The Six Tamarinds of the South

6 விதமான புளி—the 6 “tamarinds” of the southern States: Kudampuli/ Malabar tamarind [Garcinia Cambogia or gummi-gutta], Kodukapuli/ Manila tamarind [Pithecellobium dulce], Sarakondraipuli/ Kondraipuli [Cassia fistula], Irumbanpuli [Averrhoa bilimbi], Punarpuli [Garcinia indica], and the one puli to rule them all, Tamarindus indica.

Think of it–we have souring agents aplenty in this country, not including the six listed above:

• any number of citrus fruits, including limes, lemons and varieties thereof, such as the narthangai [which is often mistaken for a citron, but which is not], the kadaarangai, and galgal or chukh, Kumaoni lemons;
• Thekera tenga [Garcinia pedunculata], the taste of Assamese tenga diya masor jol or sour fish curry;
• Vilampazham [Limonia acidissima] or the wood apple;
• Hog plums [Spondias mombin] known as amade or amdo in Goa, ambate kayi in Kannada;
• Elephant apples [Dillenia indica], ou in Odia, chalta in Hindi;
• Nellikaya, Amla [Phyllanthus emblica];
• Star gooseberries [Phyllanthus acidus], அரை நெல்லிக்காய் or arai nellikaya in Tamil;
• Various local berries, including seabuckthorn [Hippophae rhamnoides L.] in the mountains, jujube berries or இலந்தைப்பழம்/elanthapazham [Ziziphus mauritiana]; and much less commonly, green ground cherries [Physalis angulata L];
• Kachris or wild melons [Cucumis pubescens] which are quintessentially Rajasthani, used fresh or in dried-and-powdered form, especially as a meat (mutton) tenderizer. Also a common ingredient of Kayastha cuisine, and touted as a classic instance of “Ganga-Yamuna tehzeeb” or the cultural confluence of Mughal and Indian influences, since the Kayasthas were scribes and officials in Mughal courts. So also, centered on Delhi but influences extending far beyond;
• Green mango itself, though that tends also to be a seasonal ingredient in its own right, and when it’s not in season there is …
• Aamchur, dried green mango powder–used large tracts of the North;
• Anardana or dried pomegranate seeds, which was the sour of chole masalas (and the dark coloring of pindi chole) before tomatoes took royally over;
• Tomatoes, of course, which are ubiquitous and maybe too arbitrarily used;
• Flowers: Rhododendron [Rhododendron arboreum] in Uttarakhand; roselles in many other states–though these are technically flower calyces;
• leaves like gongura/puliccha keerai [Hibiscus sabdariffa, also the source of roselles] and tamarind leaves themselves–though these are treated as ingredients in their own right, not used to sour other dishes;
• Yogurt;
• Vinegars, which are really only prominently used in Goan cookery–a Portuguese influence. Toddy vinegar and coconut vinegars are used in Vindaloo and Xacuti, and finally…
• Soured rice water, which is rarely used now but which, some say, was used more once to layer the flavors of all our classic puli kuzhambus.

Have I missed any? I’m sure I have!

Of all the sours listed above, not all are souring agents precisely: green mango is a vegetable in its own right, but in its dried form as amchoor, it’s used to sour other dishes. Same for pomegranate, kachri, and maybe amla (though dry amla is more often a hair care ingredient). Gongura leaves, tamarind leaves are each treated as seasonal, specialty keerais, for pickles and dals and the odd delectable chutney powder–but not really used beyond the dishes that showcase them. The same for star gooseberries and berries in general. Tomatoes can be souring or a key ingredient. Vinegars are almost always only a souring agent.

So the line is thin and shifting maybe, but the point here is that sours need to be distinguished from souring agents. To say this another way: many things have pulippu [sourness], but only some are puli.

Of all those that are unequivocally souring agents, it’s fascinating that the word “puli” or “tamarind” (or the sourness of tamarind) attaches only to 6: Kudampuli, Kodukapuli, Sarakondraipuli, Punarpuli, Irumban puli, and puli itself.

Two among these are native to India. Kudampuli is endemic to the Western Ghats and a signature taste of some specialized dishes: pirandai sadam in Tirumeeyachur and Kerala-style fish curry. Kodavas call it kachampuli; simmered into a vinegar it is the unique taste of the community’s famous pandi curry. It’s also known as cambodge or the brindleberry.

Kokum or punarpuli [Garcinia indica; Mangosteen family like the kudampuli which is Garcinia Cambogia/gummi-gutta]: this is the fruit of what’s known in Tamil as முறுகல் மரம், Murugal maram or Murgalmera], the sour of so many dishes on the Konkan coast and the pink of solkadhi.

Bilimbi or tree sorrell [Averrhoa bilimbi], also called irumban puli in Kerala, goes somewhat separate. It’s known in Tamil country as puliccha-mangai or puli-mangai: a recognition of its affinity with green mango rather than with the puli that is tamarind. It’s also the only one of the six pulis that’s used fresh–bilimbi spoils in a blink, and, as far as I know, is used straight from the tree. It softens very quickly as it ripens, so it’s difficult to see how it can be dried and preserved.

Then there’re the slender, dangling stick-like seed pods of the Indian laburnum—though Cassia fistula is known less as a souring agent than perhaps for medicinal properties (“sarvarogaprashamani”: a cure for so many ailments) and its glamorous yellow blossom showers (an adornment at Tamil New Year/vishu, and always a garland for Siva) just as the heat of the summer is turning white.

Our ordinary and most beloved tamarind isn’t from here at all but has been cultivated in the subcontinent for so long and used so widely its botanical name designates this as home: indica. The Arabs called it “Tamar al Hind,” the date of India–because the date was their benchmark against which such things were known and measured, but the tamarind became ours, such that all other “puli” requires qualification: Kudam-puli, Sarakondrai-puli, Irumban-puli, Punar-puli, Koduka-puli.

That last, the Manila tamarind, was once thought to have originated here, but no, it had just made itself at home. The Spaniards brought the camachile from the New World; it came to us likely via Manila [read more about that on this post]. Almost all Indian languages note its foreign-ness, though not its origin [vilayati imli (Hindi) and seema chintakaya (Telugu) are just two examples]–and it’s sourness: it is imli, it is chintakaya. Most of us will remember it as a nibble-from-trees childhood pleasure and perhaps, as its botanical name [Pithecellobium dulce] indicates, that it is dulce and not puli except that it’s got a tang, yes, and the seeds—gosh, the squarish shiny black seeds bear such striking resemblance to tamarind seeds, it’s almost easy to confuse the two.

Folk classifications are endlessly fascinating. It’s easy thump Linnean bibles and point out that these 6 tamarinds have near-nothing to do with each other botanically, but the point is that someone noticed other overlaps, other affinities of taste, color, texture, meaning and all those more-subtle or the barely perceptible assertions of Nature quite against the rigid symmetries of our ordering methods.

I loved that, and wanted simply to showcase it.