Tamarind is a beautiful tree that thrives in South East Asia and India, producing a brown bean pod-like fruit. Inside the pod is a sticky brown paste, fibres and seeds. It’s usually sold as slabs of paste, as a strained paste or as a thick sticky black purée. Look in the international section of your supermarket or in Asian food shops. To obtain tamarind water, soak a walnut-sized chunk of the fibrous paste in 250 ml (8 fl oz) cup hot water until soft; squeeze the pulp between your fingers then strain. This liquid can then be frozen in ice-cube trays for later use.