"Tartar" Sauce

While in a recent Indian food mindset, I thought I'd play around with adding Indian flavors to a local specialty - the crab cake. I've had varying success with adding non-traditional flavorings to a mound of fried crab meat but ultimately I think I prefer the tried and true - Old Bay. So rather than noodle around with the main event, I thought I could come up with an alternative to the ubiquitous tartar sauce.

Is tartar sauce a speciality of the Tartar people? Is it related to steak tartare in any way? Who knows?  Who cares? Whatever the origin, I think it's mayonnaise-y quality works well with fried seafood. For my Indian-esque version, I added sour cream to mayo and stirred in odds and ends gleaned from the rather large condiment collection in my fridge. The result - a bit spicy, a bit sweet, and very creamy - was a perfect accompaniment to even a classic Old Bay-spiced crab cake.

Indian-esque "Tartar" Sauce

3 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon mango chutney
2 teaspoons garlic relish
1 teaspoon chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon chopped scallion
1 teaspoon fresh lemon or lime juice
salt to taste

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Chill for at least an hour to blend flavors. Serve with crabcakes or fried fish.

Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.