SWEET TAMARIND
(Ma-khaam Waan)
Tamarindus indica Linn. (Leguminosae)

Season: December – March

Geographic area: Grown predominantly in North and Northeast Thailand

Sweet tamarind grows in long pods from huge shady trees. The pods hang from branches like beans. They are green, crunchy and sour when young, while the skin turns brown, hard and brittle when ripe. Inside, the dark-brown flesh is moist and sticky, with string-like fibers covering a row of brown seeds. By nature, tamarind is sweet-and-sour, with the best ones from Phetchabun province renowned for their sweetness. Popular varieties include Si Thong, Kantee, Prakai and Intaphalam.

Sweet tamarind can be eaten fresh, simply by cracking the brittle shell and devouring the flesh off the seeds. Those with a more sour taste are coated with sugar and chili (ma-khaam klook), made into toffee (ma-khaam gaew), or boiled in water to create a refreshing drink.

Thais simply love the three-flavor taste of pickled young (green) sweet tamarind (ma-khaam chae-im). To intensify the flavorful snack, the crunchy flesh is dipped in a sugar-salt-chili mix (prik kap kleua). The principal use of sour tamarind is as the primary souring agent in Thai cooking. Moist wads of tamarind pulp (ma-khaam piak) are sold in markets and melted in water to form tamarind purée or juice (nam ma-khaam piak) that finds use in many Thai dishes. (Wet tamarind is also used in the silver factories of Chiang Mai as a valuable polisher of silver and brass.) Young tamarind leaves and flowers are also sour, used in Thai salads and spicy dips.

Tamarind is rich in vitamins A and C, calcium, phosphorus, iron and niacin. Its acidic nature makes it a mild, natural laxative, while it is said to help purify the blood and soothe coughs.

According to folk belief, the tamarind, a tree with an auspicious Thai name, offers protection against evil. Additionally, the word ‘khaam’, derived from the word ‘kreng kham’, suggests an individual who is held in high esteem and is treated with deep respect and awe.