Homemade tamarind paste from a block is thicker, more complex, and significantly more sour than store-bought concentrate — and it takes 30 minutes of mostly passive work. Keep a jar in the fridge and a cube tray in the freezer for chutneys, curries, rasam, and tamarind rice.
Ingredients
- 100g (about 3.5 oz) seedless tamarind block, broken into chunks
- 1 1/2 cups hot water (not boiling)
Method
Soak the tamarind
Break the tamarind block into rough pieces and place in a bowl. Pour 1 1/2 cups hot water over it — hot enough that you wouldn't want to hold your hand in it, but not aggressively boiling. Boiling water can make the paste slightly bitter. Let it soak for 20–30 minutes, until the pulp has softened significantly and the water has turned a deep brown.
Work the pulp
Using your fingers, squeeze and work the softened tamarind through the water. You're breaking down the fibrous pulp and dissolving it into the liquid. Keep working until all the soft flesh has separated from the fibers. This takes about 3–4 minutes of active squeezing — it will feel like working with wet clay, then progressively looser as more pulp dissolves.
Strain
Set a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl. Pour the tamarind mixture through in batches, pressing firmly with the back of a spoon to extract as much paste as possible. What remains in the sieve is seeds, fibers, and tough skin — discard it. The strained paste will be thick, dark brown, and intensely sour.
Reduce if needed
If the paste feels thin (this happens with lower-quality blocks that have more fiber), pour it into a small saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat for 5–10 minutes, stirring frequently, until it thickens to the consistency of a thin jam. This step is optional but improves shelf life.
Storage
- Container: Airtight glass jar
- Fridge: 2 weeks — pour a thin film of oil over the surface before sealing to slow oxidation and extend freshness
- Freezer: 6 months — freeze in an ice cube tray (each cube ~1 tbsp). Once frozen solid, transfer to a zip-lock bag. Pull out individual cubes as needed — they thaw in minutes at room temperature.
Notes
- Block vs. concentrate vs. tamarind water: These are three very different products and quantities don't transfer 1:1.
- Tamarind block (what this recipe uses): Compressed dried pulp, seeds, and fibers. Produces the most complex, fruity, intensely sour paste. The gold standard for flavor.
- Tamarind concentrate (jar paste): Pre-processed, thick, and darker with a slightly cooked flavor. Convenient but less nuanced. Use about half the quantity called for when substituting for block-derived paste — it's more concentrated.
- Tamarind water: Paste thinned with a lot of water for soups and drinks. Much milder. If a recipe calls for "tamarind water," don't substitute with paste directly — dilute 1 tsp paste in 1/2 cup water.
- Quantity guide when cooking:
- Chutney (sweet tamarind): 3–4 tbsp paste as the sour base
- Curry (tamarind-based, like sambar or fish curry): 1–2 tbsp per 4 servings
- Rasam: 1 tsp paste diluted in 1/4 cup water per bowl
- Tamarind rice: 2–3 tbsp paste for 2 cups cooked rice
- If your block has seeds in it (not labeled "seedless"), work more carefully during the squeezing step to pull them out, then discard with the fibrous solids
- Indian and Southeast Asian blocks are the same product; you'll find them in Indian, Sri Lankan, and Thai grocery stores
Variations
- Sweetened tamarind chutney base: After straining, add 2 tbsp jaggery (or brown sugar) and 1/2 tsp each of roasted cumin and ginger powder. Simmer until thick. This is the base for date-tamarind chutney (saunth) served with chaat and samosas. Keeps 3 weeks in the fridge.
- Thai-style tamarind paste: Same method, but use a Thai tamarind block (often slightly sweeter than Indian). Used in pad thai, curries, and dipping sauces — the paste is interchangeable in most Southeast Asian recipes.
Added Sep 3, 2026 · Updated Oct 26, 2026