Tamarind Juice
Tamarind is a fruit growing on a leguminous tree, originating from the tropical areas of Africa. Long ago it arrived to India, there it has been accepted well in Indian cuisine. Tamarind spread from India to Far East and Middle East. Since the fruit is of dark brown color and reminds a date, it was called "the Indian date" in Arab countries, which is in Arabic "tamar hindi", and that's how it has got its name. Nowadays it grows in tropical regions all around the world and is popular in many Asian cuisines as well as in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Since the ancient times the tamarind fruit has many medical uses. It is very good for digestion and stomach problems, contains large amounts of vitamin C and many important nutrients.
Tamarind can be found as a concentrated syrup, a thick paste or as fresh or dried fruit. To prepare the juice it is better to use the fresh or dried fruit.
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500 g (1lb 2 oz) tamarind pods or
400g (14 oz) tamarind paste
sugar to taste
Preparation time: 10 minutes + 2 hrs. soaking
Difficulty level: Easy
Servings: 10
Ingredients
Preparation
Peel the shells from the tamarind pods and put the brown pulp in a bowl.
Cover with water and soak for about 2 hours. The water color will gradually change to brown.
Clean the hands and mash the soaked pulp (alternatively you can pulse the pulp with the water in a food processor).
Strain the tamarind water through a strainer or clean cloth. Do it 2-3 times to draw all the taste from the pulp. Add sugar to taste and some more water in case the liquid is too thick.
Put the juice in the fridge. Serve with a slice of lime.
If using the paste, follow the same procedure. The soaking can be shorter.
