The superfood which took centre stage at Konkan Fruit Fest in Goa

As the Botanical Society of Goa (BSG) gets set for the community celebration for the 19th  time in 22 years, my mind goes back to the time when the Corporation of the City of Panaji (registered in April 2003) hosted the first ever Konkan Fruit Fest in Goa. 

That’s when the Goa Directorate of Agriculture; (now called ICAR-CCARI); the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hessarghatta; the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwar (Karnataka State); and the Regional Fruit Research Station, Vengurla (RFRS-Vengurla) of DBSKKV-Dapoli(Maharashtra State) joined hands to bring the freshest fruits in a myriad of shapes, colours, flavours and aroma, all at one place. 

DRINK TO THIS: Kokum is used in various culinary applications, including making refreshing drinks.

Kokum or bhin’na (Garcinia indica), came into focus and Shrihari Naik Kurade, who displayed a range of these fruits, was pleasantly surprised to win prizes for something that was not even classified as a fruit, back then.

KONKAN TRADITIONS

Goa and the rest of the Konkan have a long of using kokum or bhin’na sol as a souring agent in curries, and to break down the mucilage in bhendde or ladyfingers. The soul of the Konkan fish thali is the sol kaddi, made of either fresh or dried rind. 

The high fundas of the cholesterol balance and anti-obesity qualities of the hydroxy-citric acid, or HCA, are recent discoveries. Our ancestors only knew that sol kaddi was good for health, and they made it customary to have it as a part of their meal, and not medicines to consume separately.

Goa and the rest of the Konkan have a long tradition of using kokum or bhin’na sol as a souring agent in curries, and to break down the mucilage in bhendde or ladyfingers.

There must have been folks, like me, who did not like unsweetened . So, fresh rinds were filled with sugar, instead of salt, and kept in the sun to obtain the concentrate for the xarope de brindao. 

Others added nutmeg or cinnamon and fennel to make a syrup, called amrit kokum or kokum sherbet. To each according to their taste. Some added honey, instead of sugar, and made their own version of a summer coolant. 

It was mixed with water and kept in a baked earthen pot or gulguleta with a cockerel head shaped spout and served during summer. 

FRUITING SEASONS

Most kokum have fruits that ripen from May to August, but a few see fruits maturing in April. Some rare accessions, with fruits ripening between October and November have also been recorded, giving hope for the creation of early ripening varieties. 

In 2005, a booklet, titled A Little About Kokum, was published to make information accessible to the common man.

The fruit's size, rind thickness, and the tartness or sweetness of both pulp and skin can vary significantly. The colour of the rind also varies from yellow and scarlet to almost purple. Dr S Priya Devi has done more than a decade of research on Kokum in Goa before her transfer to IIHR-Hessaghatta.

In 2005, a booklet, titled A Little About , was published to make information accessible to the  common man. It contains recipes of kokum syrup and kokum wine that were known and popular at the time. 

After three national seminars on kokum, and a lot of interaction with scientists and industry  experts, improved recipes were published in the Resource Book on Kokum in 2012, which is available online on the websites of Goa University and the Association of India.

Read it to know more about this superfruit which is also rich in antioxidants.

(The author is the former Chairman of the GCCI Agriculture Committee, CEO of Planter's Choice Pvt Ltd, Additional Director of OFAI and Garden Superintendent of Goa University, and has edited 18 books for Goa & Konkan).