Tamarind Concentrate is added to Soups, Stews, Gravies, Sambhar, Rasam for its smooth tangy taste. Tamarind may also be used as a base for delicious raw or cooked chutneys, its fruity acidity combining well with sugar, chilli and other flavours. This is a concentrate and goes a long ways.
One teaspoon for twelve persons for specific tastes of soups, stews,gravies,sambar,rasam etc. In any cold, warm or hot preparation.
A sweetened imli or tamarind drink -- called Tamar Hindi (!) -- and infused with rose water and lemon juice is an ideal way to break a fast in the evening.
The fruit pulp is edible and popular. It is used as a spice in both Asian and Latin American cuisines, and is also an important ingredient in Imli Chutney (spicy tamarind-sauce from North India), Pulusu (tamarind-based sauce from Andhra Pradesh, India), Worcestershire sauce, HP sauce and the Jamaican-produced Pickapeppa sauce . The hard green pulp of a young fruit is very tart and acidic and is most often used as a component of savory dishes. The ripened fruit is sweeter, yet still distinctively sour, and can be used in desserts and sweetened drinks, or as a snack. In Thailand, there is a carefully cultivated sweet variety with little to no tartness grown specifically to be eaten as a fresh fruit.
Tamarind tree, IndiaTamarind is a staple in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu diet, where it is used to prepare Rasam, Sambhar, Puliyogare, and various types of chutneys.
In Guadeloupe, the tree is known as Tamarinier. Jam and syrup is made with the fruit.
In Egypt, there is an acidic chilled drink made from tamarind which is popular in summertime. It is called "tamr hindi".
In Madagascar, the tree is known as the kily tree. Its fruits and leaves are a well-known favorite of ring-tailed lemurs, providing as much as 50% of their food resources during the year if available.
In Mexico it is sold in various snack forms, where it is dried and salted, or candied (see for example pulparindo or chamoy snacks). Mexicans commonly drink it as a cold agua fresca beverage or have it in iced fruit bars and raspados. The Mexican immigrant communities in the US have continued to fashion the "agua de tamarindo" drink, and many other kinds of treats. Mexican tamarind snacks are available in specialty food stores worldwide in pod form or as a paste or concentrate.
Pad Thai, a Thai dish popular with Europeans and Americans, often includes tamarind for its tart/sweet taste (with lime juice added for sourness and fish sauce added for saltiness). A tamarind-based sweet-and-sour sauce served over deep-fried fish is also a common dish in Central Thailand. In Singapore and Malaysia it is used to add a sweet-sour taste to gravy for fish in a dish called asam fish. In the Philippines it is used to add a sour taste in Sinigang soup. The leaves are also distinctly tart in flavor, and are used in many soups in the North Eastern part of Thailand.