Tamarind Balls

Tamarinds balls are a Caribbean delicacy, these sweet and sour bitesize treats are made using only 3 ingredients. You simply roll fresh tamarind pulp into balls then dust them with sugar.

Course Appetiser

Cuisine Caribbean

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 5

Total Time 20

Servings servings

Calories 155kcal

Author Charla

Ingredients

A box of fresh tamarind pods or use 20 pods
1 tablespoon of rum essence optional
¼ cup of coconut sugar or raw cane sugar
Additional sugar for dusting - I used sukrin gold and stevia or raw cane sugar works too! optional

Instructions

Use your hands to de-shell the tamarind then place the flesh in a medium sized bowl.
Discard the stem and shell pieces once the tamarind has been shelled
Add the coconut sugar, rum essence and any other additional ingredients you choose to use i.e black pepper, hot sauce etc..
Use your hands to mould the tamarind into a large ball (use gloves as it might be sticky) and prepare a plate with a layer of sugar for dusting.
Break off small pieces of tamarind to form balls then roll into the sugar
Repeat this step until all the balls have been made

Video

Notes

Use your hands to shape the tamarind into a ball. It takes a bit of effort to make into a dough ball. Some people add flour as an aid for shaping the tamarind ball but I prefer to add as little additives as possible.
The seeds are supposed to be there, you simply suck the tamarind fruit off and discard the seed, that's the Caribbean way having this snack.
Don't worry if some of the seeds come apart, this is completely normal.
When forming the balls, your hands maybe become sticky overtime, so use gloves if needed.
Tamarind is also known as sampaloc/tamarindo
Omit the rum essence if you want to keep the recipe child friendly
Add hot sauce or black pepper for an extra kick
Using fine coconut sugar to dust the rolls, form a thicker coating around the balls (not what is pictured, looks like a truffle)
Can use a white zero calorie sweetener such a sukrin gold, stevia, raw cane sugar or erythritol for dusting the balls if you prefer to.

Nutrition