Beat The Heat With Goan Solkadhi

India offers a wide variety of delicious summertime beverages. Your go-to drinks to beat the oppressive heat are undoubtedly ice-cold lemonade, buttermilk with a hint of jeera, freshly squeezed juice, or perhaps a glass of sweet Glucon-D. But have you wondered that the local Indian beverages are a great option to beat the heat too? Local beverages are made with regional ingredients that have cooling properties and benefits. They not only maintain your body temperature but provide you with a boost of electrolytes as well. With the summer at its peak, it is better to have electrolyte-rich beverages for maintaining the body's balance. One such regional beverage that is famous for its cooling properties is Solkadhi.

Solkadhi is a beverage from the South Indian region that is usually consumed with rice but may also be sipped before, during, or after meals. It is made from coconut milk and kokum, also known as aamsol or aamsul, which is the dried fleshy skin of the Garcinia Indica plant (known in Marathi as "ratambe"). Anthocyanin pigments give the plant's skin a deep purple-pink colour. Kokum and coconut might not seem like a good match, but this delicious Konkan treasure defies logic. The coconut milk, which turns the beverage into a vivid pink, offers a sweet yet understated base for the sour punch of the kokum fruit (Garcinia Indica), also known as "aamsol" locally. Although kokum is well recognised for its cooling effects, it is also used to treat dehydration, heart problems, and cholesterol.

Ingredients

1. 8 Kokum

2. 1 cup grated coconut,

3. 1 cup Hot water

4. 2 cloves Garlic

5. 1 tsp of ginger

6. 1-2 Green chillies

7. A pinch of heeng

8. Rock salt

9. Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method

1. Soak kokum in 3/4 cup of water and add the heeng and salt to it. Leave it for three to four hours.

2. In a blender or mixer, combine the grated coconut, garlic, and red pepper flakes with a little water. Squeeze the "milk" out of the paste after it has reached the consistency of a thick paste and set it aside.

3. Add another 3/4 cup of water to the dry residue. Blend it for a minute. Add the more extracted milk to the original one.

4. Repeat this procedure two or three more times until all the milk has been extracted from the coconut.

5. Remove the kokum from the water, add the coconut milk mixture and stir well to create a creamy pink solkadhi.

6. Taste it and add more salt if necessary.

7. Keep aside for at least an hour.

8. Serve chilled and garnish with fresh coriander leaves.