Tamr Hindi

the tamarind sharbat of the Arab summer: the sour pulp steeped and sweetened into a dark, cooling drink poured from brass urns to break the Ramadan fast across Egypt and the Levant

Origin: Egypt

From the journey of Tamarind.

Tamr hindi, 'the date of India', is both the Arabic name of the tamarind and the name of the drink made from it, one of the great cooling sharbats of the Arab world and one of the defining flavours of Ramadan. It was the Arab traders of the Indian Ocean who gave the fruit this name, seeing in its sticky brown pulp a kind of date and meeting it in the markets of India, and it is in the form of this dark, sweet-sour drink that the tamarind is most beloved across Egypt, the Levant, and the Gulf. Through the fasting month it is the classic drink of iftar, the meal that breaks the fast at sunset, for its gentle sourness and sugar restore a body that has gone without food and water since dawn; and through the long heat of the summer it is sold in the street from great ornate brass urns carried on the vendor's back or set on carts, poured out over ice into small glasses. Made at home it is the work of a moment: the pulp is steeped in water, worked and strained, and sweetened, sometimes with a breath of rosewater or a few pods of cardamom. Dark, tangy, and reviving, tamr hindi is the taste of the Arab summer and of the shared table at the end of the fasting day.

Ingredients

Sharbat

  • 200 g tamarind pulp (block tamarind)
  • 1.5 litres water
  • 200 g sugar, or to taste
  • 1 tsp rosewater, optional
  • 2 pods cardamom, lightly crushed, optional

To Serve

  • 1 tray ice cubes, to serve

Method

  1. Break up the block tamarind and soak it in about 500 ml of warm water, along with the cardamom if using, for at least 2 hours, or overnight, until soft and dissolving.
  2. Work the softened tamarind hard with your fingers or a spoon to dissolve as much pulp as possible from the seeds and fibres, then push it all through a fine sieve into a jug, pressing firmly, and discard the debris.
  3. Stir the sugar into the strained tamarind concentrate until fully dissolved, then add the remaining water and the rosewater if using. Taste and adjust the balance of sweet and sour.
  4. Chill thoroughly. Serve very cold, poured over ice into small glasses.

Notes

The strength and sweetness are entirely to taste, and the drink can be made as a thick, dark concentrate kept in the refrigerator and let down with cold water glass by glass, which is how the street vendors serve it. A few strands of dried hibiscus steeped with the tamarind deepen the colour and add a second sourness; a squeeze of lemon sharpens it further. The same steeped, strained tamarind is the base for cooking across the region, so a batch does double duty as drink and as souring agent.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route
Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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