Traditions with tamarind

Tamarind, the sticky, sour pulp of a pod from a tropical tree, gives a sharp sweet-sour taste to food in India, Southeast Asia, West Africa, the Caribbean and Mexico. Its use ranges from the sambar of South India and Thai pad thai to Mexican candies and Senegalese juice. It is also a street-food ingredient, in chutneys and drinks. A tree in a courtyard is a mark of an old home in many places. These pages describe the traditions that use it.

Where it is used

In South India, tamarind is the sourness of sambar, rasam and puliyogare, the temple rice. In Thailand and Vietnam, it flavours sauces and soups, in Mexico candy and agua de tamarindo, and in Senegal bissap and the dish thieboudienne. In the Caribbean, tamarind balls are sold as sweets. In Pakistan and Bangladesh, imli chutney goes with chaat, and in the Philippines, sinigang is soured with it.

What it means

The tamarind tree is a symbol of shade, longevity and hospitality in many villages, under which people meet. In West Africa, juice of the fruit is served at celebrations, and in India the pulp is part of temple food, offered to deities as prasad. For many people living far from home, the sour taste of tamarind is the taste of childhood, and shops stock the blocks for them.