The first thing my grandmother did when she entered the kitchen each morning was say a quick prayer and soak a ball of tamarind. Be it sambar, rasam, kuzhambu, kootu or thogayal, tamarind extract was a must, and starting the soak early meant the tamarind extract was ready by the time cooking began. True to that lineage, tamarind features in almost every south Indian inspired recipe I have shared in this column over the years. I think of it as the ingredient that rounds off everything else and brings harmony to a dish. Salt, heat, sweetness, it balances them all like the backbone bassist in a jazz band, the one nobody notices, but without whom the rest of the band wouldn’t sound right.
Indian cooking uses acid in so many forms that a whole book could be written on Indian souring agents alone. In a face-off between lemon juice and tamarind, the dominant acid in tamarind is tartaric, not citric, which is why it tastes different from a squeeze of lime. Tartaric has a rounder, slower sourness, while citric is sharp and quick. It is also why tamarind plays well with jaggery, palm sugar and dates. The home-economics case is simple: tamarind is always at hand once you stock a block. It needs no refrigeration and gives a predictable output, unlike lemons which may not be in the fridge at all, and when they are, they tend to be soggy or dried out, willing to part with only a few drops of juice depending on their mood.
I can’t write a column on tamarind and not sing a verse of praise for saunth or imli chutney, which brings any chaat to life. Tamarind, jaggery, cumin, fennel, dried ginger powder and a touch of chilli—a lesson in flavour combinations, where a souring agent and a sweetener carry a chorus of spices on their backs. If India were any better at marketing its genius condiments, this one would be way up there with Sriracha or harissa.
Now on to the practical bits—buy whole compressed tamarind in blocks rather than commercial paste where you can. Blocks keep for a year or more in a cool dry place; store them in ceramic bharnis (jars) layered with rock salt to keep insects out. Most ready-made pastes are concentrated, often with added acid or preservatives and the flavour falls flat.
To make extract from a block, soak a lemon-sized piece in warm water for 20 minutes, then squeeze with your fingers and strain, picking out any stray seeds. The first squeeze gives a thick extract; a second soak of the same pulp gives a thinner one. You can combine both and use as needed. To save time, soak a bigger batch and refrigerate in a glass bottle with a pinch of salt, or pour it into ice cube trays and store the cubes in a sealable bag. South Indian kitchens also have a zero-waste hack: rub the leftover pulp on brass lamps and kadais to make them shine.
TAMARIND COOLER
Makes 4 glasses
Ingredients
2 lemon-sized balls of tamarind
1 cup hot water
4 tbsp jaggery, grated*
Half tsp black salt
Half tsp roasted cumin powder
To rim glasses
Lemon wedge
Half tsp red chilli powder
2 tbsp salt
Method
Soak the tamarind in hot water for 30 minutes to an hour. Squeeze out the extract and discard the pulp. Pass through a sieve into a jug.
In a small saucepan, dissolve the jaggery in half a cup of water on low flame, then add to the jug.
Add the black salt and cumin powder and stir well. Refrigerate until chilled.
To serve, run the lemon wedge along the rim of a glass. Spread the salt and chilli powder on a plate and mix. Dip the rim into the chilli salt to coat, tap off the excess and let it dry for a minute. Pour the drink into the glasses and serve chilled.
*Use monk fruit sweetener for a sugar-free version
PULIYODARAI (Tamarind Rice)
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 cups cooked rice (cooled)
2 lemon-sized balls of tamarind
3 tbsp sesame (gingelly) oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp chana dal
1 tbsp urad dal
3 tbsp raw peanuts
3 dried red chillies, broken
2 sprigs curry leaves
Quarter tsp asafoetida
Half tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp jaggery
For the spice mix
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp white sesame seeds
2 dried red chillies
1 tsp chana dal
Quarter tsp fenugreek seeds
Method
Soak the tamarind in 1 cup warm water for 15 minutes. Squeeze well and strain. Discard the pulp and reserve the extract.
Dry roast the spice mix ingredients on a low flame for 3-4 minutes until aromatic. Cool and grind to a coarse powder. Set aside.
Heat the sesame oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds and wait for them to splutter. Add chana dal, urad dal and peanuts and roast until golden. Add red chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida.
Pour in the tamarind extract. Add turmeric, salt and jaggery. Simmer on low flame for 8-10 minutes until the mixture thickens and the oil rises to the surface.
Add 2 tbsp of the spice mix. Stir well and cook for another minute. This is the puliyodarai paste.
In a wide bowl, top the cooled rice with 3-4 tablespoons of the paste. Mix with a wooden spatula until the rice is coated all the way through. Rest for 20 minutes before serving.
Store extra paste in a glass jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. The paste tastes great with curd rice too.
Double Tested is a column on vegetarian cooking, highlighting a single ingredient prepared two ways. Nandita Iyer (@saffrontrail) is a doctor, wellness advocate and author.