The Tamarind Tree Story

Tamarind trees stand proudly in the villages of Vasai, India, where I grew up. For hundreds of years they have provided shade from the hot Indian summer to children playing games and their elders, who passed wisdom in stories from generation to generation. The tree holds many secrets, and it did not betray us when, as children, we would sneak sugar, salt and chilli from home to combine with its immature fruit for a tasty afternoon snack.

When the tamarind fruit ripened, we would harvest the pods, shell and de-seed them with help from the indigenous Warli people, who work with my family. My grandparents would knead the sticky fruit with salt and seal the pulp in clay pots to mature. Like wine, tamarind gets better with age.

My cooking is inspired by my childhood under that tamarind tree. I travelled the world to become an accomplished chef and for many years, I have served the finest Indian cuisine to Melbourne’s curry aficionados. Now, I bring you the fresh, authentic flavours of India through my award-winning Tamarind Tree range.

Because in the same way my grandparents influenced me to explore the secrets of the tamarind tree, I want to inspire you to cook delicious Indian food at home. Using freshly roasted spices and the best Australian produce, combined locally in small batches, the secrets in these sauces have journeyed the generations of my family. I have perfected the vegan, natural, gluten- and nut-free recipes and captured them so you can enjoy them with your family too.

John Ger