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.