Tamarind

Tamarind belongs to the family of Fabaceae, a native of tropical regions of Africa famous with the name of leguminous tree.

A tamarind tree has a fruit that looks like pod and is an edible fruit that is being used in many of the cuisines in almost every part of the world. The other ways of using tamarind is in medicines or for polishing the metals. Since there are many usages of tamarind, it is being cultivated in many parts of the world majorly that are located in the tropical or subtropical zones.

The tree of tamarind is a long lived tree that grows to a medium height. It is a shaggy tree that grows maximum to a height of 12 to 18 meters. The top of this tree is named as crown that is irregular shaped. The type of soil beneficial for the growth of this tree must be either clay, sandy, loam or acidic. It is required full sun for its proper growth.
The leaves of the tamarind tree have bright green color and the shape of leaves is oval. The leaflets close during the nights.

The flowers grown on the tamarind tree are generally red and yellow in color. Each flower has five petals with tiny racemes and the streaks on the flower are of either red or orange. The size of the tamarind flower is generally 2.5 cm in width.

The fruit of tamarind is pod-like that is 12 to 15 cm long with hard outer shell that is brown in color. The fruit inside the hard shell has pulp that is fleshy and very juicy. The fruit is considered to be completely matured when the outer shell turns to brown or reddish-brown in color. The tamarind fruit that grows in Asia are long pod type that comprises of six to twelve seeds while tamarind grown in Africa or West Indies are generally shorter with either one to six seeds. The shape of the seed is flat and has a glossy brown color.

The taste of tamarind fruit is amalgamation of sweet and sour. The fruit is rich in tartaric acid, Vitamin B, Sugar and calcium that is rarely found in any fruit.

Cultivation

To germinate the seeds of tamarind it must be boiled for short period of time. The seeds of tamarind remain germinated for several years if stored in dry place.

The maximum user and maker of tamarind are countries like Sudan, tropical region of Africa, Asia and Mexico.

The largest plantation of tamarind is seen in Thailand and then followed by countries named Indonesia, Myanmar and Philippines. The production of tamarind in India is as large as 275,500 tons each year. The main cultivators of tamarind in India are states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Culinary Use of Tamarind

The pulp of tamarind fruit is edible. The immature tamarind fruit has a hard green colored pulp that cannot be generally consumed raw and hence is majorly used for the preparation of spicy dishes in preparation of pickles.

The matured tamarind fruit is delicious since it is sweeter and is not that sour in comparison to immature tamarind fruit. It is also used in the preparation of Jams, mixed with juices, making sorbets and making ice creams and different snacks.

The usage of tamarind in India is generally for flavoring the different types of food preparations. The tamarind is soaked in water and then heated and strained that is used in the preparation of chutneys to be used with snacks. The other ingredients added in the preparation of tamarind chutney are sugar and spices like salt, red chili since tamarind is bitter in taste. Tamarind is added to various cuisines of Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. State of Karnataka uses tamarind in preparation of saaru, gojju and various chutneys. The state of Kerala uses tamarind in preparation of various curries, adding flavors to ground coconut. It is one of the main preservative used for preserving pickles. It is also used as preservative in Jams and syrups.

Other uses of Tamarind

1. The concentrate of Tamarind is good to eliminate taint from brass and copper articles.
2. Tamarind tree wood is very hard and hence is good for making furniture and wooden floorings.

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