What is tamarind?

Tamarind is a fruit that contains fibrous, nutrient-rich pulp. Tamarind has a unique, sweet-sour flavour that makes it popular in sweet and savoury dishes alike.

Are you a fan of HP sauce? Of course you are! Tamarind is a key ingredient in this iconic sauce so chances are if you like HP sauce, you'll also enjoy the flavour of tamarind.

This ingredient is great for adding to dishes and making dipping sauces for samosas and pakoras. We have our Tamarind Chutney and Tamarind Salmon recipe if you fancy giving it a try. There are a few different forms that you can buy tamarind in...

Dry tamarind 

A block of tamarind (dry tamarind) contains the seed pods, stripped of the outer husk and squashed together. It needs to be softened with water and strained before it can be used.

Pour roughly an equal amount of hot water over the tamarind (e.g. 1 cup of broken tamarind to 1 cup hot water) and leave to steep for 20 minutes.

Push the mixture through a fine mesh sieve a little bit at a time, using your fingers or a spatula.

You will be left with the fibres in the sieve and the thick juice in the bowl. The juice is what is used in cooking; the fibres can be discarded or used to flavour water, if you like the taste of tamarind on its own.

Wet tamarind

Wet tamarind is the pulp of the tamarind fruit which has a piquant, sweet and sour flavour.

Add the tamarind block to a bowl with 125ml warm water.

Mash with a fork until the pulp dissolves into a thick paste.

Add more water to reach the desired texture.

Concentrate tamarind

Tamarind Concentrate is a thick, dark unsweetened paste, which works well in salad dressings because it dissolves easily when whisked with a bit of vinegar or lemon juice. It’s so highly concentrated that you can just spoon out a tiny bit to add zing to your sauce. 

This form of tamarind is very easy to prepare, simply add as much water as you want to get the desired consistency. It's worth noting that concentrated tamarind can discolour food, so when adding tamarind to dishes, it's best to use dry tamarind.

Using wet or dry tamarind is better if you're adding tamarind to your cooking as the concentrate form can discolour the dishes. The Tamarind Concentrate is more convenient if you want to make a dipping sauce/ chutney as it's easier to prepare.

Rafi’s Tamarind Chutney

For a cheat method, use our Tamarind Chutney and a splash of boiled water to make a delicious dip for your Bhajias and Pakoras. Simply add a few tbsp of Tamarind Chutney with a few tbsp of water until you get the desired consistency. Our Tamarind Chutney uses fresh tamarind to make a sour, sweet and fruity accompaniment. 

We’d love to hear if these tips have helped you in the kitchen. Let us know your feedback on our Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. We love to see your curry creations, so please send us your foodie photos across.