Staying hydrated is very essential and it’s vital for our health. During summer keeping ourselves hydrated become more and more important. Nothing can beat water, the elixir of life. But at times we need to treat ourselves with some simple, delicious and refreshing drinks. I am back with one more khatta meetha sarbath and this time it is the kokum sarbath. :-)
Kokum has lot of medicinal benefits and it is one among the widely used healing spices in Ayurveda. Also it is known as the cool king of the Indian fruits. How cool is that huh? I have already shared about Kokum in my Gujarati Dal recipe, so I don’t want to repeat it again. I have posted two Gujarati recipes with Kokum, the dal and lobia curry and here comes the third one. My friend, who shared the lobia curry, shared this kokum sarbath too and I made up my mind to try it over the summer and I did try. We really enjoyed it and this tangy and sweet drink with the hint of ground pepper is surely a delish.
Traditionally the sarbath is prepared with fresh fruits but it can be prepared with dried ones also. And that’s what I did. I prepared this recipe with dried kokum and like aam panna; you first prepare the concentrate and then make the sarbath. The concentrate stays good in refrigerator and once the concentrate is ready, you prepare the sarbath in just a matter of seconds. You soak the dried kokums to make it soft and then wet grind them and prepare the concentrate by cooking it with spices. Finally you strain it to get the concentrate. It may sound like a lengthy process, but believe me it’s super easy.
Before getting into the recipe, here are few summer drinks from my archives. Keep yourself hydrated with these delicious beverages.
Now here is the kokum sherbet recipe,
Ingredients:
- Dried Kokums – 1/2 cup
- Water – 1 cup + .5 cups
- Sugar – 5 tbsps
- Salt -1/4 tsp
- Ground Pepper – 1/2 tsp
- Black salt – 1 tsp
- Cumin Powder – 1 tsp
- Water to prepare sherbet
- Ice cubes as required
Prep – Work:
- Soak the hokums in 1 cup of water for at least 1 hour. I soaked for about one and half hours.
- Drain the water, but do not discard the soaked water.
- Grind the dried kokums into a coarse paste.
Preparing the Kokum Sherbet Concentrate:
- Add 5 tbsp of sugar to the reserved water; the kokum soaked water.
- Heat the sugar kokum mix over a low flame.
- Once the sugar melts, add the ground kokum and half more cup of water.
- Add the salt, ground pepper, black salt, cumin powder and combine them well.
- Once the froth starts to form on the top, turn the heat off and let it cool.
- Then strain the kokum mix and discard the ground paste.
That’s it. Your kokum sherbet concentrate is ready. Refrigerate the concentrate for longer shelf life.
Preparing the Sherbet:
- Add about 2 tbsp of the concentrate and add cold water and ice cubes.
- Mix them thoroughly and serve chilled.
Notes:
- If using fresh fruits, adjust the sugar and salt as per your preference.
- Adjust the spices and sugar as per your preference.
- Make sure you cook the kokum mix over a low flame and once the spices are combined well, turn the heat off.
- If required, you can add more sugar or spices just before serving.
- Crushed mint leaves can be included too.
Ingredients
- Dried Kokums - 1/2 cup
- Water - 1 cup + .5 cups
- Sugar - 5 tbsps
- Salt -1/4 tsp
- Ground Pepper - 1/2 tsp
- Black salt - 1 tsp
- Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
- Water for prepare sherbet
- Ice cubes as required
Instructions
Prep - Work
- Soak the hokums in 1 cup of water for at least 1 hour. I soaked for about one and half hours.
- Drain the water, but do not discard the water.
- Grind the dried kokums into a coarse paste.
Preparing the Kokum Sherbet Concentrate
- Add 5 tbsp of sugar to the reserved water; the kokum soaked water.
- Heat the sugar kokum mix over a low flame.
- Once the sugar melts, add the ground kokum and half more cup of water.
- Add the salt, ground pepper, black salt, cumin powder and combine them well.
- Once the froth starts to form on the top, turn the heat off and let it cool.
- Then strain the kokum mix and discard the ground paste.
- That’s it. Your kokum sherbet concentrate is ready. Refrigerate the concentrate for longer shelf life.
Preparing the Sherbet
- Add about 2 tbsp of the concentrate and add cold water and ice cubes.
- Mix them thoroughly and serve chilled.
Notes
Adjust the spices and sugar as per your preference.
Make sure you cook the kokum mix over a low flame and once the spices are combined well, turn the heat off.
If required, you can add more sugar or spices just before serving.
Crushed mint leaves can be included too.
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