Spicy Tamarind Caramel

Ingredients

• 1 pound box fresh sweet tamarind
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 – 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

1. Break open the tamarind shells and pull away as many of the veins as you can. Toss the shells, then put the pulp into a medium saucepan with 3 cups of water. Bring everything to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, cover the pan, and let it cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the pods have fully softened and fallen apart and the shiny tamarind seeds are visible throughout.
2. Take the pan off the heat and strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, stirring as you go so the softened pulp in the liquid separates from the pulp still hanging onto the seeds.
3. Put the pulpy seeds back into the saucepan and pour in 1 cup fresh water. Bring it back to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer again and cook for 15-20 minutes. Strain this second batch into the same bowl with the first tamarind pulp. You should end up with about 2 1/4 cups. Throw away the seeds and rinse out the saucepan.
4. Sprinkle one cup of sugar evenly across the bottom of the saucepan and set it over medium heat. Let it cook without stirring until the sugar starts to melt and turns golden. Very carefully, because it will bubble like mad, add the liquid tamarind pulp and whisk to combine. Cook for about ten minutes, until the mixture looks glossy and reads 223 degrees F on a candy thermometer.
5. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the cayenne pepper and salt. Let the caramel cool, then pour it into a jar and keep it in the refrigerator.