Tamarind: pod, pulp, juice, extract (india)

Ingredients

Directions

Pod: Tamarind looks a little like a cinnamon-colored pod of broad beans.

Tamarind grows on tall trees and is peeled and seeded when ripe.

Pulp: The fruit is then squashed into bricks and this is how you buy it.

Juice: To make tamarind juice: break off 2 tablespoons tamarind from the block. Soak it in twice its volume of very hot water for a couple of hours.

Now, squeeze the pulp well or press it through a sieve with a wooden spoon to get out all the juice. It must be strained.

Extract: The juice can then be distilled and sold as a concentrate in a jar. To reconstitute, dissolve 1 teaspoon in any preparation for six servings.

Preparations: sauce, gravies, soups, stews, curries, sambar, rasam, etc.

Tamarind is often spiced and sweetened.

Taste: Tamarind has a very tart citric flavor; if you cannot find it, use a dash of lemon or lime juice instead.

Recipe by: Step-by-Step Indian Cooking by Sharda Gopal Posted to EAT-LF Digest by Pat Hanneman <kitpath@...> on Sep 21, 1998, converted by MM_Buster v2.0l.