Thai people have usually planted tamarind in the house for a long time because of its usefulness. Their stalks or branches can be made into various products such as a wood stick, furniture and a chopping block, etc. Its sapwood is yellow and used as mordant in yellow dying. The flower buds and flowers can be cooked and eaten. We can eat both the tender-skinned pod and the mature one. Moreover, we can pack some fully ripe tamarinds' fruits in stone jars for preservation so we can eat them in place of lemons for the rest of the year.

A tamarind fruit pulp has many medicinal effects. It can be used as laxatives and carminatives. The fruit pulp mixed with betelnut lime is also used against the tinea. Its seed is considered effective for diarrhea and parasitic disorders. In the old days, we use a few long coarse strands of fiber covering the pulp as a remedy for irregular menses as well.

We all know that tamarind can be used as laxatives because its fruit pulp contains many types of acid such as, Tartatic acid, Citric acid, Malic acid and Potassium acid. These acids are what makes tamarind to be sour and they also have cathartic effect. Besides, the pulp also contains Pectin and Gum fiber. If we mix tamarind fruit with water, we will get the gum called Pectin which helps excretory system work better.

According to the pharmaceutical and clinical experiment at present, medicinal uses found in tamarind are uncountable, as followed;

- Tamarind bark extracted with 95% of alcohol restricts fungi chemical called neurospora crassa.

- Tamarind leaf extracted with 95% of alcohol can destroy many types of bacteria such as Staphylococus aureus, Bacillus subtillis, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhosa, Vibrio cholera etc.

Boiled tamarind fruit is used as antiseptics in the intestines. This decoction is called E.coli.

- Tamarind fruit extracted with 95% of alcohol can remove Tricophytum mentogrophyte and T.rubrum which are the fungus of ringworm. In the past, we smeared this extract to cure ringworm as well.

- Its seeds can excrete the parasite called Meloidogyne incognita within 48 hours.

- Its seeds also have an effective antioxidant called oligomeric proanthocyandine OPC which is the same chemical found in grape seed or pine bark extract. Next time you do not have to pay for the import of supplementary products because you can eat tamarind seeds which have similar values.

Today we would like to introduce some menus cooked by using seasoning tamarind because Thais constantly use it to add flavor. Therefore, our today menu is so out-dated that we may forget that we have ever tasted this dish before.