I have a tamarind problem in my Pad thai recipe?

Most of the recipes for Pad thai calls for tamarind, but i couldn't find it before. i finally found tamarind in an Indian store.



One was a block of black tamarind wrapped in plastic. Second was a small jar of tamarind concentrate which was very dark black. Third was a jar of tamarind sauce made by Knorr. This one was red.



I thought this was very stange indeed, b/c I've eaten pad thai before and it usually had a reddish color to it. But the tamarind i've found here is all black except the tamarind sauce from Knorr. i bought the tamarind concentrate, and now i think i made a mistake by buying this.



Did I buy the right thing?? I read somewhere tamarind is supposed to be red not this dark black sauce. how am i supposed to use this black tamarind concentrate? would it make my pad thai very black?



I want to make a really good pad thai something that is more suited to my palette. I don't like the heavy thick pad thai sold in my local thai places.I have a tamarind problem in my Pad thai recipe?
don't worry.. the tamarind concentrate was exactly the right thing to buy. I've never seen red tamarind...it must have something else mixed with it. I use Laxmi Brand tamarind concentrate, and it really works well..It isn't really black tho..it's dark brown. But I think we're talking about the same thing. Good luck with your Pad Thai!,I have a tamarind problem in my Pad thai recipe?
Tamarind naturally turns black as it ages. Fresh tamarind pulp has a brownish brick-red color. Both taste fine. I really don't think it would make your pad thai black since you only need to use a little. The closest substitute I've found (tastewise) is unsweetened rhubarb, boiled and mashed. Sounds disgusting but there is no reason why you can't use rhubarb in a savory recipe.