Tamarind

[Smoke Dawg]

I bought a tamarind drink the other day but have not yet tried it

 

[Smokeat]

You can buy ready to use tamarind "base, concentrate, juice" and I thought it was one of those products that was good enough to not have to go through all the rigamarole of preparing pods or paste into usable form. Those more familiar with the product completely disagree.

 

[PullMyPenang]

Very popular ingredient in Thai food.

Yes it is a really common ingredient to add for some fruit/tart flavor notes. Some curry pastes have it too. Almost countless variations on curry paste here. Great addition for sauces too.

Only way I have ever seen it cleaned is sort of like shelling peas, if peas had stringy fibers and hard seeds to remove as well. A pretty good bit of hand work but worth the effort. Goes quick with some practice.

 

[Mark]

Tamarind is an ingredient in Worcestershire sauce. A local that sells Indian food carries it in powder form. It is somewhat similar to amchoor; which is green mango powder. I've used it in rubs.