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Jorge and I are headed off for Portland and Seattle in several days, and I’m currently in the process of preparing for this 9 day trip. Today will be spent doing laundry, and purchasing any last minute items like my cologne that’s just about to run out (Jo Malone Assam & Grapefruit), hiking shoes, new jeans and a gift for a friend’s wedding we’ll be attending on Saturday. Tomorrow, I’ll be organizing my belongings and starting the packing process. I’m one of those people who packs waaaaay too much stuff for vacation. Whatever, I like outfit options! On Thursday, I’ll be baking another batch of this Tamarind Trail Mix. Traveling without substantially delicious snacks is something I rarely do. Airport food is typically the worst. Hi, $11 sandwich that tastes moderate at best. And don’t even get me started on airplane food.
Sweet, salty and wonderfully complex, this Tamarind Trail Mix is flavored with cayenne pepper, cumin, coriander, honey, brown sugar, tomato and tamarind. Roasted nuts, seeds and coconut are then tossed with sweet dried mango and citrusy chopped cilantro. The finished mix is incredibly savory and undeniably addictive. I like to pack up my travel trail mixes in mason jars to keep the contents from getting crushed in my bag. I should note that I’ll be making most of the trail mix in advance. On Saturday, right before we leave for the airport, I’ll add the chopped cilantro. Continue reading for the recipe.
Tamarind Trail Mix
Ingredients
- 1 pound mixed nuts and seeds (I used walnut halves, cashews, pepitas and sunflower seeds)
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- Large pinch ground cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons tamarind paste*
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped dried mango
Chopped fresh cilantro, for serving
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 300 °F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place nuts, coconut, cayenne, cumin, coriander and kosher salt in a large bowl and have a medium-mesh strainer ready.
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In a medium saucepan, warm butter, honey, brown sugar, tomato paste and tamarind paste over medium heat, stirring until smooth. Don’t worry about any seed particles from the tamarind. They will be strained out. Pour the butter-tamarind mixture through the medium-mesh strainer into the bowl with the nuts. Toss until everything is evenly coated.
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Spread nuts on the prepared baking sheet. Bake the nuts for 25 - 27 minutes, stirring occasionally. The nuts will gradually get darker in color as the sugars caramelize. Take the nuts from the oven and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt. Let cool completely then toss with dried mango and a sprinkling of chopped fresh cilantro.
Recipe Notes
*If your tamarind paste has seed particles in it, be sure to strain them out before adding to the nut mixture. You can also use tamarind concentrate here. Simply substitute 1 1/2 teaspoons of tamarind concentrate for the tamarind paste.
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2
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
oh that looks SO GOOD! And I have a sweet tooth not a savory one, and I STILL want to go nuts with that! No pun intended 🙂
Brandon Matzek says
Haha thanks Averie 🙂
Lisa @ Whisk & Cleaver says
I love packing my own snacks for the plane! Much better than the stuff you get at the airport snack counter. Have a great trip, sounds like a lot of fun!
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks, I totally agree! Airplane food was never really that good, but at least it was free! No that you have to pay for most items, I pack my own snacks 🙂
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
Bravo! I love the use of tamarind here. So creative 🙂
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks Kiran!
Ash- foodfashionparty says
Now this is a genius idea. Love it, just that I have to keep making many batches of these.
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks Ash!!
Shashi @ http://runninsrilankan.com says
I wouldn’t ever have thought of adding tamarind to trail mix! Awesome job!
So glad to have stumbled by your blog 🙂
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks Shashi! And welcome to the KK family 🙂
sippitysup says
Argghhh. I literally just got home last night from camping. well actually glamping so these babies would have been perfect. GREG
Brandon Matzek says
Haha, well you’ll have to make a batch for your next glamping trip 😉
Trevor says
The problem is I see this stuff like this and it looks so incredibly good and I want some… but really I want it all and I won’t rest until all of it is gone. LIke in 10 minutes. Its so dangerous. And lovely. I want it.
Brandon Matzek says
I made the mistake of keeping a tupperware of this mix on my desk at work. Every few minutes I was thinking, “Oooo, I need more trail mix.” I didn’t get much work done until it was all gone 😉 Thanks Trevor!
nusrat2010 says
Genius you!
Tamarind flavored trail mix! How incredibly genius of you! This is one rockstar trail mix recipe 🙂
Brandon Matzek says
Haha, awww thanks!
Elisa Dore says
Hi, I’m writing an article for the University of Tennessee’s Spoon University chapter on different trail mix recipes and I was interested in featuring this trail mix recipe. Is it okay if I use the last photo of the trail mix? I’ll credit you and link to your recipe.
Brandon Matzek says
Sure! Thanks Elisa.
Cheryl stewart says
NIce recipe. Next time however please forego the cologne. Nothing sounds nmore dreadful than having to ride in the car with a person wearing cologne. Right up there with cigarette smoke.
Brandon Matzek says
Haha thanks Cheryl! I like Jo Malone, because her fragrances are subtle. You have to get in close to really smell it. Doesn’t fill up the whole room (or car!).