I missed this...
This morning, as I had a quick grocery run, I saw sweet tamarind candies at the Filipino Food section. It was a childhood favorite of mine, coated with sugar and salt bits and wrapped in yellow gold plastic. Until I was in university, I would pass by this shop called "Utik-Utik" (a local term in my province which means "gradually", or "bit by bit") to buy these tamarind goodies.
Anyhow, I ended up not buying the candied tamarind, but this box of sweet, ripe tamarind instead.
Tamarind
A tropical fruit, tamarind is common in the Philippines and many parts of Asia. This particular box I bought was imported to the UAE from Thailand, as with most of the tropical fruits you'll find here like coconuts, mangoes, rambutan, etc.
The tree can grow big and tall. It bears pod-like fruits that have brown shell, and fleshy and fibrous inside.
Personally, I love to eat the unripe, green fruits that do not have developed seeds yet. Best when they are still thin. They are crunchy and tangy! Whew. My mouth is watering just at the thought of it. My father and I share the same love for sour fruits, like green mangoes or even calamansi. We just dip it in salt or fermented fish and we're good. Haha.
In the Philippines we just pluck them off trees, or pick up fallen ones off the ground. If you're lucky, in when tamarind is in season, they'll just show up on your doorstep when someone decides to give you a bag full of ripe, yummy tamarind!
The ripe fruits can be preserved into sweetened balls. We remove the flesh off the shell and then clump them into a ball and roll them on sugar and a bit of salt.
However, it is a bit pricey to buy here in the UAE. This 500g box of ripe, sweet tamarind cost me Dhs 8.50 ($2.30). I think I also see blocks of tamarind (I think this originates from India) that are to be utilized for cooking.
Tamarind in your dishes.
Tamarind fruits and leaves are widely used in cooking. It has a sweet/sour taste that gives that tangy flavor to dishes. I remember, back in the days when instant flavor mixes were not a thing, my mother use young tamarind leaves to flavor our sinigang or sour stew. The young, green fruits (that without seeds yet) are also boiled to extract that sour flavor. Now, that's the natural way to cook. These days, though, sadly, people mostly use ready-mix flavors to cook their dishes (that sometimes includes me).
There are a lot of other ways tamarind is used in the kitchen, especially in Indian cuisine.
Medicinal Properties
Tamarind is said to have medicinal properties, too. The leaves are used for its anti-inflammatory properties, to cure wounds while the fruits are a natural laxative.
I am sure there are lots of other ways tamarind is used as a traditional medicine, but these are the ones that I am personally aware of.
Anything else you can add, that you do in your place? I'd love to learn!
❤️Arlyn
@arrliinn, Yes, this Fruit is awesome and we use it many ways.
Have a wonderful time ahead and stay blessed.
Thanks! I really missed it a lot. 😅 These ones I got are too sweet that the natural tanginess is almost gone.
Welcome and enjoy your time ahead.
#posh
Tamarind is an amazing anti-inflammatory food, as well as a serious digestive clean out! And soooo yummy! I'm gonna buy some today, cos it's in season here too. The sour one is yummy for cooking.
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