Tamarind Sauce

1/2 pound dried tamarind pods, or 1 pound tamarind paste
1/2 cup sugar, or to taste
2 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla or nuoc mam), or to taste

1. Simmer pods (with their husks) or paste in hot water to cover, stirring and mashing
until soft, about 10 minutes for pods, 5 for paste. If you use pods, remove husks. Press
pulp and seeds in a fine sieve.

2. While warm, stir in sugar and fish sauce to taste. Serve hot, with lamb. (Sauce can
be refrigerated for about a day and reheated just before serving; add a little water or lime
juice if necessary to thin it out.) Yield: At least 1 cup.