15 Recipes That Use Tamarind (2024)

FAQs

What food is tamarind used for? ›

Many fusion recipes lean on tamarind as a marinade for meats and fishes because the tartaric acid in the ingredient is a powerful tenderizer. Indian cuisine uses tamarind in chutneys, curries and pickles. Tamarind is also turned into different types of sweet syrups that flavors sodas, co*cktails and iced teas.

The tamarind and soy marinade tenderizes the meat, but also gives such a glorious tanginess (I have a sour tooth). I keep Thai tamarind paste, which is condensed almost into a brick, in my fridge, and that's why I proceed as below.

Although the green aromas are not the tamarind's largest aroma, it is still strong enough for it to affect what works well with the Colombian ingredient. It allows bell pepper, beef, butternut, crab and camembert to be great food parings.

Unopened tamarind paste can typically last for up to a year past its printed date when stored in a cool, dry place. Once you've opened the jar, the tamarind paste should be consumed within a month if stored at room temperature. But, if you refrigerate it after opening, it can last for about 6 months.

One serving of tamarind offers more than 25% of your recommended daily amount of magnesium. This important nutrient supports more than 300 essential processes in your body, including regulating nerve and muscle function, maintaining blood pressure control and maintaining strong bones.

Traditionally, the pulp of ripe fruits is used for sweets and soft drinks, since these are sweeter and the pulp of young fruits is used for salty dishes due to its acidity. And the fact is that Mexicans love tamarind!

As a food, tamarind sits within the legume family and so has the capability to cause an allergic reaction in some people. Tamarind may lower blood sugar levels and so should be used with caution if you are diabetic. It can also have a laxative effect if consumed in large amounts.

People take tamarind for constipation, liver and gallbladder problems, and stomach disorders. It is also used to treat colds and fever. Women sometimes use tamarind to treat pregnancy-related nausea. It is given to children to treat intestinal worms.

Tamarind has played an important role in traditional medicine. In beverage form, it was commonly used to treat diarrhea, constipation, fever, and malaria. The bark and leaves were also used to promote wound healing (1). Modern researchers are now studying this plant for potential medicinal uses.

You can consume 30 grams per day while incorporating it in a healthy, balanced diet. This fruit can be consumed raw or used to prepare sweets, juices and even alcoholic beverages.

Can tamarind be a laxative? ›

Tamarind contains ingredients that might have laxative effects and fight against certain fungi and bacteria. It also contains a chemical that is similar to mucin found in the eye.

Warm weather will speed up the ripening process, so keep your tamarind in a cool place. But generally speaking, it's inadvisable to store tamarind pods in the pantry, as they will rot in no time. According to High Kitchen IQ, tamarind pods can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to three months.

Sour Tamarind Is More Antihypertensive than the Sweeter One, as Evidenced by In Vivo Biochemical Indexes, Ligand–Protein Interactions, Multitarget Interactions, and Molecular Dynamic Simulation.

Why is salt kept near tamarind in the olden days? For this practice, about 10 gm of salt was used for per kg of tamarind. By this way of storage, storage pests like beetles and Indian meal moth (Plodia cautella) were prevented.

Tamarind has a unique, sweet-sour flavour that makes it popular in sweet and savoury dishes alike. Its flavour has been compared to tangy lemon or lime balanced by sweet caramel notes, or a cross between lemon, apricot and dates.

Tamarind is not a food that I can be strictly objective about. I love to eat it straight from the pod; I love the deep molasses-colored concentrate stirred into chutney; I love it soaked from frozen pulp and added to sticky-sweet marinades, or spooned into a light, tangy rasam.