Kokum (Garcinia) Sharbat Drink Recipe
Kokum sharbat or the juice made from the fruit called garcinia, besides having many health benefits, is also a very tasty cool drink to have in summer. This fruit is available in the dried form in the market and is available with seeds or without seeds. I have used the ones without the seeds for this recipe as removing the seeds is pretty cumbersome. Seeded or unseeded, it is very important that the dried kokum is enough sour in taste. Only then it will accommodate enough sugar in it and also give the juice a good taste. The added sugar also acts as a preservative and because of this it is ok to preserve the prepared concentrated juice at room temperature too but to be on the safe side I store it in the fridge and enjoy it all summer long to make the refreshing sharbat anytime I want.
Ingredients
- Dried kokum (unseeded) - 1 cup
- Sugar - 2 cups
- Black salt powder (Kala namak) - A pinch per glass when serving
- Cumin powder - A pinch per glass when serving
Instructions
- Soak 1 cup of dried kokum in 2 & 1/4 cup of water for 2-3 hours.
- After 3 hours, grind the kokum and all the water (that was used for soaking) to make a fine thick solution.
- Strain it through a strainer and keep aside for some time.
- In a pot, add 1 cup of water to the sugar and make a one string sugar solution with it. (For this, allow the sugar solution to boil and then continue to boil for a minute or two till it forms single string when a drop of it is stretched between your thumb and index finger.)
- When it starts forming a firm single string, turn off the gas and allow this sugar solution to cool completely.
- Now add the strained kokum solution (from step 3) to this cooled sugar solution and stir to mix it together.
- Store this concentrated kokum juice in a plastic or glass jar and store it in the refrigerator to last all summer long.
- When serving, pour 1-2 tbsp (according to taste) of this concentrated juice to 1 glass of water, add a pinch of salt and a pinch of cumin powder.
- Mix nicely and always serve chilled or after adding a few ice cubes.
- Enjoy this super refreshing drink all summer long!
