Food Ingredients Fruits Tamarind 20 Ways to Taste a 2024 Flavor of the Year Sweet, intense, and acerbic, tart tamarind gives all kinds of dishes and drinks a boost. By Jodie Kautzmann Published on December 13, 2023 Trending Videos Photo: Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell "Tamarind adds its bewitching sharp-and-tangy tones to cuisines across the world; it's a magical ingredient that has the power to cure, quench, and make our mouths pucker (in the best way possible)," says Indonesian-Australian chef and food writer Lara Lee of the beloved tropical fruit. Indeed, much like lemon and lime, tangy tamarind offers contrast, complexity, and brightness to sweet and savory dishes alike. Often used in the form of frozen pulp, concentrate, or paste, it's an easy way to add interest to cocktails (Tamarind Whiskey Sour, anyone?), poultry (Balinese Grilled Chicken!), decadent desserts (hello, Tamarind Millionaire's Shortbread), and more. There's good reason McCormick & Co. called tamarind the 2024 flavor of the year. If it's not already a pantry staple at your house, try any of these tantalizing tamarind recipes and we're sure it soon will be. 01 of 20 Tamarind Chicken Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell The beauty of this grilled tamarind chicken is both its sharp and piquant flavor and its simplicity. A potent tamarind-and-chipotle marinade renders a richly flavored, juicy, and tender chicken in mere minutes, making it equally suited for a weeknight meal or a dinner party. Get the Recipe 02 of 20 Tamarind Jelly Candies Farrah Skeiky Paola Velez's tamarind pâte de fruit is sweet, tangy, and altogether delicious. To make the candies really sparkle — both figuratively and literally — she coats them in homemade flavored sugars. Get the Recipe 03 of 20 Chickpea Doubles with Tamarind and Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce Photo by Greg DuPree / Prop Styling by Christine Keely / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer Traditional Trinidadian doubles are served open-faced and quickly wrapped in wax paper, letting the bara steam and keeping the spicy filling piping hot. Try leftover tamarind sauce in margaritas, drizzled over fresh mangoes, or with roast pork. Get the Recipe 04 of 20 Pineapple and Tamarind Cooler Jose Mandojana This refreshing non-alcoholic punch from chef Gregory Gourdet includes a subtle habanero kick that bridges the sweet (pineapple) and the sour (tamarind) flavors. Get the Recipe 05 of 20 Timorese Fish-and-Tamarind Soup Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell This is a vivifying soup, good in warm or cold weather. The chile and ginger gently warm your mouth, while acidic tomatoes and tart tamarind come together in the delicate and fragrant broth, which, while light, is full of flavor and satisfying. The fish gently poaches in the broth during the last minutes of cooking to infuse both the soup base and the fish itself with aroma and flavor, leaving the fish tender, flaky, and moist. Get the Recipe 06 of 20 Tamarind-Chile Jam Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell "Move over tomato ketchup, barbecue sauce, and mayonnaise," says cookbook author and recipe developer Lara Lee. "There's a new condiment-that-goes-with-everything in town!" Meet Tamarind-Chile Jam, a one-pot wonder that is sweet, spicy, sour, sharp, tangy, and pungent all at once. Get the Recipe 07 of 20 Tamarind-Mezcal Sour Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Smoky mezcal and savory bitters are rounded out by sweet-tart lemon juice and tamarind puree in this punchy cocktail. Get the Recipe 08 of 20 Tuna Tartare with Coconut and Jerk Peanuts Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christine Keely This flavor-packed, refreshing-yet-assertive tartare of finely diced raw tuna is tossed with a tamarind-spiked coconut-lime dressing and topped with jerk-spiced peanuts. Get the Recipe 09 of 20 Tamarind Whiskey Sour Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Liberty Fennell Tart, sweet, and refreshing, a traditional whiskey sour has an appealing, rich texture and packs a hefty alcoholic punch. This drink somehow improves on that perfection with the addition of tangy tamarind to add depth and complexity to the sour in the whiskey sour. It's a cinch to throw together and will definitely impress any guests. Get the Recipe 10 of 20 Balinese Grilled Chicken Photo by Eva Kolenko / Food Styling by Marian Cooper Cairns / Prop Styling by Natasha Kolenko Grated fresh turmeric gives this grilled chicken a golden glow, while plenty of garlic, ginger, and puckery tamarind add brilliant flavor. Serve the chicken with sambal matah, a bright, slaw-like condiment with chiles, shallots, and makrut lime or Key lime juice that offers a refreshing counterpoint. Get the Recipe 11 of 20 Tamarind Sangrita Victor Protasio Sangrita — “little blood” — is salty, sweet, tangy, and spicy all at once. This molasses-colored version seasoned with chiles and spices offers a sweet-sour balance for pairing with añejo tequila, or mix it with lime juice and top it with porter to make a special michelada. Get the Recipe 12 of 20 Lamb Barbacoa with Masala Adobo Greg DuPree For this dish, chefs Saqib Keval and Norma Listman of Masala y Maíz in Mexico City draw from Indian and Mexican cooking techniques for a one-of-a-kind flavor profile. The restaurant version uses bone-in lamb wrapped in maguey leaves. We found that you can cook the dish in a smaller Dutch oven if you use boneless lamb and omit the leaves — the results are just as spectacular. Get the Recipe 13 of 20 Tamarind Millionaire's Shortbread Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Tamarind concentrate adds a gloriously sharp acidic profile to balance the decadent caramel layer of this version of the afternoon treat, topped with the bittersweetness of dark chocolate and a coconut-y shortbread biscuit base. Get the Recipe 14 of 20 Steamed Sea Bass with Tamarind Sauce © John Kernick Chef Jean-George Vongerrichten serves this steamed fish in a pool of tamarind-based sauce that's perfumed with toasted spices, coconut milk, peanuts, ginger, and harissa. Get the Recipe 15 of 20 Tamarind Beef © John Kernick Chef Chris Yeo marinates cubes of beef tenderloin in a sesame-oil mixture so it's even more tender, then adds flavor by searing the pieces in shallot-infused oil. The crispy shallots fried beforehand in the oil make a terrific garnish for the beef. Tangy tamarind sauce tops it all off. Get the Recipe 16 of 20 Honey-Tamarind Baby Back Ribs © Quentin Bacon Naturally tart tamarind keeps the honey-based barbecue sauce from becoming too sweet for the luscious, slow-cooked ribs. Opt for dark, runny tamarind concentrate instead of tamarind pulp, which needs to be soaked and strained before using. Get the Recipe 17 of 20 Slow-Roasted Salmon with Tamarind, Ginger, and Chipotle © John Kernick The late chef and restaurateur Floyd Cardoz shared his secrets to slow-roasting salmon. Here, he flavors the fish with spicy ginger, sweet maple syrup, tangy tamarind, and smoky chipotles. Cooking salmon at a low temperature (300°F) prevents it from drying out and mellows the flavor. Get the Recipe 18 of 20 Caramelized Red Onion Rice with Tamarind Eric Wolfinger In her cookbook Fresh India, Meera Sodha uses sweet-and-sour tamarind paste to turn plain rice into a show-stealing side. The tamarind is essential here; find it at well-stocked grocery stores and Indian markets. Get the Recipe 19 of 20 Crisp Noodle Pancake with Tamarind-Glazed Chicken © Tina Rupp Chef Sang Yoon's succulent chicken, glazed with an Indian-inflected blend of tamarind, vinegar, and chile, sits on a pan-seared cake of slender Chinese egg noodles. The glaze is terrific with any poultry. Get the Recipe 20 of 20 Beer-Braised Baby Back Ribs with Orange-Tamarind Sauce © Jody Horton "I started making my Abilene sauce 20 years ago, and every year I tweak it or add something," says chef James Holmes of his signature barbecue sauce. Despite its spicy intensity, the pork and beer flavors come straight through. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit