Tamarind paste

Sour is an essential taste in Ayurveda, usually added with limes, tomatoes or tamarind – a sweet-sour Asian fruit. Tamarind is usually sold as blocks of the dried fruit or as a ready-made paste. The paste is convenient but varies in taste, strength and additional ingredients, so if you like tamarind and want the true flavour it’s worth knowing how to work with the blocks, which last for ever in the cupboard and are cheap to buy. Tamarind pulp is very fibrous so you need to soak and separate