Tamarind, a Tasty and Nutritious Fruit

The tamarind fruit comes from a hardy, long living tropical tree called Tamarindus indica L which reaches a height of 80 - 100 feet when fully grown. It has African origins but over time, it has spread to many other countries including South America and the Far East.

The seeds of the tree, encased in curved reddish brown, pods are surrounded by moist and sticky flesh which varies from being very sweet to very sour. Thailand produces the sweet variety and India produces the sour variety on a commercial basis. Unripe tamarind pods are green and fleshy, but as they ripen, they get more brittle and change colour to reddish brown.

You can buy tamarind from most Asian grocery stores and it is available in a variety of different forms; either with its seeds left intact or sold as concentrated, deseeded blocks called "wet tamarind". Used in many South Indian fish recipes and curries it provides an excellent alternative to lemon juice when you want to enhance the tangy flavour of a dish. Used either during the cooking process or as a garnish on a cooked dish, it is also used in making chutneys, barbecue sauces, dips and as a glazing agent when grilling food.

The garnish is normally tamarind sauce, made by cooking the tamarind pulp in water and sugar, sieved and seasoned with salt, pepper and other spices to provide a delicious accompaniment to many starters. In Thailand and Vietnam, people use tamarind pulp to make sweets and patties, and in Brazil, people dilute the concentrated tamarind syrup to make a sweet drink. In Western countries, it is an ingredient used in the popular Worcestershire sauce to give it its distinctive taste.

Apart from the culinary benefits of the tamarind pulp, various other parts of the tamarind tree provide a number of additional uses. Tamarind leaves are used for medicinal purposes and to provide cattle feed, its wood is used in making furniture and wood flooring and it is used as a polish for brass and copper. The tamarind seeds provide a cheaper alternative to coffee in Thailand and scientists in India discovered that tamarind seeds have jellying and setting properties making them ideal for making jams and jellies.

It contains many nutrients that make it an economical, health-giving fruit for rural areas. It contains protein, carbohydrates, and fibre with minerals like calcium, phosphorous, potassium, iron and B vitamins like thiamine and vitamin C. In addition, the astringent properties of the seeds, flowers and leaves make them helpful for medicinal purposes in treating ailments including swellings and digestive problems. In African countries, people use the pulp of the leaves as a dye to colour goat hides and the powdered seeds provide starch in some of India's textile industries.

The many medicinal uses of the Tamarind in some African and Indian cultures give it an almost sacred quality and its name originates from the Arab word "tamar hindi" which translates as "Indian date". A fruit that is not only exotic but also unique in its taste but not commonly found on the shelves of Western groceries. Its many health-giving properties definitely make it amongst one of the fruits worth investigating for the future in the Western world.