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Using and Storing Tamarind

Using and Storing Tamarind

Tamarind is such an essential ingredient in so many cuisines all over the world, particularly Indian. Whether you are a novice tamarind user, or an experienced one – read on! You may just discover new ways of using and storing Tamarind.

The name Tamarind derives from the Arabic name for it – Tamar Hind meaning ‘Indian dates’.  Even if you don’t know what it is, chances are you’ve probably tasted it already  – it is extensively used in Indian chutneys and curries , several Middle-Eastern food, African and Mexican fare too! It adds a wonderful tangy-sour-sweet flavour to a dish, something that raises your eyebrows and makes you go ‘wow!‘

I grew up around Tamarind trees myself, in fact I went through a mild addiction phase as a kid. There was a huge tamarind tree in my school yard and we’d pick up the ripe ones that had fallen down from the tree and just snack on it. The more agile ones would climb up the tree and shake the branches as we held up our skirts to catch the pods as they fell. It was tangy, sweet and just delicious. We’d even save up the seeds and use it to play games. I preferred the ripe ones, but a lot of my friends ate them while they were still green. They said it tasted like green mango. I even remember having a whole jar of seeds saved up. Hey! We were kids, it was shiny and smooth, don’t judge us ok! We all found weird things interesting as kids.

Most Indian meals use a fair amount of tamarind in them (particularly the Southern fare), which means getting their ‘juice’ out while cooking in the mornings can be a bit of a chore. Sure, there’s tamarind paste you get nowadays, but the preservatives in them disturb me a bit. I prefer using the tamarind block and extracting the ‘juice’ myself, thank you very much!

Using and Storing Tamarind

Here’s three ways that you can easily extract Tamarind pulp/juice without wasting too much time in the mornings!

#1: The traditional way

Tear apart a small piece of tamarind block and soak in warm water for about 10 minutes till it softens. Juice it with your fingers to remove as much ‘juice’ as possible, strain and use. Discard pulp.

#2: A little unconventional

Tear apart a handful chunk of tamarind off the block and place in a glass container with a lid. Cover with enough water to immerse it, and refrigerate. Overnight, the tamarind will soften and be ready for use the next morning. Squeeze the pulp and use what you need. Cover and store the rest in the refrigerator for upto a week.

#3: The smart way

I’ve been doing this for a while now, and I love how there’s tamarind in my fridge ALWAYS!

This method makes sure that the tamarind juice keeps longer than a week. By using your hands to juice the pulp (I can’t think of a better way, using a potato ricer maybe, but that just feels like a little too much!), you introduce bacteria from your hands affecting hot long it can keep before turning a bit rancid. Boiling kills the germs, extending the lifetime of your tamarind juice. Be sure to make a large batch of this, and you don’t have to do this every time you want some tamarind juice.

Take 160 grams (5.6 oz) of tamarind and add 2 cups of water. (Makes about 3 cups of tamarind ‘juice’. Lasts for a long, long time).

Using Tamarind

Heat in the microwave for about a minute until it softens. Let it cool completely.

Using Tamarind

Now the messy part begins: press out the juice using your hands.

Using Tamarind

Once you’ve got a slushy mix, run it through a sieve. Add more water, press, sieve and repeat. I needed 1 more cup of water to extract all the juice. You don’t want to add a lot of water, because then the final ‘juice’ becomes diluted, which means you’ll have to add a lot of it in your curries, further diluting your end product.

Using Tamarind

Seriously, you gotta squeeze the life out of this thing! Keep going at it until you end up with this.

Using Tamarind

Discard pulp and seeds and transfer the juice to a pan and let it come to a boil for a full minute or two. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes until it thickens slightly. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Using Tamarind

Pour into a clean, sterile jar and refrigerate. Use a clean, dry spoon to take out what you need and refrigerate the rest. Should keep well for upto 3 months. You can freeze it in ice-cube trays for longer.

There are two things I hate about cooking Indian food in the mornings: Grating Coconut and Juicing Tamarind. Now, both problems solved! Now that you have a good supply of tamarind juice going, keep an eye out for my grandmother’s glorious recipe for a Brinjal Curry – seriously guys, this curry is what got me to fall in love with cooking!.

Have any more tips for me? Let me know in the comments below!

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Comments

  2. Good Morning
    I bought 400 gram Tamarind for a liver cleanse, the store i bought it from don’t have a recipe
    I was wondering if you be so king to help me out on recipe

    Reply

    • The quantities have been mentioned in this post: Take 160 grams (5.6 oz) of tamarind and add 2 cups of water. (Makes about 3 cups of tamarind ‘juice’. Lasts for a long, long time). This will make a thick syrup, which you can dilute according to your needs.

      Reply

  3. I made my own tamarind paste and it has been sitting in the fridge for a month. Today I noticed that it has some white spots on top and seem kind of bubbly. Has it gone bad most likely? It doesn’t smell bad.

    Reply

    • Oh no, white spots are fungus/mold – discard the paste, wash the jar, sterilize it in boiling water and make yourself a fresh batch of tamarind paste.

      Reply

        • No problem – be sure to boil the paste, really long and hard before storing. I find that it keeps longer when properly reduced and all semblance of microbes killed. Use a clean dry spoon while taking paste. Keep it refrigerated, don’t let it thaw to room temperature after it’s been refrigerated. Take only what you need and promptly return the rest to the fridge. Don’t let condensation form inside the jar, that;s what causes the fungus. I hope that helps!

          Reply

        • When you say fresh tamarind are you talking about the ones still in their pods? The dried ones have a very long shelf life as long as you keep them dry and away from moisture and light. Once hydrated back into liquid form (like I’ve shown in this post), you can only keep it refrigerated for a short while.

          Reply

  4. Ive been using tamarind by putting it directly in boiling water, and using it all without bothering to extract the paste. Is that ok?

    If i dont mind having rhe fibrous bits in the sambar, do i still need to take trouble of extracting the paste?

    Reply

    • Even though using tamarind whole without extracting just the paste is largely unconventional, I don’t believe it’s harmful in anyway. It’s just a matter of preference.

      Reply

    • Oh Emma, then stay tuned, coz Friday I will be posting my grandmother’s famous Brinjal (Eggplant) curry – tamarind is the core ingredient.

      Reply

  9. I love cooking with tamarind (it’s so yummy in pad thai!) but I never know what to do with the leftovers. Thanks so much for these great tips!!

    Reply

    • Thanks Lucy! I am so glad you love tamarind! Now you can store it and make it last for some Pad Thai in a pinch!

      Reply

  12. Your intro left me nostalgic for my childhood days under my grandmothers tamarind trees . We too ate ripe tamarind right out of the shells ! Picked them from the dirt , cracked them and munched on it, spitting out the seeds . Priceless memory ! Thank you .

    Reply

    • Oh Esther, those memories were some of my favourite! It was so much fun, wasn’t it??? Thanks so much for sharing yours!

      Reply

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