Place the tamarind block in a saucepan and add in 1 cup of water (240 ml). Cook it at medium heat until the water boils, then turn the heat down to simmer. Using a spoon, try to break the tamarind to help it soften quicker. Mash it as it is cooking.

Turn the heat off once the tamarind is completely softened, and you get a very thick tamarind sauce. Now, sieve the sauce and discard the tamarind seeds and any other pulp leaving the sauce smooth. 

Chop the dates and place them in another saucepan together with ¼ cup of water (60ml). Cook it until the fruits soften. 

Using a handheld blender stick, a blender or a food processor, whizz the date mixture until it turns smooth. If you like, you can mash the mixture with a big spoon instead and sieve it through to get a smooth mixture. 

Place the tamarind and date mixture in a clean saucepan. Add in the ground cumin, red chilli powder, ground ginger and salt. Give it a good stir and cook it until it reaches boiling point. Here, you can add more water if you prefer your sauce to be runny. Just make sure you check the taste and adjust the salt accordingly.