Kokum, also known as Garcinia indica is a plant in the mangosteen family (Clusiaceae. It is a fruit-bearing tree that has culinary, pharmaceutical, and industrial uses. It's commonly used as a sour agent in Maharashtra, Assam, Karnataka, Goa, and Gujarat. Kokum has an unique flavour and a deep red colour. It is used as a souring agent in curries and other south Indian recipes in place of tamarind. It's also popular in Gujarati cuisine, where it's used to add flavour and tartness to dal (lentil soup) for a balanced flavour. It's a common ingredient in Assamese recipes like masor tenga (sour fish curry) and tenga dali (sour dal).
The fresh fruit is preserved with sugar to form bright-red squash, which is then diluted with water and packaged as Kokum Sarbat. It's a tangy tropical summer fruit with a strong flavour. The dried kokum fruit is commonly used in various traditional preparations in this region's cuisines, mostly as a souring agent. A delightful and refreshing summer drink is chilled kokum juice. All components of the kokum fruit, including the seeds, are high in nutritional value and can help your body in a variety of ways, including boosting your natural immunity.
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Here are some cocktails that you can prepare with kokum syrup
Kokum Vodka Punch
This recipe is special as it was shared with me by my friend Gaurav Pandey. This cocktail is sure to kill your heat with a buzz. All you have to do is in a cocktail shaker add some chilled water, vodka and ice. After that add some kokum syrup to it. Squeeze in some lemon juice and add some salt, and shake well. Pour the cocktail into a glass and enjoy your summer evenings.
Wine and Kokum
Summer in India is famous for Kokum Sherbet. This drink is a flaming red fusion of sweet, spicy, and sour flavours made with lychee, kokum, roasted cumin, lime, and sparkling wine. The wine is added to bring the flavours together. Mix the ingredients well and serve it in a tall wine glass.
Gin and kokum
In a cocktail shaker add some Gin, lime juice, kokum sharbat, rose syrup and salt. Shake the ingredients well. Add some ice cubes and mix the cocktail well. Pour it into a cocktail glass and garnish it with some dried rose petals.
White rum kokum
Try pairing kokum sharbat with white rum and you will see the magic happening. In a cocktail shaker add the kokum sharbat, white rum, ice cubes and crushed mint leaves. Shake the ingredients well. Garnish it with some fresh mint leaves.
Frozen kokum margarita
Frozen margaritas are everyone's favourite. In a blender add some ice cubes, vodka, tequilla and kokum sharbat. Blend it until you it gets slushy. Make sure not to ver blend it as it may melt the ice. Pour the slushy margarita into a glass and freeze it for 10 minutes. Your frozen kokum margarita is ready to blow away your summer glooms.
