 1 1/2-inch pieces and add to salad just before serving, tossing gently to combine.

Cooks' notes:
• To take the temperature of a shallow amount of oil with a metal flat-framed deep-fat thermometer, put bulb of thermometer in skillet and turn thermometer facedown, resting other end (not plastic handle) against rim of skillet. Check temperature frequently.
• Pappadams can be fried and drained 1 day ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

Makes 10 servings