Garcinia Indica or Kokum(called ‘bhirnda‘ or ‘bhinda‘ in Konkani, ‘murugala hannu‘ in Kannada) 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.
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).
I have got very fond memories of playing under this tree while growing up. My brother, I and few of our friends would go to our neighbor’s rice mill, which had a big backyard full of mango, cashew and kokum trees. We all would climb the tree or throw stones at the tree to pluck the ripe fruits. We would eat most of it there itself and carry few to home. Another memory which is linked with kokum is of spending summer holidays at my grandfather’s home in Sirsi. A person, whom everyone fondly called as ‘Adavi raja‘ (forest king) would come to sell these fruits. My grand parents would buy the fruit from him for us.
Our favorite way of enjoying the ripe fruit was to eat it with salt. Carefully take out the tiny cap of the fruit, which would leave a hole on the surface. Then with the help of a toothpick, push some salt crystals in the hole. Insert the toothpick in the hole and rotate it few times to mix the salt with the seeds of the fruit. Now suck the juices through the hole. Ahhh..its heaven. Only those who have actually tasted this can understand the sheer pleasure it gives. Once all the juices are done, break the skin into two and pop the seeds one by one in the mouth 
. Discard the seeds. This was our favorite fruit to eat(only after mango) during summer vacations.
The most popular dish prepared with fresh kokum at our place is kokum kadi. A sweet, spicy and sour drink with a ingale(charcoal) or mustard seasoning. As kokum has cooling effects on the body, this is the perfect drink for hot summers.
Bottled/canned kokum syrup is available in many shops in Goa which acts as replacement for the fresh fruit to make the kadi. Another version that is very popular is sol kadi, prepared with fresh coconut milk.
The skin of the fruit – which is normally sold as ‘kokum’ is sun dried in large quantities to be used when the fresh kokum is not available.
Some salt crystals are added to the dried kokum, which acts as a preservative. As days pass, the dark purple skin turns black. When soaked in water for some time, the skin leaves beautiful purple color. This has many medicinal properties. The skin is soaked in water for sometime and the purple colored water is given to the patients suffering from ‘pitta‘.
Sometimes the fruit is mixed with sugar and sun dried. The juice that comes out of it is preserved to make kokum juice.
The seeds are sun dried to make kokum butter (bhirndel tel). The outer black shells of the seeds are peeled and the inner white colored seeds are chopped and ground into fine paste. Then they are cooked and dried to get the butter. The butter retains its solid shape at room temperature. When needed, it is held near a flame to melt it. This melted oil is applied to cracked heels and dried skin, which acts as a very effective moisturizer. Before we were introduced to different moisturizer brands, we used this as a moisturizer. Even now, we use it frequently for cracked heels.
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Hi Shilpa, thought you might like to know- They’ve used your photographs here-
http://hubpages.com/hub/Uses-of-Kokam-a-purple-berry–botanically-known-as-Garcinia-Indica
Thanks for letting me know
my husband too used to eat these when he was small and he used to describe them to me and how he enjoyed it.since i was bought up in hyderabad i never got a chance to see it in this form. i have seen it in the dried form since i use it for cooking. thanks for posting its pictures.
good info for people who havent seen kokum or its trees or fruits in fresh form liked the pictures very much thanks shilpa for posting them shabana
Great article and pics, thanks!
I’m pretty sure it is the same – except maybe a different genre? As mine are more radish shaped – pointier bottom/knob at the bottom. Could you please tell me if you think these are Kokum / Garcinia indica? The photo is here:
While walking my dog in a park I came across a grassy area covered with 100′s of these fallen red fruits. I was tempted to try one but my friends said it’s most likely poisonous as no birds, squirrels, etc were eating them.
I took two home, photo’d them, did some googling and found myself here
http://s3.postimage.org/v6sekedz/kokum.jpg
Thank you
PS: I was too tempted to wait and took ate a tiny one – sour deliciousness – wish me luck hehe
No, this is not kokum.
No, that is definitely not Kokum. Looks more like a Jarige – which is also dried & used as a souring agent. There is another fruit that looks like it. Called Anturaala in Kannada i think, which is not edible.
There are other fruits that look like it as well. Take care, do not eat because they may not all be edible.
Hello Shilpa,
Does this Kokum has any other name in Hindi ? I want to get this from the market in Delhi….where will I find it.
The details of recipes given by you are really good. I love cooking and will certainly try your recipe but first I have to find this in Delhi.
Give me a name which a grocer will understand if Kokum is not the popular name.
Thanks
Kind regards
Sorry, no idea.
1. You will always get kokum in Kerala Emporium, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, New Delhi. Near Connaught Place. If the staff does not understand kokum, ask them the spice, which looks like tamarind, (imli), but is different.
You can also try the emporia of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka.
2, In Munirka, there is a shop, Rama Krishna Store or something similar. When one travels from IIT to the airport on the Outer Ring Road, after passing most of Munirka village on the left, one by-road to the left leads to Vasant Vihar, Priya theatre etc. (On the other side of this road is Vasant Vihar DTC Bus Depot.). One does not have to cross over towards the depot. Just short of turning to the left towards Vasant Vihat, at the corner, you will find this shop, selling South Indian products.
The staff there does understand kokum!!!!
The shop, I tend to remember, is closed on Tuesdays.
Kokum is also known as aamsul.
YOU CAN USE “KUDAMPULI” INSTEAD OF KOKUM.
yes, this is kokum and is fun eating them.
This looks very much like what is called mangosteen in Malaysia where it is called the ‘queen of fruit’. Is it the same? We ate the pulp but I never saw a local person use the skin or seeds.
As far as I know, they are different. They are from same family though. Here is wiki page for mangosteen
Hi,
Shilpa, thanks so much for this post. Not only did I find it informative with the information and pictures you included about kokum, but I thoroughly enjoyed the memories and stories you shared.
I am a European living in the States, and reading things like this allows me to understand the flavors, colors, and nuances of why so many of my Indian friends just long to return back home!
At any rate, I have been looking up kokum because I read about it in a book written by an Indian scientist about Healing Spices.
Kokum is believed to have several healing properties, which include fighting cancer, help with ulcers and the bacterial infection H.Pylori, protection of brain cells and great antioxidant properties.
Apparently, kokum has been used by Ayurvedic physicians to treat sores and prevent infection, improve digestion, stop diarrhea and constipation, soothe the sore joints of rheumathoid arthritis, cure ear infections, and heal ulcers.
It is not easy to find, especially here in the US, but I read that it goes by these other names: kokam, kokkum, fish tamarind, mangosteen, wild mangosteen and red mango.
Finally, the depiction of the plant looks very similar to the picture of the tree in this blog entry.
Thanks for sharing. I have a renewed appreciation for what your beautiful country has to offer (vegetation, people and lifestyle!).
Cheers,
S.
Shilpa, please tell how to prepare kokum juice from fresh kokum.