Tamarind is one of the up and coming ingredients right now, being “discovered” by chefs and home cooks alike. And for good reason! Tamarind is sour, tart, slightly sweet, sticky, and a great “secret ingredient” in sauces, stews, drinks, and chutneys. Along with the culinary uses, it also has a whole host of health benefits.

But, what is it? A fruit, a nut, a spice?

Tamarind is the fruit of a tree, but is actually technically a legume. It grows as a long pod, sort of similar looking to a peanut. Inside the pod are the seeds, surrounded by the sticky sour pulp. This pulp can be used fresh, but most often it is dried and turned into a paste, which makes it even more potent. The trees grow best in tropical areas, meaning it can be found as widely dispersed as Thailand, India, Mexico, Africa, and the Mediterranean.

When I found a bag of tamarind paste at my favorite Indian spice store, I just had to have it. I don’t yet know what other tasty creations I will make, but I knew as soon as I saw a Tamarind Margarita recipe that would be my first experiment!

Y’all know I love me a margarita, whether mixed with fruit, hot and spicy, or as a two-for-one lower calorie fizzy drink.

Given that all the hype about tamarind is that it is sweet yet sour, a margarita seems like a natural pairing. I could use tamarind paste rather than the usual “sour mix”, which to be honest I have less than no idea what the ingredients are! I love swaps where I can use real food items that I can see and pronounce over a bottled chemical alternative. Even when the end purpose is not super healthy… but I digress.

We all have our vices, no? 😉

I did learn one important lesson about tamarind paste: this stuff is thick! It is very viscous, and not easy to dissolve in ice cold water. So after I made the first one, where I put ice in the shaker, and had to shake for what felt like half an hour, I learned my lesson.

On the second one I did not add ice, until after it had already been shaken and poured. So take note, ice cold water = paste staying paste and not dissolving!

This makes one pretty strong 4-ounce margarita, and is easy to double or triple. I used bacon rim salt because the internet said smoky flavors pair well with tamarind, and I truly agree! The boy, however, hated it and said he preferred just the drink alone. He wiped off all the salt. So, you do you, you’ve been warned.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 ounces silver or gold tequila
• 1 ounce lime juice (or lemon if you don’t have lime)
• 1 generous teaspoon tamarind paste
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• Optional: rim salt or sugar, ice to fill your glass

Step 1: Mix all ingredients in a shaker, and shake well. You can also pour it right into a glass and mix it with a spoon, but using the shaker makes me feel like a bartender. Plus mine has cute recipes on the side.

Step 2: If using rim salt (or sugar!), put some lemon or lime juice on a shallow dish. Rub the glass in the liquid, then dip into your salt or sugar, and gently shake off the excess. Fill with ice, and pour the margarita over.

Step 3: Enjoy (responsibly, please!)

If you don’t have agave, or are trying to cut out sugar, feel free to leave it out, or substitute brown sugar or stevia. But it will be quite sour and tart if you use no sweetener. You could also omit the lime juice, if the tamarind is strong enough of a flavor. It does make the drink an odd brown color but I promise it is worth the taste!