← Nouns Cooking · Mexican

Ingredients

• 250 g sweet-sour tamarind pods (or 150 g seedless tamarind block)
• 2 l water, divided
• 150 g sugar, or to taste
• 1 Lime, juiced (optional)
• ice, to serve

Method

1. Crack the brittle shells off the tamarind pods and pull away the stringy fibres.
2. Put the tamarind in a pan with 1 litre of the water, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 min. Take off the heat and leave to soak for 30 min, until very soft.
3. Squeeze and mash the pulp with your hands or a potato masher to free it from the seeds.
4. Pour through a sieve into a jug, pushing through as much pulp as you can. Throw away the seeds.
5. Stir in the remaining water, the sugar and the lime juice (if using) until the sugar dissolves. Taste, chill, and serve over ice.

Tips

• Using a seedless block? Simply soak it in hot water for 15 min, mash and strain.
• The concentrated pulp keeps for a week in the fridge; dilute it to taste as you go.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Mexican Food Journal ¡Hola! Jalapeño Maricruz Avalos