Kadi for the soul - Solkadi / Kokum Kadi

Just thinking of Goa puts me in a better mood...great place, amazing food and fantastic memories..

This is where I took the big decision of saying yes to S :)
I dont have to tell you about the place - the weather the people and the beaches make it India's top holiday destination
And of course, the food - its really really amazing - you get all sorts of cuisine here, but I totally pig out on the local Goan cuisine..

Sol / Kokum is a berry like fruit, and the rind of this is dried and preserved. This is popular in Goa and the Konkan area. With its tangy taste, its used as an alternative to tamarind in these regions.
This is what the kokum rinds look like



Kokum infused water is also used to treat allergic rashes - i remember when we were younger, my brother used to break out into a rash because of the 'pitha' and ma would rub his hands with kokum water and the rashes would disappear in no time

My favourite form of kokum is SolKadi - coconut milk with kokum
and
Saar or 'phooti kadi' which is just kokum water with seasoning.
Solkadi with ice is great as a drink in the hot summers and the saar is great with rice

I made a combination of this - i love it as kadi, but didnt want to make another curry for the rice, so made the coconut milk version with the seasoning used for the saar, tasted fantastic as a drink and with rice !



Hey, this is a nice pink too, so Priya, you have one more entry from me for FIC- Pink. FIC or Food in colours is the brilliant idea of Harini, more famous as Sunshinemom


What you need

10-12 kokum rinds
1/4 coconut grated
4 cloves of garlic
4 pepper corns
1/2 tsp salt
5 cups water (approx)
1 tsp mustard seeds
4-5 curry leaves
1 tbsp grated jaggery

What you do with it

Wash the kokum rinds in water and soak in water
You can keep this for 5-6 hours or overnight
(If you dont have the time, boil the water and then add the kokum rinds
Allow it to stand for a 4-5 mins and then remove the rinds
The water should have a dark pink tinge
If its black, it may mean that the kokum rinds are really old)
Remove the rinds from the water and dissolve salt and jaggery in the water
Grind the coconut, garlic cloves and pepper corns with about 1/2 cup water
Strain thru a fine sieve or a muslin cloth
Add this to the kokum water
To make my husband get the 'rasam feel', i seasoned it with mustard seeds and curry leaves

You could skip the seasoning and just garnish with coriander leaves and a slit green chilli. Put in 4-5 ice cubes per glass and have it as a refreshing drink