Tamarind Water - Agua Fresca

Mexican Food Journal

Tamarind water called “agua de tamarindo,” a refreshing natural Mexican drink. It’s a delicious, tart, sour and sweet agua fresca rich in vitamins and minerals served throughout Mexico.

Ingredients

15 dry tamarind pods, peeled
6 cups water
¼ cup brown or refined sugar (We prefer brown sugar for it's richer taste.)

Directions

Peel the tamarind pods. Remove as much of the hard shell as possible. If you can’t get all of the shell off the remaining bits will come off when you boil the tamarinds.
Add 3 cups of water to a medium size pot and bring the water to a boil. Add the peeled tamarinds and reduce the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes.
Let the water cool completely. Remove the tamarinds and reserve the soaking water.
Remove the sticky paste from the beans and reserve the paste. Discard the beans. (This is the most difficult part)
Add the soaking water, the tamarind paste and the sugar to the blender and blend for 1 minute.
Strain the blended liquid into a 1/2 gallon pitcher.
Add 3 cups of cool water and stir.
Serve over lots of ice.

30 minutes