Name: Spinach Salad with Tamarind Dressing and Pappadam Croutons
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: Makes 10 servings
Ingredients: About 2 1/2 cups vegetable oil for frying; 4 (8-inch) plain or black pepper pappadams; 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; 24 cups baby spinach (15 ounces); 2 seedless cucumbers (usually plastic-wrapped; 1 1/2 lb total), quartered lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices; a deep-fat thermometer

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Spinach Salad with Tamarind Dressing and Pappadam CroutonsMikkel Vang

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.

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.

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