The Malabar Tamarind

Prawn Curry, Food Stylist: Ananya Shinod

The Malabar tamarind, or the kudampuli [Garcinia cambogia], is a staple in many households in Kerala. Far away from its home, in Bengaluru, my mother keeps them in a little plastic spice box.

On a good afternoon, they end up in my favourite prawn curry.

Do you ever see a dish and know immediately that, yes, you’re going to eat that? You don’t bother checking what the ingredients are or how long it will take or who created it — you just know that you need to eat that dish. That’s how I felt about this prawn curry.

In a Malayali household, this tiny, pumpkin-shaped fruit is an essential part of a lot of traditional homestyle curries and obviously, my Prawn Curry .

Never make the terrible decision of eating this in its original fruit form, until and unless you are insane and want to have terrible stomachache. Ever wondered what this tiny tamarind is capable of? Well, be surprised, most of the fish curries are smoldered with it (not exactly smoldered!) and interestingly, the medical properties of kudampuli are quite impressive. It's said to prevent stomach ulcers, boost energy, and even improve cardiovascular health. And did you know that when you break open a ripe kudampuli fruit, you find this dye-like substance? And its Fluorescent Pink! and sometimes orange? Depends on your luck what you see! Well, they are extensively sourced and used as dyes in the commercial and textile industries. See? I told you, you would be surprised.

Close up shot of Kudampulli

Kudampulli in Prawn Curry

Top shot of Kudampulli

Also known as Uppage in Karnataka and Pannampuli in some parts of Tamil Nadu, this tamarind tree grows in many, many backyards in Kerala. It transforms from a green segmented fruit resembling a pumpkin to yellow as it matures. As the ripe fruits fall to the ground, I remember running to my backyard to collect them, because who does not want a perfectly sun dried kudampuli. But little did I know that traditionally, they're deseeded, spread out on grass mats, and left to dry in the sun for about two months to be called sun dried:) Sounds like quite a process, but with modern technology, they have found faster ways to do it by using artificial dehydrators or ovens to speed up the process.

Kudampuli is a lesser known condiment in the world, but still remains an integral part of the Malabar cuisine. A place that is famed for its immaculately balanced seafood delicacies places its flavor at the feet of this humble dried fruit, without which many of Kerala’s most famous curries would lie flat. It brings a subtle charm to the dish, and a smile to my face as my mother sets down the prawn curry on the table.