Kokam | Kokum – कोकम | आमसूल

1 Kokam / Kokum  fruit with surprising benefits:

Kokam is an Indigenous / Desi fruit also known as Amsul. Its scientific name is Garcinia Indica.

It is found mainly in the coastal regions of India and belongs to the mangosteen family.

Known as a superfood, it has a rich source of antioxidants. It helps in relieving excess pitta, boosts metabolism, and treats skin rashes/ulcers in the body.

No part of this fruit is thrown away and all parts including the rind, seed, and pulp have different uses.

When we normally say kokam, we refer to its ‘rind’ or dried outer skin. It is mainly used as a souring agent in Indian coastal kitchens. We will see how the whole fruit helps us:

Fresh Kokam : The fresh fruit pulp is made into juice and had in the summers as a refreshing drink. Here, the pulp is mixed with water, misri, and salt. This juice not only tastes divine but also helps in cooling the body as well as in treating pitta and regulating our digestive fire. It also helps to avoid heat stroke conditions.

Kokum rind: As this fruit is harvested only in summers, its rind is sundried so that it can used throughout the year. Here the fresh rind is coated with sugar (misri) and kokum juice for several days. The resultant sundried rind is used throughout the year.

Also, when fresh fruit is not available, this rind is soaked in water for making juice. It has cooling as well as immunity-boosting properties similar to its fresh version.

It is also used as a souring agent in curries, chatni and sabzi of coastal regions. Sol kadhi, a delicious appetizer made with coconut milk and kokum rind is a must-have post-a heavy meal in the Konkan region of Maharashtra.

Also, when the pitta increases and causes skin rashes, this fruit is dipped in water and rubbed on the skin. It is also said that continuously doing this regime for a week, can minimise the pitta effects on skin to a large extent.

Kokam butter: Traditionally, coastal households of India have been extracting the fat of the seed known as the kokum butter. To make butter, the seeds are coated with ash (raakh) and sun-dried till they become hard and crunchy. They are then pounded where the seed skin separates from the inner seed. The seed skin is added in the evening dhoop cups in villages and it is revered for its mosquito-repellant properties. The inner seeds are crushed and boiled to extract butter.

This butter is both used for Internal as well as external use. Internally it can be used in place of any other fats such as Ghee, oil, peanuts, or coconut. Externally, it is applied to treat dry skin, cracked heels, skin ulcers, etc. This butter originated in the coastal regions and is till today extracted in many coastal homes. Though not so much known, it is actually one of the vegan butter.

Follow the link below to know more about Kokam benefits:

Benefits of Kokum, Tarladalal.com