The "Q" Review is getting exotic. This weekend, we explored a taste of India with the help of Stonehouse 27's Tamarind & Garlic sauce. Stonehouse 27 (Germantown, TN) is the proud maker of all natural Indian inspired gourmet sauces.

I was admittedly hesitent when I first received the Stonehouse 27 products. I'd only previously had one experience with Indian food. Katie and I once stopped at a cheap Indian buffet after church. Without going into too much detail, I'll simply say that we left the restaurant within ten minutes of entering and headed to the McDonald's drive-thru.

Since I have no experience using Indian flavors in my cooking, I really wasn't sure what the best application for Stonehouse 27's sauces would be. They all contained ingredients that you won't find in my pantry. After reading the labels, I really had no idea what type of flavor to expect. Thankfully, Stonehouse 27's website provides plenty of suggestions for using each product.

Using the advice of Stonehouse 27's website, I marinated two pounds of large shrimp in 3/4 of a jar of Tamarind & Garlic sauce for four hours. I then grilled the shrimp for a couple of minutes on each side and plated them with rice and steamed peas, pouring the remainder of the sauce over the shrimp.
Before using this sauce, I had no idea what tamarind was or how it would smell and taste. My initial reaction to the aroma of Stonehouse 27's Tamarind & Garlic was that is smelled like a mild chile. The flavor was very earthy, but a little less bold than I had expected. In fact, it was pretty mild. I suppose the word "mild" being printed right on the label should have clued me in, but I still wasn't entirely sure what to expect.

Tamarind & Garlic sauce was a nice change of pace from our normal flavors. It accented the shrimp well, but did not over power it. Stonehouse 27 has a variety of suggestions for using their sauce. It can be used as a simmering sauce or even a dip for vegetables or pita bread. In my opinion, it is best used as a marinade. It worked well for shrimp, but could be equally good on chicken.

Stonehouse 27 is slowly starting to change my opinion of Indian food. It may be a bit out of my comfort zone, but they make a quality product using the highest quality ingredients. I have two additional Stonehouse 27 sauces to sample: Dates & Tamarind and Cilantro & Coconut. I have no idea what to make of those flavors, but I'm confident they'll be every bit as good as the Tamarind & Garlice sauce we tasted tonight.

To learn more about how to infuse Indian flavors into your cooking using Stonehouse 27 products, click the title of this article. For my North Carolina readers, Stonehouse 27 sauces can be found locally at Food Lion. For everyone else, click this link to find a retailer near you. You can also become a fan of Stonehouse 27 on Facebook.

Don't forget to check the "Product Reviews" page to see how Stonehouse 27's Tamarind & Garlic sauce rates.