Solkadhi - A Nourishing Drink

  

What is Kokum

 

Kokum, also known as Garcinia indica, is a fruit from the mangosteen family. The plant yields dark red fruits that are both sweet and sour. As kids, we would eat kokum fruits with a little salt.

To make kokum or aamsol, the outer flesh of the fruit is dried in the sun. After drying, it turns a blackish purple color. These dried pieces are sour with a mild sweet aroma.

The natural pigments in kokum give a deep purple-pink color to dishes like this solkadhi. These pigments are anthocyanins, which give kokum its rich color.

 dried kokum

Kokum is used as a souring agent in Goan and Malvani curries, especially fish and prawn curries. It is also used in Maharashtrian, Gujarati and Kerala cuisines. 

Kokum is known to help cool the body and aid digestion. It is also traditionally used to reduce heat-related discomfort.

Earlier, kokum was easily available in the western coastal regions, but difficult to find in other parts of India. Now, it is easily available online across India.

Ingredients

12kokums– dried

1cup water– for soaking

2 cups water– to be added later

1 to 1½ cups coconut milk thick or half-half of thick coconut milk and thin coconut milk

1 to 2 tbsp coriander leaves– chopped, for garnish

salt– add as required

For tempering

1 to 1.5 tbsp oil– any neutral oil

1tsp mustard seeds

1tsp cumin seeds

1 sprig or 9 to 10curry leaves

1generous pinch asafoetida/ hing

2 to 3 small to medium garlic cloves– slightly crushed

1 to 2dry kashmiri chilies– broken and seeds removed

Instructions

Soaking kokum

Rinse kokums lightly in water. Place them in a bowl and add 1 cup water.Soak the kokums in the water for 30 minutes.

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Crushing kokum

After 30 minutes, crush and squeeze kokum completely with your fingers in the water itself. Pour the kokum extract in a strainer. Keep a bowl beneath the strainer. The kokum shreds will collect in the strainer. Press the kokum shreds with a spoon so that the kokum flavors are extracted well.

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Making sol kadhi

Then add 2 cups water to the kokum extract. Next add 1 cup thick coconut milk – either make homemade coconut milk or use the canned or packaged one. You can also add 1.5 cups of coconut milk. Mix very well. Add salt as per taste. Mix again well. Keep aside so that we prepare the tempering.

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Making tempering

Heat oil in a tadka pan or a small frying pan. Keep heat to a low. Add mustard seeds. Let them crackle. Then add cumin seeds and let them crackle too. Lastly add the curry leaves, dry red chilies (broken and seeds removed), lightly crushed garlic cloves (with or without peels) and a generous pinch of asafoetida powder. You can crush the garlic cloves in a mortar-pestle and set them aside before you prepare the tempering Fry for some seconds stirring often till the garlic turns light golden. Quickly pour this tempering on the kokum and coconut milk mixture. Mix well. Then add the finely chopped coriander leaves to sol kadi and mix again. Serve sol kadhi straight way or refrigerate for a few hours and then serve cold. You can garnish solkadhi with coriander leaves before serving. Do not keep at room temperature as the coconut milk can turn rancid. Do not keep any leftovers in the fridge for the next day and try to consume the beverage on the same day. Coconut milk get rancid easily even after refrigeration for a day, so try to finish the drink the same day.

To make coconut milk: Ingredients: 1 cup grated coconut and ½ to ¾ cup water. Method:

1. Grind the grated coconut with water and squeeze out the thick milk with a strainer.
2. Add the extracted coconut again back to the grinder. Add some water and then make the thin milk. Strain again and squeeze the coconut completely.
3. You can add both the thick and thin milk to the kokum extract.

Tips:

• Make the solkadhi less sour: Simply add some more coconut milk to balance the sour taste of kokum.
• Coconut Milk: Remember to use thick coconut milk and not lite or thin coconut milk. For homemade coconut milk, use the first extract or the first blend. Do not use coconut milk made from coconut powder as this will curdle the coconut milk. 
• Spice Variations: Instead of dry red chillies, you can add 1 green chilli, chopped or slit. Skip out the asafoetida for a gluten-free drink.
• Scaling: The recipe is easily scalable. Make half portion or double the recipe as needed.

 

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