Tamarind information

Tamarindus indica L., commonly known as tamarind tree is one of the most important multipurpose tree species in the Indian sub-continent. It is a large evergreen tree with an exceptionally beautiful spreading crown, and is cultivated throughout almost the whole country, except in the Himalayas and western dry regions.

The tamarind fruit pulp has been an important culinary ingredient in India for a very long time. Almost all parts of the tree find some use or other in food, chemical, pharmaceutical and textile industries, and as fodder, timber and fuel.

Tamarind is thought to have originated in Madagascar. It is now cultivated throughout semi-arid Africa and South Asia, where it has become naturalized in several regions. It has been planted extensively in Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and several African, Australian, Central American and South American countries. The fruit became known in Europe during the Middle Ages. Tamarind fruit was at first thought to be produced by an Indian palm, as the name tamarind comes from a Persian word ‘Tamar-I-hind’, meaning date of India. Its name ‘amlika’ in Sanskrit indicates its ancient presence in the country. In Myanmar it is reported as one of the commonest village trees in the dry zone. Commercial plantations are reported in Belize, Central American countries and in north Brazil.

In India, tamarind is known by a wide variety of vernacular names: Assamese – Tetuli; Bengali – amli, nuli, textili tentul; Gujrati – amali, ambali; Hindi – ambli, amli, imli, tamarulhindi; Kannada – hunase, hunase-mara, hunse; Malayalam – puli; Marathi – amli, chinch, chitz; Oriya – koya, tentuli; Punjabi – imli; Parsian – Tamarhindi; Tamil – Puli, pulia-maram; Telugu – Chinta; Urdu – imli. In Arabic it is Tamre-Lindi, in French – tamarind, in Spanish and Portuguese – tamarindo and English-speaking people call it tamarind.

The genus Tamarindus is a monotypic genus and belongs to the sub-family Caesalpinioideae of the family Leguminosae (Fabaceae). Tamarind is a moderate-sized to large, evergreen tree, up to 24m in height and 7m in girth. The morphology of the tree in detail has been described by several authors. The most useful part is the pod. Pods are 7.5-20 cm. long, 2.5 cm broad and 1 cm thick, more or less constricted between the seeds, slightly curved, brownish-ash coloured, scurfy. There are 3-12 seeds in each pod contained in loculi, enveloped by a tough, leathery membrane, the so-called endocarp. Outside the endocarp is the light-brownish, red, sweetish acidic, edible pulp, traversed by a number of branched, ligneous strands. The outermost covering of the pod is fragile and easily separable. The pods begin to ripen from February to April.