Looking for tamarind in Los Angeles? You'll find it at Anoras Cash N Carry, 567 S Fairfax Ave in the Fairfax District, where we stock tamarind (imli) in every form an LA kitchen actually uses: seedless pulp blocks, ready-to-spoon concentrate, and sweet-sour tamarind-date chutney. Whether you're souring a pot of sambar, mixing pani puri water, or drizzling imli over chaat, the right kind is on the shelf, we're open daily 10 AM–9 PM, and we deliver across a 10-mile radius.

What is tamarind (imli)?

Tamarind — imli, if you grew up with it — is the sticky, sour pulp inside the brown pods of the tamarind tree. That pulp is one of the oldest souring agents in Indian cooking. It's what gives South Indian sambar and rasam their backbone, what balances a Gujarati dal, and what cooks down into the dark, glossy chutney that makes chaat taste like chaat. It's sour the way lemon is sour, but rounder and fruitier, with a faint caramel note that citrus never quite has.

Because it shows up in so many dishes, tamarind is sold in a few different forms, and the one you want depends on what you're cooking. Here's how to tell them apart and pick the right one.

Which form of tamarind should you buy?

There are four forms worth knowing, running from most raw to most convenient.

Seedless pulp (block tamarind). This is compressed, cleaned tamarind with the seeds taken out — the closest thing to the whole pod. You soak a lump in hot water for ten minutes, squeeze it with your fingers, and strain out the fibers to get fresh tamarind extract. It gives the truest flavor and the best value if you cook with imli often. Our seedless tamarind pulp (400 g, about $4.95) is the one to reach for when you're making sambar, rasam, or pulihora from scratch.

Concentrate. Thick, dark, and ready to use — no soaking, no straining, no seeds. A spoonful dissolves straight into the pot, so it's the fastest way to get real tamarind flavor on a weeknight. We keep Tamicon Tamarind Concentrate (200 g, around $3.85), the jar a lot of South Indian kitchens trust, plus a big Laxmi Tamarind Concentrate (32 oz, around $19.80) for households that cook with imli constantly, and a mid-size Joy Tamarind Concentrate (400 g) in between.

Chutney. This is the sweet-sour imli-khajoor (tamarind-date) sauce you spoon over chaat, samosas, and dahi puri. It's already seasoned and ready to drizzle. Our Joy Tamarind & Date Chutney (16 oz, about $9.90) saves you making it from a block.

Table sauce. A quick imli condiment for fries, sandwiches, and snack plates. Maggi Tamarind (Imli) Sauce (75 g, about $1.10) is the grab-and-go version — squeeze and done.

The short version: cook a lot from scratch, buy the pulp; want speed, buy concentrate; want a finished chutney for chaat night, grab the Joy jar. You can browse all of it in our Spices & Masalas collection.

How do you use tamarind in cooking?

Tamarind's job is to sour and round out a dish. In South Indian cooking it's non-negotiable — sambar, rasam, vatha kuzhambu, and tamarind rice all lean on it. In the north and west it sharpens chana, kadhi, and pav bhaji, and it's the base of every good chaat chutney. It even crosses cuisines: tamarind is the sour note in pad thai, Worcestershire sauce, and plenty of Caribbean cooking.

If you're working from a block, soak a lime-sized piece in about a cup of hot water, wait ten minutes, then mash and strain. Add the extract toward the end of cooking so the brightness survives. If you're using concentrate, start with half a teaspoon, taste, and build up — it's potent, and you can always add more.

Takeaway: add tamarind late, taste as you go, and remember a little concentrate goes a long way.

How much tamarind concentrate equals a block?

As a rough guide, one teaspoon of tamarind concentrate stands in for roughly a tablespoon of soaked-and-strained pulp, or a marble-sized piece of block tamarind. Brands differ in strength, so treat that as a starting point rather than a rule — concentrate is thick and concentrated by design, so under-add and adjust. For a pot of sambar for four, a teaspoon or two of concentrate is usually plenty.

Takeaway: start small with concentrate, since it's far stronger by volume than fresh extract.

Where can you buy tamarind near you in Los Angeles?

You can buy tamarind in Los Angeles at Anoras Cash N Carry, 567 S Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036, in the Fairfax District just south of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood and an easy drive from Culver City, Mid-Wilshire, and Koreatown. We're open every day from 10 AM to 9 PM. Prefer to stay home? We deliver within a 10-mile radius from 10 AM to 8 PM, with a $35.97 minimum order and a $7.98 delivery fee — free when you spend over $99. You can start an order on our homepage or see the full range on our Los Angeles Indian grocery page.

Call us at 323-272-3617 if you want us to point you to the right form of imli for your recipe — that's the kind of thing we're happy to help with.

Frequently asked questions about tamarind in Los Angeles

Where can I buy tamarind (imli) in Los Angeles?
At Anoras Cash N Carry, 567 S Fairfax Ave in the Fairfax District. We carry seedless tamarind pulp, Tamicon and Laxmi tamarind concentrate, and tamarind-date chutney, and we deliver within 10 miles.

What's the difference between tamarind pulp, concentrate, and paste?
Pulp (block tamarind) is raw and needs soaking and straining; concentrate is a thick, ready-to-use extract you spoon straight in; "paste" usually means the same thing as concentrate. Pulp gives the truest flavor, concentrate gives speed.

Is tamarind the same as imli?
Yes. Imli is simply the Hindi and Urdu word for tamarind, and you'll see both names on our shelves.

How much tamarind concentrate replaces fresh tamarind?
Roughly one teaspoon of concentrate for one tablespoon of soaked, strained pulp. Start low and taste, because brands vary in strength.

Do you deliver tamarind in Los Angeles?
Yes. We deliver daily from 10 AM to 8 PM within a 10-mile radius of Fairfax, with a $35.97 minimum and free delivery over $99.