Western Ghats Kokum Foundation - Organic Farming Association of ...

How to use :
Soak dried rind overnight in one glass of Hot water, drink early morning in empty
stomach before brush your teeth, you can add little jaggery if you want. Left over rinds can
be used for rasam/curry, grind and make chutney too or dry again and use later.
The kokum is native to the western coastal regions of southern India and is rarely seen
beyond this area. Even in India it is used only in the regional cuisines of Gujarat
Maharashrta and several southern states where large glasses of kokum sherbet are downed
during parched summer months. In this region the sweltering heat demands refrigerant
(cooling) ingredients in food and drink. Kokum is well known to counteract the heat.
Culinary Uses
Kokum has the same souring qualities as tamarind, especially enhancing coconutbased
curries or vegetable dishes like potatoes, okra or lentils. Kokum is especially used
with fish curries, three or four skins being enough to season an average dish. It is also
included in chutneys and pickles. The skins are not usually chopped but are added whole to
the dish. Seasoning should be checked as they are quite salty. Beware of biting on a stone as
a few are often left in the skins.
Attributed Medicinal Properties
Kokum’s refrigerant properties are well known. It is useful as an infusion, or by
direct application, in skin ailments such as rashes caused by allergies. Kokum butter is an
emollient helpful in the treatment of burns, scalds and chaffed skin. The fruits are steeped
in sugar syrup to make amrutkokum which is drunk to relieve sunstroke. Source: Called
kokum, kokam, or bin'na in parts of western India, the Garcinia indica seed contains 23-26%
oil, which remains solid at room temperature and is used in the preparations of
confectionery, medicines and cosmetics.
The outer cover of fruit is dried in the sun to get aamsul or kokum. It is used as a
slightly sour spice in recipes from Maharashtra that yields peculiar taste and dark red
colour. It is a preferred substitute for tamarind in curries and other dishes from Konkan. It is
also used in Konkani cuisine, in Gujarat, and some cuisines of South India. Its squash
(concentrate) is used in preparing a drink (Sherbath) which is bright red in colour.
Recently, industries have started extracting hydroxycitric acid (HCA) from the rind
of the fruit.
India's second national seminar on kokum was held March 4-5, 2005 at the Goa
University, Goa. Those researching on the crop see it as having a bright future: it is rainfed,
does not have any pest or diseases apart from the monkey menace, and is almost a "zeroattention"
crop
Kokum can be called as one of the most used ingredient in Konkani cooking. Almost
every household at our native and Goa has a Kokum tree. I was very lucky to go to India
during kokum season this year. So I took the opportunity to take pictures of this beautiful
fruit. The seeds of the fruit have a white colored fleshy coating on it. When the fruit becomes
very ripe, its color changes to a bit transparent. The inside of the kokum fruit looks like
following.
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Resource Book on Kokum (Garcinia indica Choisy)
Western Ghats Kokum Foundation, Panaji - Goa