This dry looking, bean-like fruit grows in India, Africa and Central America and when you open it up, you`ll find large beans surrounded by a thick paste that is rather sour.

The paste from tamarind is widely available, so many people are already familiar with the flavor. However, if you want to try the actual fruit, there are several ways to prepare it.

First, you`ll need to prepare the pulp. Open up the seed pod and scrape everything out. Use 1/3 cup of warm water for every 2 tablespoons of seeds and pulp. Just dissolve it into the water, removing the cleaned seeds as you go. This mixture can then be used to cook with in any recipe that calls for tamarind paste. If you don`t have fresh tamarind, go ahead and use the purchased paste in the following recipes.

Mexican Agua de Tamarindo

3 tablespoons tamarind paste

1/2 cup sugar

5 cups water

Dissolve paste into the water. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Serve chilled.

Tamarind Fruit Sauce

1 tablespoon tamarind paste

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoon lemon juice

Heat all ingredients, except tamarind in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved. Add tamarind. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until a syrup is formed. This can be used on ice cream or over fresh fruit.

Simple Chutney

1 tablespoon tamarind paste

1 cup raisins

1/3 cup water

1/2  teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

dash of salt

Puree all ingredients in a blender until smooth. If you want a chunkier consistency, add some chopped raisins after the fact.

For more recipes, check these links:

Epicurean List

Bok Pik Dipemp

Coconut Shrimp with Ginger Tamarind Sauce