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
Instructions
Soaking kokum
Crushing kokum
Making sol kadhi
Making tempering
- Grind the grated coconut with water and squeeze out the thick milk with a strainer.
- 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.
- You can add both the thick and thin milk to the kokum extract.
- 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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