I love going to ethnic groceries! I often have one thing I know I need and go there specifically to get -- but I always try to get at least one thing I haven't got a clue about.

A few years ago, my father found the cutest little squeeze bottle of thin tamarind paste, called "Pulp-a-dip". I use the paste in my barbeque sauce. (Believe it or no, it's a big part of what make Worcestershire sauce and Pickapepa sauce taste the way they do!)

Sometimes when I make roast chicken on the weekend I'll baste it with thinned tamarind paste, salt and a little garlic.

I splash it in hot-and-sour shrimp soup, and have made a sweet-and-sour sauce for fish with it (think lime without the flowery overtones).

A friend of mine whirs the juice, milk, a little sugar and lots of ice in the blender in the dead of summer for a really great drink. And I've heard of people using it in a sort of shaved ice/sorbet palette cleanser, but I've never had it.

I don't know anything about the beans -- I'm curious what people will suggest.

Have fun with your food!

Thanks Alison! Your tamarind chicken sounds delicious. I'm definitely going to try that.

And, what do you know? I just found time to start googling and I found the following recipe that uses both ingredients. It sounds really good to me.

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"We are not sure of the origin of this delicious Thai snack food, but it seems to have some influence from the ethnic Thai Muslims, perhaps from southern Thailand where Malaysian culture influences the cooking."

Ingredients
14 oz peeled split mung beans
1 tablespoon tapioca starch
3 tablespoon rice flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon Thai pepper powder
1 tablespoon juice from fresh lime
vegetable oil for frying

Method
Rinse the mung beans, place in a bowl and soak overnight in just enough water to cover them. Drain the beans and place in a steamer (can be steamed in any conventional steamer, or may place them in a cheesecloth and steam them using our sticky rice cooking pot and basket). Remove from steamer. Let the beans cool.

Combine tapioca starch with rice flour. Slightly pound the mung beans mixed with flour mixture, cumin, coriander seeds, turmeric, salt, pepper powder and lime juice. Knead the mixture until smooth.

Using figertips doused in oil, form the mixture into bite-sized balls until all is finished. Fry the balls in hot oil over a moderate heat until crispy golden. Lift out and drain. Serve with Tamarind/Garlic Sauce.

Tamarind Garlic Sauce

This sauce can be used with other Thai snack foods, or however you'd like. Even try it as a dip for potato chips. It's absolutely delicious!

Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon ground Thai chile powder (more or less to suit your taste)
2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate mixed with 6 tablespoons lukewarm water
1-2 shallots, finely pounded in mortar and pestle
4-5 cloves garlic, finely pounded in mortar and pestle
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Method
Combine tamarind mixture, salt and sugar, stirring well over medium heat. Bring to a boil and taste, add more salt and/or sugar as you prefer. Simmer until slightly thickened, remove from heat. Add chile, shallots and garlic, stirring well.

Serve with whole dried chiles as an accompaniment

Dried mung beans are a staple in my house but I buy the whole beans with skin. I use them in a Filipino dish called balatong, a thick bean stew with pork, shrimp and bittermelon or spinach. I would think you could substitute mung beans in any recipe calling for lentils as they are similar in size and texture.