Tamarind trees stand proudly in the villages of Vasai, India, where I grew up. For hundreds of years they have provided shade from the hot Indian summer to children playing games and their elders, who passed wisdom in stories from generation to generation. The tree holds many secrets, and it did not betray us when, as children, we would sneak sugar, salt and chilli from home to combine with its immature fruit for a tasty afternoon snack.

When the tamarind fruit ripened, we would harvest the pods, shell and de-seed them with help from the indigenous Warli people, who work with my family. My grandparents would knead the sticky fruit with salt and seal the pulp in clay pots to mature. Like wine, tamarind gets better with age.

Healthy, delicious curry pastes, tandoori pastes, pickles, chutneys and kasundi designed to inspire you to cook simple meals the whole family will love.

Small Batch from Scratch