Tip the black peppercorns into a pestle and mortar and grind them fairly coarsely.

Put the tamarind paste, ground peppercorns and 300ml of the water in a medium-sized saucepan along with the turmeric and salt and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the remaining water gradually – you’re doing this to taste, so for a stronger flavour add less water – and bring back to the boil. Turn off the heat and stir through the ground cumin. Taste and adjust the salt, and serve hot.

LEFTOVERS: If you don’t drink this all in one go, pop the leftovers in the fridge and warm through the next day.

NOTE: This recipe uses the tamarind paste that you can buy at the supermarket, not the very strong tamarind concentrate from an Asian supermarket (if you have this, just use 2 teaspoons). If you’re using a block of tamarind, you’d need a plum-sized portion, soaked in ½ cup of boiling water and then sieved, repeating with a few tablespoons of fresh boiling water until you’ve got all the extract out.