Tamarind, Imli, Nutrition of Tamarind

You must be familiar with tamarind paste, tamarind sauce and tamarind chutney. Read below the details on tamarind.

Pictures of
Tamarind


Tamarind (Hindi name: Imli) has a refreshing sweet, sour taste with a a slight fruity aroma. Tamarind grows extensively throughout the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and the West Indies. tamarind is a brown bean enclosing a number of black seeds (tamarind seeds) from the tamarind tree. The tamarind bean contains a sticky pulp which is used as flavouring for its typical aroma and taste. Tamarind is available as dried pods, pressed fibrous slabs, or as a paste (tamarind paste).

Tamarind is antiseptic, mild laxative, and digestive. Gargles with tamarind water is recommended for a sore throat. Being highly acidic, it gives a cooling effct ot our body in summers. It is believed to boost metabolism.

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Tamarind is an excellent polish for brass and copper items.

Tamarind paste is used as a souring agent in the preparation of lentils, curries, rasam, sambhar, and chutneys. Tamarind is an imporatant ingredient for many jams, jellies, drinks, and Worcestershire sauce. Soak a little tamarind paste or pods in hot water for ten minutes, mash it, and pass through a sieve. The thick pulp which passes through the sieve is used.

Nutritional Values of Tamarind

Tamarind slabs and paste can be stored up to a year, and pods will last indefinitely.