Agua de Tamarindo from Whole Pods

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The tamarind agua fresca that sits in glass barrels at every good taquería, made the honest way: whole pods simmered until the pulp slides off the seeds, mashed by hand, then strained into a pitcher and sweetened with piloncillo. Sour, faintly smoky, date-like, and worlds better than powdered mix — with a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lime to make it snap.

Ingredients

• 1 lb whole tamarind pods (about 20–24 pods)
• 4 cups water, for simmering
• 1 stick Mexican cinnamon (canela), optional

• 6 oz piloncillo, chopped, or 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 5 cups cold water, plus more to taste
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• Ice, for serving
• Lime wedges, for serving

Instructions

1. Crack the shells: press each tamarind pod between your thumbs until the brittle brown shell splits, then peel it away along with the coarse strings running up the pod. Drop the sticky brown pulp (seeds still inside) into a saucepan. This takes about 10 minutes for a pound — put on a podcast. Discard shells and strings.
2. Add 4 cups water and the cinnamon stick, if using. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a bare simmer and cook 15 to 20 minutes, until the pulp has swollen, gone soft, and is falling away from the seeds. The water will look like weak coffee.
3. Off the heat, mash aggressively with a potato masher or the back of a sturdy wooden spoon for 1 to 2 minutes, pressing the pulp against the bottom of the pan to release it from the seeds. Let cool 10 minutes until safe to handle.
4. Set a fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl and pour in the tamarind and its liquid. Work the pulp through the mesh with a flexible spatula or your fingers, scraping and pressing until only smooth seeds and fibrous bits are left in the sieve. Scrape the underside of the sieve as you go — that thick paste is the flavor. You should have roughly 3 1/2 cups of dark tamarind concentrate.
5. Return 1 cup of the concentrate to the warm saucepan, add the chopped piloncillo, and set over low heat. Stir 2 to 3 minutes, just until the sugar fully dissolves (piloncillo is stubborn; break up any lumps against the pan). Stir this back into the rest of the concentrate.
6. Pour the sweetened concentrate into a 2-quart pitcher. Add 5 cups cold water, the salt, and the lime juice. Stir well and taste: it should be brightly sour with a rounded molasses sweetness. Add water in 1/4-cup splashes if it's too intense, or a spoonful more sugar dissolved in a little hot water if too sharp.
7. Chill at least 2 hours, or until cold. Stir before pouring — tamarind settles. Serve over plenty of ice in tall glasses with a lime wedge.

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Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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