I am totally new to cooking Indian food but I did find a recipe for pad thai ...ok I'm about to mix up asian cultures forgive me it seems tamarind is used by many in the far east and I am a clueless American but mind you an adventurous eater so while I shied away from actually buying the sour tamarind paste on Amazon fearing I would somehow fumble the recipe I came across this ready made sauce which already has the sugar in it and boy is it good. It definitely is a dipping sauce it can be incorporated into anything. It will also make anything taste better...bland rice, dull breaded fish or spice up some manufactured asian meals like I am going to do and dream up lots of other ways to use use it because it is so good. If there is anything meantime to describe the word piquant this is it. The perfect harmony of sour, sweet, salty, ginger, cumin.y, chili goodness.