Kokum

Flavour and aroma

sour, fruity, slightly astringent, salty (if salted). Tangy, fruity, slightly salty (often salted).

Heat

No heat

Forms

dried

How to use it

• soak

  Soak 3–5 pieces in warm water for 10–15 minutes and add both rinds and soaking water to the dish.

• infuse · Simmering technique

  Add near the end of cooking and simmer for 5 minutes; long boiling makes it bitter. Remove the rinds before serving, or leave them in.

• Konkani and Goan fish curries
• Gujarati dal and kadhi
• Sol kadhi with coconut milk
• Kokum sherbet

Identifying good quality

Thin, leathery, dark purple to black dried rinds, often salted. Good kokum is soft, sticky and deep purple; dry, brittle, pale rinds are old.

• Not to be confused with Goraka (Garcinia cambogia): Goraka is a related fruit, smoked black and stronger.
• Not to be confused with Tamarind: Tamarind is a brown, sticky pulp.

Origin and history

Origin: The Western Ghats of India.. Grown and used: Grown in the Konkan: coastal Maharashtra, Goa and coastal Karnataka, and parts of Kerala..

Kokum, the dried rind of Garcinia indica, is the traditional souring agent of Konkan, Goan and Malvani cooking. It sours fish curries, dals and sol kadhi, a pink coconut-milk drink, and is made into a cooling summer sherbet.

Well documented