DesiPundit

Shilpa describes the varied uses of the Kokum fruit, from the dried skin, to the fruit and its seed.

An average kokum tree bears hundreds of fruits during summer. When they are tender, they are green in color. As they ripen, they get the beautiful purple color. The fruits are plucked when they are ripe. The outer purple skin and the inner seeds are sun-dried separately. The skin, bhirnda sol, is used in cooking as a souring agent and the seeds are used to make bhirndel tel (kokum oil/butter).

Maharashtrian food has a distinct taste of kokum, which cannot be replaced by tamarind or any other sour food agent. Just the thought of sol-kadhi makes my mouth water….!