Cool as a kokum!

Kokum (garcinia indica) grows in the Western Ghats region and is used in a wide variety of dishes. The fruit has a tangy flavour to it, making it a good choice for dishes that need the element of sourness. Kokum is used in many forms – fresh, dried and made into a powder – as an oily extract, or juiced and stored as concentrate/syrup. It is known to have antioxidant properties, aids digestion and boosts metabolism. 

The red fruit is used in many recipes, the most popular and easily recognisable one being solkadhi, a definite presence on most Maharashtrian and Goan platters. Solkadhi uses an extract of soaked kokum in a concoction of coconut milk, green chilli, ginger, garlic, cumin seeds, a pinch of sugar and salt. It is used as an after-meal drink. The spices you add depends on your preferences but this drink doesn’t use butter milk or besan, often used in other kadhis. 

Then, there’s kokum saaru or rasam, where you soak kokum in warm water and use its juice in place of tomato or tamarind. Enjoy it with rice or even as a drink on a winter’s day. Kokum can also be used as an additive for curries where you need tanginess or for dal preparations. 

You can use fresh ripe kokum to make a cooling juice – enhance flavours by adding sugar/jaggery and a dash of crushed cardamom. 

Want a sweet-sour dip or chutney to go with samosas or sandwiches? Kokum chutney could just be the answer – soak kokum for three to four hours, drain, and grind it into a paste. You can add some jaggery, cumin, salt and green chillies or pepper – a flavour bomb is ready!

If you are looking to buy kokum, you can source the fruit from organic vegetable stores or look for Mangaluru stores/stores that sell food products from the Konkan region. You could also buy dry kokum, kokum juice or powder online.

(What’s Cooking shines the spotlight on a single ingredient, its nutritional qualities and the ways in which you can use it.)