Kokum Kadi

So, what is kokam? Kokum is an outer covering of a fruit known as Garcinia Indica (it resembles Plum in size and appearance) which has been dried and is used in curries (like Sindhi Kadhi) for its sour taste. It is blackish red in color and when soaked in water, gives out a dark red colour. It is generally found in the southern regions of India. It is also used in preparing "Sherbets" -  a cool, delicious summer drink.

In Gomantak cuisine, this is a must as a starter and is known as "Sol Kadhi". This fruit is abundantly available in Goa.

The kokum that is available in the markets do not give such rich colour when soaked in water as I am told that their juices have already been extracted.

I was fortunate enough as, one of my friends brought kokum for me from Karkala (Udipi district in Karnataka) her home town and since it grows in their backyard, its extract had a nice rich colour. I immediately wanted to make the kadhi but since my stock of packaged coconut milk was over, I had to make the coconut milk by grinding freshly grated coconut. But the end result was wonderful. We had the kadhi with steamed rice. It tasted delicious.

 

 

Ingredients:

Kokum (dried)	5-6 Pcs
Green Chilies (split)	2
Coconut milk (first extract)	1 cup
Coconut milk (second extract)	1 cup
Water	1 cup
Salt	As per taste
Coriander leaves (chopped)	1 tbsp ( for garnish)
For tempering:
Ghee	1- 2 tsp
Mustard seeds	1 tsp
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Hing/asafetida	¼ tsp

Method:

1. Wash and soak the kokum in a bowl of water (just enough for them to soak) for a few hours.
2. Heat a pan with water and add the soaked kokum (along with the water), split green chilies and salt in it. Let it boil for a few minutes.
3. Next add the diluted coconut milk and allow it to boil for a few minutes.
4. Now add the concentrated coconut milk. Stir well and when it comes to a boil, remove from flame.

5.   Prepare the tempering:

      Heat a small pan with ghee. Add mustard seeds and when it starts spluttering, add

      curry leaves and asafetida. Remove from flame and pour the contents into the

      prepared kadi.

6. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
7. Serve hot.

  

Ingredients

Kokum soaked in water

Kept for boiling

Coconut milk added and being boiled

Readying for tempering

Kadi is ready

Variation:

For those who love garlic, crush 3-4 garlic pods and add it along with green chilies and follow the rest of the procedure as above with the exception of hing (asafetida) which needs to be omitted while tempering.

Note:

• This kadi tastes good with rice.
• This can also be served as a soup (hot or cold), in which case, the kadi can be strained before serving or just remove the kokum and the chilies leaving the tempering ingredients in it. The choice is yours.
• Tempering can also be done with jeera and mustard seeds or just jeera (cumin seeds).

For more info on Kokum, see below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garcinia_indica