Kokum Reinvented: How A Kitchen Staple Has Become A Trendy Mixology Ingredient
For years, a jar of dried kokum has rested placidly on the top shelf in my kitchen. It is a culinary staple in a household brimming with coastal, Konkan heritage. Every year, this dried kokum is sent home by one of the many relatives who continue to live along these western shores. The locals in Konkan harvest, sun dry and salt kokum in their homes before sending it off in airtight packets to many extended families scattered across different metropolises.
Kokum is added to curries, in my house, as a souring agent which lends these recipes a fine flavour balance. It is also used to make sol kadhi – a delicious sour and savoury mocktail prepared with freshly squeezed coconut milk. Garnished with fresh, finely-diced ginger and coriander, sol kadhi carries a spicy and zingy quality too, that pairs exceedingly well with fried fish, coconut curry and rice. And kokum appears in summertime sherbets too, in the form of a syrup topped off with cold water or club soda. A dark pink, maroonish mocktail, kokum sherbet is served during warm weather with just a sprinkling of cumin powder that acts as a contrasting masala finish.
Suffice to say that kokum is an essential ingredient in my household.
Now, imagine my surprise when I read the words ‘kokum fizz’ on the cocktail menu at a local dive – it’s a drink which brings together about a tablespoon of kokum syrup with 30 ml of Tanqueray No. Ten Gin or any other premium gin of your choice, and is a signature drink sought after by many a cocktail aficionados. Evidently, kokum had stepped out from my ancestral kitchen and was now found swirling in all its ruby-red splendour in a highball glass at a chic bar, accompanied by edible flowers and artisanal ices.
Also Read: Kokum In Cocktails: 5 Ways To Use The Indian Ingredient In Mixology
An Anticlimactic Mixology
I recovered from that double take to eventually try out a kokum spritzer. This was a drink which combined 30 ml good quality vodka with 45 ml club soda and a tablespoon of kokum syrup, all of which was tied together with the citrusy balance of 15 ml lime juice and the sweetness of 10 ml simple syrup. The cocktail was an instant showstopper – a stunning balance of sweet and sour flavours interspersed with a textural bubbliness coming from the club soda and a blush pink colour that made it look superbly attractive.
The kokum spritzer had become very popular at this local jaunt, and upon digging deeper I was to discover that kokum was no longer a simple kitchen staple in households along the western coasts. It was quickly becoming a trendy cocktail ingredient preferred by multiple mixologists.
I, too, was quickly taken in by this reinvention of the kokum in modern mixology. Yet, it couldn’t help but feel a tad anticlimactic – this kitchen staple, always present yet never quite prominent, was suddenly becoming the newest ingredient base in modern bartending.
Kokum is really an underrated ingredient. It carries a mix of sour and lightly sweet flavours, rich and deep colours and a fruity, floral nuance. For me, kokum’s use in culinary and mixology spaces was hardly a novelty.
So, on the one hand, its rediscovery in modern blending was hardly baffling, aware as I was of its immense flavour potential. And oddly it was a moment of vindication too – a hyperlocal ingredient with immense cocktail possibilities was being popularised to lend it a new context. From its roots along Konkan coasts, kokum had travelled a long way.
Now, the cocktails made using kokum or sol kadhi as base are a reflection of two realms – the regional Konkani flair and the contemporary chic bar, coexisting in perfect harmony.
Here’s a simple recipe to make the Kokum Spritzer that reconfigures this kitchen staple for the modern bartender:
Ingredients:
- 30 ml of any premium vodka of choice
- 15 ml lime juice
- 10 ml simple syrup
- 45 ml club soda
- Ice as required
Method:
– In a cocktail shaker, bring together 30 ml of any premium vodka of choice, 15 ml lime juice and 10 ml simple syrup with ice as required. Shake well before straining into a highball glass filled with ice. Top the mix off with 45 ml club soda. Garnish with 3-4 fresh mint leaves and a sprinkling of cumin powder.
Drink Responsibly. This communication is for audiences above the age of 25.
