Kokum is a dark purple to black sticky fruit with curled edges. It is very abundant in the west coast region of India and hence mostly used in Konkan homes. It adds tart taste to the food and many use this as a substitute for tamarind. Studies have shown that this fruit can reduce fat, cool body, purify blood and also reduce cholesterol.
Since it is difficult to find the type of kokum we use at home, here in the US, I load bagful of kokums when in India and stock it for years. At home we enjoy drinking this Kokum kadi especially during hot summers as it has a cooling effect on the body. This can also be consumed along with food or after dinner and tastes terrific when used as an accompaniment with Daali thoy (Konkani daal).
This is very easy to prepare as well. Before going to work, I mix all ingredients along with water and let it do its thing. When I come back home, it is ready to be devoured. There is no seasoning, heating, tadka etc nothing to this. If only cooking other dishes was as easy! This can be kept in the fridge for days and makes a cool refreshing drink during summers. The making process of this reminds me of the old Indian advertisement (Kinetic Honda, I guess) “Mix it, Shut it and Forget it”.
The only note for this is that the asafetida needs to have a very strong flavor as that plays a strong role in this drink. This drink has combination of sweet, sour, hot and tart taste which is hearty and refreshing.
Ingredients
- 5-6 kokum
- Asafoetida
- Salt, jaggery
- 2-3 green chillies
- chopped coriander leaves
- 3 cups of water
Method:
- In the 3 cups of water, put in all the ingredients except coriander leaves.
- Let it rest for about 6-8 hours and do its own thing.
Remove the kokums and garnish with coriander leaves while serving.
You know what, after reading about Kokum several times at Shilpa’s blog,I finally bought some Kokum and now that this delicious Kadi is tempting me,great time to try. I love the smell of hing too,so perfect! Thanks:))
You know what, after reading about Kokum several times at Shilpa’s blog,I finally bought some Kokum and now that this delicious Kadi is tempting me,great time to try. I love the smell of hing too,so perfect! Thanks:))
Hi Rc,
Looks delicious never tasted kokum. Beautiful presentation. Have to try it.
The kadhi looks amazing. The pic seems as a pot of gold….wonderful pic , love that kadhi of yours
We call this Futti kadi and it’s the ultimate thing to have in summer. Sol kadi, for us, is the one with coconut.
Gorgeous picture!
Great going Asha. Hope you like it.
Thanks Ruchii. Please do try.
Thanks Bhags for your lovely comments.
Thanks Manisha. I agree, even we have one version with coconut too but then it is too much work 🙁
Hi, I had this when I visited Goa this summer – they offered it as a digestive at all the small restaurants on the highway, I made this at home too!
Hailing from the east coast of India, I have never tried kokum. Thank you for this recipe. I will get some on my next visit to the stores.
I never heard of Kokum, but ur recipe and pics tempt me to find out abt it and try it!!!
hmmm.. never heard of kokum 🙂 but the drink looks very nourishing. like asha, i too love the flavour of hing 🙂
I first bought Kokum to try out Trupti’s recipe for Gujju dal & I loved it. Your drink looks very refreshing.
Bookmarked to try.
Yayyyyyyyyyyyy ( i m almost dancing) after seeing this kadi any goan will start dancing. No meal for us is complete without this kadi. Have you tried the cocnut milk version ?
Sra, wow I am sure it tasted great.
Suganya, you have a great spirit. Please do try.
Cinnamon, I am so glad and I am sure you will not regret it.
Nags, me too love hing.
Thanks TBC. Please try it is refreshing.
Thanks Lakshmi.
Yaaay Pooja. I love the coconut version, but this is less work right?
Didn’t have a clue. Hearing for the first time.
Tempting, to say the least.
Consider yourself treated to this drink, this weekend Upsi.
this is a very informative post. learnt something new!
Just back from Pune with a precious stash of kokum in every form. Googling led me here…what a treat! Have to make this soon! Thanks for sharing it!
Sol kadi is a milky pink in colour and made from Coconut milk and kokum water. This is nothing like that!
Deepali, there are variations of Sol Kadi. One is made without coconut milk and the other with.
You can see the one that you are referring to here:http://redchillies.us/2010/05/03/sol-kadi-konkani-style-kokum-kadi-%e2%80%93ii/
once i and my friend tried kokum sharbat i really do not remember the receipe but we two drank the whole thing say about a litre each and after that we felt we were floating [like nasha] we were shocked and after that we never tried that. is it nasha maker?????????????
Padmini, I hope not :-). At our house, we drink it almost every week without a problem. Of course, we drink about a cup each!