Kokum is a dark red coloured fruit with a sweet and sour taste. The dried outer cover of the fruit serves as the main ingredient for this drink which is a perfect cooler for warm summer days. It is also good for digestion and is commonly found in the Goan, Konkani and Malvani thalis as a side dish.

Recipe for Sol Kadhi/Kokum Curry

Serves :4
Ingredients :

• 10-12 kokum pieces dissolved in around 1/2 cup hot water
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 4-5 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 red chillies
• 1 sprig of curry leaves
• A pinch of asafoetida
• 2 tbsp oil
• Coriander leaves for garnish
• Salt to taste

Sol Kadhi

• Soak the kokum in 1/2 cup of hot water for 30 minutes
• Crush and squeeze the kokum through a strainer to make kokum extract
• Add 2 cups of water and salt to this kokum extract. Mix well and taste
• Now add coconut milk. Do this in batches. Ideally, you want to balance the sour taste of the kokum with the sweetness of the coconut milk.
• Now for the tempering, heat oil in a small tempering pan
• Add the mustard seeds in the oil and let them splutter followed by the cumin seeds
• Next add the garlic, asafoetida, red chillies, curry leaves and fry
• Pour this tempering immediately into the kokum and coconut milk mixture
• Serve straight away or serve cold. I would recommend for refrigerating it for around one hour.
• Garnish with coriander leaves before serving

Tips :

• Any leftover sol kadhi should be kept in the fridge because there are chances of coconut milk spoling in hot weather
• Refrigerating sol kadhi may cause the fat in the coconut milk to congeal. If this happens, warm it while stirring occasionally and the the fat will dissolve
• You can use either home made or the ready made coconut milk. I used the latter for this preparation.
• For those staying in Singapore, kokum is available in Mustafa.
• Sol kadhi will pair well with this dish made with Black eyed beans