Step 1

Tear the tamarind pulp into small chunks and place into a large mixing bowl.

Step 2

Heat 2 cups of water until hot, it can be boiled, but if it’s steaming it’s hot enough.

Step 3

Pour the hot water over tamarind pulp and let it sit until cool enough to handle, at least 30 minutes. This step can be done many hours in advance.

Step 4

Once the water is cool enough to handle, massage the pulp with your hand (wear a glove if you wish) until all the pulp is released from the fibers and dissolved into the water. Feel the fibers with your hands and there shouldn’t be any soft pulp left on it; it should just feel like fibers.

Step 5

Once done, strain the tamarind through a sieve into a non-reactive pot, pushing the liquid through with your hands.

Step 6

Once all the liquid has passed through, use no more than 1/2 cup of water to “rinse” the remaining fibers so you can extract any tamarind that’s caught up in there.

Step 7

Bring the tamarind paste to a boil over medium high heat, stirring constantly.

Step 8

Once boiled, pour the tamarind into clean glass jars and close the lid while still hot.

Step 9

Let cool to room temp the store in the fridge. These will last at least 6 months in the fridge, and probably even longer.