Tamarind

Scientific

Tamarindus indica (family Fabaceae) is the only species in its genus. The tree is a large evergreen reaching 25 m, with feathery compound leaves and small yellow-and-red flowers. The fruit is a long brown pod containing a soft sticky sour-sweet brown pulp around large hard seeds.

Despite the species name indica (and the common English name “tamarind” tracing from Arabic tamr al-hind, “date of India”), the species is now generally believed to have originated in tropical Africa, with India being a major early secondary center of cultivation rather than the original home.

Cultural and culinary

The species was carried by Arab and Indian traders across the tropics in antiquity; tamarind cultivation in India is documented for at least 3,000 years. From India the plant spread east through Southeast Asia and west through Africa and the Middle East. Spanish and Portuguese trade carried tamarind across to the Caribbean and Latin America in the 16th–17th centuries.

Foundational cuisines:

• Indian — imli in chutneys, sambar, rasam, snack mixes, candy
• Thai — pad thai sauce, tom yum, traditional desserts
• Filipino — sinigang (sour soup) traditionally uses tamarind as the souring agent
• Mexican — agua de tamarindo (tamarind drink), tamarindo candy (often combined with chili powder), pulparindo
• Caribbean — tamarind balls, tamarind-based hot sauces
• Middle Eastern — Iranian khoresh-e mahi (fish stew), Iraqi sour stews

Tamarind paste, available in jars across global supermarkets, is the standard pantry form for most of these uses.

Global production

Top producers: India (by a wide margin), Mexico, Thailand, Sudan, Costa Rica.

See also

Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.

• Shares approach with: [[fenugreek]] · [[wisteria]] · [[sweet-pea]] · [[sorghum]] · [[sesame]] · [[moringa]]
• Member of: [[plants]]

Sources

• Wikipedia — Tamarind

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A plant entry in the 0mn1.one [[directory]].