Paletas de Tamarindo is an excellent way to cool down a hot summery day. This Mexican Tamarind Popsicle has a lovely combination of sweet and sour flavor with tangy and tart undertones.
With a sharp knife, cut the tamarind block into small pieces and deseed it, then place it in a saucepan.
250 g tamarind
Pour the water over and cook overmedium heat for 20-30 minutes until it softened.
2 cups hot water
Use a potato masher to mash it, then put it in the blender and blend until you have a consistency of a smoothie.
Allow it to cool, then transfer to clean mason jars. Keep in the fridge.
To make Tamarind Popsicles
In a saucepan, mix water, sugar and tamarind paste over high heat (stirring until sugar dissolves).
3 cups water, ¾ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup tamarind paste
Remove from heat, and let cool for 10- 20 minutes.
Pour into 10 Popsicle molds; freeze until solid.
Notes
Be creative in making this recipe! Use different shapes of popsicle molds to catch the attention of the kids! They will surely enjoy this popsicle when it is molded into different shapes they are familiar with.
To quickly soften the tamarind for the tamarind paste, boil it for a few minutes instead of manually softening it with a potato masher. Boiling the tamarind saves more time and effort.
To prevent the tamarind paste from sinking to the bottom of the molds, give them a light shake once each hour as they freeze.
This recipe is vegan-friendly and gluten-free. If you want to make it sugar-free, use Stevia instead of sugar.