Like coconut milk, this is nearly universal, seen from Mexico to Thailand to India. For information about tamarind, see the sidebar on page 587.

　　

Ingredients

makes 1 cup

　　1 pound tamarind pulp

　　

Step 1

Put the pulp in a saucepan with 1 cup water over medium heat. Cook, whisking lightly, breaking up the lumps and adding more water whenever the mixture becomes dry, until you’ve added a total of about 2 cups. The process will take about 10 minutes; the result will be quite thick but fairly smooth.

　　

Step 2

Put the tamarind through a food mill or strainer; discard the seeds and stringy material left behind. Use or cover and refrigerate for up to a week before using.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.