Freshly made tamarind sauce is so much better than anything you can purchase.
There are many brands of tamarind sauce that you can purchase to make life easy.
They are good but most are a lot sweeter than this version. I don’t really have a sweet tooth and prefer the very tart flavour of this tamarind sauce.
You could of course add more sugar or jaggery to taste. One thing is certain, when you make your own tamarind sauce, your end dishes will taste better!
This is a sauce I always have on hand. It keeps forever in the fridge and is delicious added to chaats, wraps, and curries.
So what do I do with tamarind sauce when I’ve made it?
Let’s break this recipe down.
To make the tamarind sauce, you first need to process a brick of tamarind. Photos of this process are below.
Once you get all the seeds out of the tamarind and run it through a sieve, you have tamarind concentrate.
So if you don’t add any spices or other ingredients to this concentrate, you still have a very useful ingredient. Tamarind concentrate is called for in many recipes. It adds a delicious sour flavour to a curry so it is good to have on hand.
But what about the finished sauce?
Like the tamarind concentrate mentioned above, tamarind sauce is of course available to purchase. But this recipe for tamarind sauce which is sweet, sour and spicy is my personal favourite.
No shop bought tamarind sauce for me!
Both the concentrate and the sauce can be stored in the fridge for weeks.
Here are some delicious recipes you can use your homemade tamarind sauce in!

Get your ingredients together before starting. It makes things that much easier. I also added chilli powder to mine, not shown.

Break the tamarind into about six chunks and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 5 minutes.

Press the tamarind through a fine sieve with a spoon. This takes time! Probably about 10 to 15 minutes.

You now have tamarind concentrate. The same stuff you can purchase but much tastier. It can be used in sauces and many other things to add a delicious sour flavour. It keeps for months.

Stir in the sugar and other spices and simmer for a few minutes, stirring often. Water can be added for a thinner sauce if preferred.

The thick or thin sauce can be stored in a jar or squeeze bottle.
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Tamarind Sauce
Ingredients
Instructions
Valeria
Monday 31st of May 2021
Hi! If I use tamarind pasteinstead of pulp to make this sauce, I guess I should use much less water. Do you naybe have ab indication for it? Thanks in advance!
Dan Toombs
Tuesday 1st of June 2021
Tamarind paste can be quite strong so I would just add to taste until you think it is right as it is hard to be precise. Thanks Dan
Yianni
Monday 22nd of February 2021
Hi, I have tamarind concentrate in a tub. How much of that, with your sauce recipe do i use to make the sauce?
Thanks.
Dan Toombs
Wednesday 24th of February 2021
Add to taste, maybe add 1 teaspoon then another if you decide it needs more. Thanks Dan
Donna
Saturday 23rd of January 2021
All I could find was tamarind puree. Can I substitute it, and if so how much should I use?
Dan Toombs
Tuesday 26th of January 2021
Yes , I think you could use that. use about half the amount stated but add to taste. Thanks Dan
Lorraine Goley
Sunday 10th of January 2021
Could you get the same results using this recipe with powdered tamarind
Dan Toombs
Monday 11th of January 2021
Yes, I think powdered tamarind would be a good compromise. Thanks Dan
Miss SELVERANI NAIDOO
Saturday 9th of January 2021
I'm surely gonna try cause its delicious as dip for samosas or chips. I love tramrind I also use it in fish & dholl _mixed Veggies curries is awesome ❤️
Dan Toombs
Monday 11th of January 2021
Yes, I love it as a dip too. Thanks Dan