Tamarind is a seedless Tamarind Paste (or pulp or makham piak in Thai) which is used in many Thai recipes. Tamarind paste is the pulp from the ripe pod of the tamarind tree (tamarindus indica), a native of India. The pods ripen from green to brown and inside are hard smooth brown seeds surrounded by sweet-tart, dark brownish-red sticky pulp. The pulp is separated from the seeds and fibers and then compressed into blocks (ma-kahm bpiak), to preserve it.