If you have a recipe that asks for tamarind paste but cannot obtain it, there are many tamarind paste replacements you may use. Several of these alternatives are mixes, such as Worcestershire sauce, water, brown sugar, lemon juice, tomato paste, or a lime juice and brown sugar combination.
If you don’t want to make your own tamarind paste, consider plain rice vinegar, pomegranate molasses, or mango chutney as an alternative. What you use depends depend on the recipe and how much tamarind paste you need.
Tamarind paste is a sour, citrus-flavored molasses that is often used in Asian and Indian dishes. Indians use coconut milk to mask the acidic flavor of tamarind paste. It is very acidic and may effectively tenderize meat, which is why many people use it in marinades.
Contents
- Recommended Tamarind Paste Substitute
- Frequently Asked Questions
- FAQs
- What can I use in place of tamarind paste?
- What is equivalent to tamarind paste concentrate?
- Can I make my own tamarind paste?
- What does tamarind paste do?
- What does tamarind paste taste like?
- Can you use ketchup instead of tamarind paste?
- What is a substitute for tamarind paste in pad thai?
- What are the ingredients in tamarind paste?
- Is tamarind paste the same as Tamari?
- Where do you find tamarind paste in the grocery store?
Recommended Tamarind Paste Substitute
1. Pomegranate Molasses
If you can locate it, pomegranate molasses is a great replacement for tamarind paste. Pomegranate molasses is made by reducing pomegranate juice until it is thick and sticky. When done, it tastes sweet and sour, similar to tamarind paste, with a bitter undertone that makes it a perfect alternative for Indian and Asian meals.
Pomegranate molasses may be found in the Middle Eastern department of your local grocery store or at a Middle Eastern market. You can prepare it yourself if you have pomegranate juice. Just decrease the lemon juice and sugar.
Can’t seem to locate pomegranate molasses? Browse our list of pomegranate molasses alternatives.
2. Lime Juice and Brown Sugar
This alternative is enticing since it is easily accessible and can be found in any grocery shop. Unfortunately, it lacks the depth of taste that other solutions provide. Yet, since many recipes do not call for much tamarind paste, most people do not detect a difference.
Just combine equal parts lime juice and brown sugar, then stir and serve. For example, if your recipe calls for one tablespoon of tamarind paste, use half a tablespoon of lime juice and half a tablespoon of brown sugar.
3. Worcestershire Mixture
While tamarind paste is effective at tenderizing meat, some Worcestershire brands incorporate it, making this an excellent starting point for a tamarind paste alternative. To fully appreciate the intricacy of tamarind paste, combine a number of substances. Still, they are all pretty basic and should be kept on hand.
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- a cup of tomato paste
Combine everything and make tamarind paste in a 1:1 ratio. If you don’t have fresh lemon juice, consider fresh lime juice or apple cider vinegar instead.
Can’t seem to locate Worcestershire sauce? Worcestershire sauce replacements are listed below.
4. Rice Vinegar
Rice vinegar contains the sourness as well as the underlying sweetness of tamarind paste. The thickness is the only issue. If you don’t mind your sauce being a little runnier than usual, simply use a 1:1 ratio. If you want the consistency of tamarind paste, thicken it using cornstarch.
Be careful you use rice vinegar rather than white vinegar. White vinegar has a strong taste that may easily dominate other flavors in your cuisine. If you don’t want to think about which vinegar to use, just use white wine.
5. Mango Chutney
Mango chutney is a great tamarind alternative since it is rather thick and, if purchased correctly, tastes extremely similar to tamarind paste. If your mango chutney is excessively sweet, add some lime or lemon juice to balance out the sweetness.
Mango chutney is an Indian condiment that comes in a variety of shapes and varieties. You may either purchase it or make it yourself so that you have it on hand for a condiment or if tamarind is difficult to acquire in your region.
Frequently Asked Questions
Unless you often prepare Asian or Indian dishes, you may be unfamiliar with tamarind paste or its equivalents. This should help you grasp this Asian and Indian staple.
Ketchup is a popular substitute for tamarind paste. To make it taste like tamarind paste, add fish sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, dark soy sauce, and rice vinegar.
With so many additional components, it’s best to go with a simpler replacement rather than spending a fortune on the other sauces required to make a ketchup substitute. Instead, try the Worcestershire combination above, which utilizes tomato paste instead of ketchup and other common items you’re likely to have on hand.
Tamarind paste is a thick, sour sauce with a sweet lemony undertone and traces of caramel and smoke, making an identical equivalent difficult to obtain. The taste character of your tamarind paste will be determined by how ripe the fruit was when the maker produced it. If you’re making tamarind paste from home, use a riper fruit for a sweeter taste.
The primary component is tamarind, a tropical fruit pod that is both sour and sweet. Tamarind may be purchased in two forms: entire fruit or as a block of tamarind pulp with the seeds removed.
Water, salt, and sugar are the additional elements used to make tamarind. If all you can find is tamarind pulp, you may prepare the paste yourself using this recipe, which just calls for tamarind pulp and water. You’ll need a fine mesh strainer to remove the skin and extra seeds, as well as any other undesired particles, while you cook.
Tamarind paste may be used for a variety of purposes, not all of which include food, such as making tamarind tea to ease a scratchy throat.
Moreover, tamarind paste is used in sweets and desserts in several cultures. Tamarind paste is still used mostly in savory cuisines in Asia and India. You can even create chutney out of it and spread it on toast like jam.
Tamarind sauce, often called tamarind concentration, may be used in place of tamarind paste. Just mix tamarind concentrate and water in a 1:2 ratio. Hence, for every teaspoon of concentrate used, add two tablespoons of water.
With a small modification, you may use the lime juice and brown sugar method above as a tamarind concentrate alternative. Then, instead of a 1:1 ratio of lime juice and brown sugar, double the quantity of lime juice and make it a 2:1 ratio.
In reality, since tamarind concentrate is just a more concentrated version of tamarind paste, any of the aforementioned replacements will suffice. Just increase the acidity by adding extra lemon juice, lime juice, or vinegar for a stronger taste.
It is not recommended since tamarind powder has a significantly different taste and consistency than tamarind paste. Also, since paste contains water, sugar, and salt, it will interact with your meal differently in powder form than in paste form.
Tamarind paste can occasionally found in the foreign area of your local supermarket. Look first in the Asian and Indian categories. If you can’t locate it, try a specialist store or market that specializes in Asian or Indian foods.
If it doesn’t work out, you may always browse on Amazon and other internet vendors. Lastly, if you can’t locate tamarind paste but can get the pulp or entire fruit, you may create your own.