Fresh juices
Tamarind Drink (Tamr Hindi)
تمر هندي · tamr hindi
Tamr hindi — literally 'Indian date', the Arabic name for tamarind — makes one of Morocco's most distinctive cold drinks: a dark, sweet-and-sour cooler steeped from the sticky brown tamarind pulp. Tangy, fruity and deeply refreshing, it is sold from souk drink-sellers and brewed at home, and comes into its own during Ramadan as a drink to break the fast. It is the taste of the spice souk in a glass.
- Type
- Steeped tamarind cooler
- Served
- Cold, over ice
- When
- Hot days, Ramadan, souk refreshers
- Key flavour
- Sweet-sour, fruity, tangy
What Tamarind Drink is
Tamr hindi is a cold drink made from tamarind — the sticky, dark-brown pulp of the tamarind pod, at once intensely sour and richly fruity. Steeped in water and sweetened, it gives a deep amber-brown cooler with a distinctive sweet-and-sour tang, closer to a fruit cordial than a light juice.
Tamarind reaches Morocco as a dried pod or a block of pulp through the old spice trade, and the drink belongs to the world of the souk drink-seller and the home cook rather than the juice bar. It is prized as much for being cooling and thirst-quenching as for its bold, unusual flavour.
How it's made & served
Blocks of tamarind pulp or whole pods are soaked in warm or cold water until they soften and release their dark, tangy essence, then the mixture is squeezed and strained to remove the seeds and fibres. The resulting liquid is sweetened generously with sugar to balance the fierce sourness and diluted to taste before being chilled.
Some versions perfume it with a strip of orange peel, a little cinnamon or a splash of orange blossom water. It is served cold over ice, poured out by the glass from big jugs during Ramadan, when its sweet-sour tang is especially welcome after a long day's fast.
In the glass, at a glance
- Tamarind pulp or pods (tamr hindi)
- Water, for soaking and diluting
- Plenty of sugar to balance the sourness
- Optional orange peel or cinnamon
- Ice, for serving cold
A flavour snapshot of what goes in.
When & where you drink it in Marrakech
Tamarind is sold as dried pods or pressed blocks at the spice and dried-goods stalls of the Rahba Kedima and the souk, and the drink is a familiar sight from street sellers on hot days. Its real season, though, is Ramadan, when jugs of tamarind cooler appear on iftar tables to break the fast alongside dates and harira.
You will meet the raw pulp among the dried goods on a spice souk tour, and the finished drink among the seasonal coolers of a juice tour. More of the souk's drink culture runs through our guides.
Cultural notes
Tamarind is a taste of Morocco's trading history. Its Arabic name, tamr hindi — 'Indian date' — records its arrival from the East along the spice routes, and its place in the drink repertoire is a small legacy of the caravans that made cities like Marrakech rich. It is an imported flavour long since made local.
Its strong link to Ramadan is telling too. The fasting month has its own drink culture — sweet, restoring, thirst-quenching coolers designed to revive a fasting body at sunset — and tamarind, with its sugar-and-acid punch, sits right at the heart of it alongside the other iftar drinks. Explore them in our guides.
Frequently asked questions
What is tamr hindi?
Tamr hindi is the Arabic name for tamarind, meaning 'Indian date'. As a drink it is a dark, sweet-and-sour cooler steeped from tamarind pulp, sweetened and served cold over ice.
What does tamarind drink taste like?
Boldly sweet-and-sour and fruity, with a deep tangy edge — more like a fruit cordial than a light juice. The generous sugar balances tamarind's natural sharpness.
Why is tamarind drink linked to Ramadan?
Its sweet, sour and thirst-quenching character makes it ideal for breaking the fast at sunset, so jugs of it appear on iftar tables through the fasting month alongside dates and harira.