What tamarind paste means
Tamarind paste is the smooth, thick, brown pulp of the tamarind fruit, with the seeds and fibres removed, ready to use in cooking. It can be bought in jars from supermarkets and Asian grocers, or made at home by soaking a block of tamarind pulp in warm water, squeezing it to loosen the pulp from the seeds and fibres, and then pushing it through a sieve. The result has a fruity, sour and slightly sweet flavour, with notes of dates and caramel, and it adds a gentle, rounded tang to dishes, softer than lemon juice or vinegar. Tamarind paste is used in many cuisines.
In Thai cooking, it is an essential ingredient in pad Thai sauce, combined with fish sauce and palm sugar, and in sour curries, soups and dipping sauces. In Indian cooking, it flavours curries, dals, chutneys, sambar and rasam, and in Malaysian and Indonesian cooking it is used in curries, soups such as assam laksa, and sauces. It also appears in marinades and glazes for meat and fish, barbecue sauces, drinks and sweets. Shop-bought pastes vary a great deal in strength and consistency, and some are closer to concentrate, so it is best to add a little at a time and taste.
Thinned with more water, it becomes tamarind water. You will see tamarind paste in Thai, Indian and South East Asian recipes.