Sol Kadhi

A cooling digestive mauve-hued drink for summer, Sol Kadhi is super easy to make in a matter of minutes.

Enjoy a glass of this chilled coconut and kokum based drink from the Konkan region of India!

India has a vast coastline and tons of cities and towns border the water. Every part of this long coastline has its share of signature ingredients and recipes. A lot of these use coconut, fish and other seafood that are widely available along the coast.

The Western Indian coastline along the states of Maharashtra and Goa are popularly known as the Konkan region. This region is popular for it's Konkani food which comprises a lot of fish and seafood.

However, along with the sea food there are so many amazing vegetarian dishes including coconut based curries, Alu Vadi, Usal of different kinds, Rice Vada, Rice Roti and so on. Among these is a super amazing drink that has been popular for decades; Sol Kadhi.

Jump to:

• What is Sol Kadhi
• What is Kokum
• Why this recipe works
• Ingredients and Substitutions
• How to make this recipe
• Expert Tips and Notes
• Using Coconut Milk
• Variations
• Recipe FAQs
• Recipes that use Coconut Milk
• More Summer Specials to try
• Sol Kadhi

What is Sol Kadhi

Sol Kadhi is a popular mauve-hued drink from the Konkan region of India. This is popularly also known as solkadhi, sol kadi, Goan sol, kokum curry or kokum drink.

It is made with two primary ingredients; coconut and kokum. Both of these are abundant in the region and are perfectly cooling through the scorching heat of summer.

This digestive drink is part of the traditional thali and is perfect to digest everything else that is generally pretty high in spice content.

Not just restaurants, I have enjoyed this drink through my university days and it is almost always a part of Maharashtrian run institutes. The taste, color and base of the recipes do vary quite a bit from one spot to the other, but the essence of the recipe stands.

Served either with a meal or after, this nutritious drink is a must-try. And once you do, it is difficult to go back in it. You will make it over and over again!

What is Kokum

Kokum is a fruit bearing tree that grows in the Western part of India. Garcinia Indica as it is also called is packed with a tangy flavor and thus it is often used as a souring agent in many recipes including syrups, dals and some curries.

The health benefits of Kokum are countless; here are some key benefits:

• Kokum is known to aid weight loss; it has contains hydroxycitric acid that assists in burning stored fat.
• It also has a naturally cooling property that helps cool down body and avoid a heat stroke during summers. As per Ayurveda, it is excellent in reducing the pitta dosha.
• This has anti-inflammatory property that helps alleviate pain and swelling caused by arthritis and other health conditions.
• Moreover, it is rich in antioxidants and inhibits lipid peroxidation. Due to these properties, it has hepatoprotective or liver-protecting activity.
• This fruit is also rich in vitamins and minerals; including vitamin C, calcium, iron, and potassium.

Given the benefits, it is really amazing to enjoy kokum in various forms. The dried kokum is often called amsol and we often add it to Gujarati Dal as a souring agent. It is added to so many coconut based curries and used to make Sol Kadhi; a popular Maharashtrian recipe. Plus, it makes a super colorful and delicious syrup for sharbats and other drinks.

Why this recipe works

• We only need a handful of ingredients to make Sol Kadhi.
• The recipe comes together in just about 5 minutes of active time.
• It is perfect as a drink with a meal or to serve after.
• Sol kadhi is naturally Vegan and gluten-free.
• The mauve color is bright and vibrant.
• This makes a perfect summer drink.
• We can make this bright colored drink with zero added colors.
• The drink has a ton of health benefits.
• It is easy to make sol kadhi ahead of time.
• The drink is versatile in terms of the ingredients and method.
• We can add an optional tadka to make it even more flavorful.
• Sol Kadhi aids digestion and helps cool down the body in summers.
• It is appropriate for kids and adults alike.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Kokum: We need some kokum water for making Sol Kadhi. The easiest way to get that is to soak the kokum in hot water for sometime and squeezing out the juice and water. Store bought kokum paste works, but it is way thick and needs to be thinned out.

• Coconut: The base of the recipe is coconut milk. We can either make this using fresh or frozen coconut. Simply whip up the coconut with water to extract the milk. However, store bought coconut milk works, and we can use this directly with the rest of the crushed ingredients.

• Aromatics: The only aromatics we need here are ginger, garlic and green chili. All of these are essential and should ideally not be skipped. Reduce the chili for a milder version but try not skipping completely.

• Spices: Salt, pepper powder and roasted cumin powder are the spices needed. All of these are essential to balance the tart kokum. If you prefer a sweeter version, feel free to add some sugar.

• Beetroot: An optional ingredient, beetroot gives the sol kadhi a pale pink appearance. Add it for the color but not too much. You might end up with a shocking pink version instead of the soothing light pink one. Skip if you prefer not to add this.

• Cilantro: Almost every recipe of sol kadhi calls for topping it with finely chopped cilantro. This adds to the visual appearance, taste and freshness of the recipe. Add some chopped mint if you like as well.

See the recipe card for detailed ingredient information, measurements and nutrition.

How to make this recipe

1- Add kokum and hot water to a bowl. Let this stand for a couple of hours.

2- The water changes color to pink and comes to room temperature.

3- Then add everything to a fine mesh strainer.

4- Extract as much juice as possible and discard the kokum pods. Save the kokum water to use in the recipe.

5- In a high speed blender add fresh or frozen coconut.

6- Add in the beetroot, aromatics and spices. Also add the cold water.

7- Whip everything till it turns to a smooth paste.

8- Line a fine mesh strainer with a muslin or cheesecloth. Add everything from the blender to it.

9- Press well and squeeze out as much of the sol kadhi as possible. Discard the remaining mix.

10- Then add in the kokum juice.

11- Finally add finely chopped cilantro.

12- Enjoy the sol kadhi after chilling it for a couple of hours and stirring.

Expert Tips and Notes

• Use the right kokum: We need to extract the juice out of kokum. For this, use wet, dry or semi-dry kokum. Dry kokum and semi dry kokum need to be rehydrated in hot water and not the wet ones.

• Do not skimp on the coconut: Adding too little coconut will yield a watery mix. Moreover, with the addition of kokum water, the curry will further thin out and not taste good. So use a generous amount of coconut to make sol kadhi.

• Adding tempering to the sol kadhi: An optional step, we can add tempering to the kadhi once it is made. To do so, simply heat oil or ghee and add in mustard seeds, cumin seeds, a generous pinch of asafetida, curry leaves and green chili. Transfer this to the prepared sol kadhi and mix well. Chill it after the tempering so it remains cool.

• Plan ahead: We need some time to soak the kokum and then chill the prepared sol kadhi. So plan ahead on making this. Though it only needs a few minutes, we need to start the soaking way ahead.

• Color of sol kadhi: The color of sol kadhi is determined by the kokum and beetroot. It can greatly vary from white to a dark pink or brown. Eliminating beet gives us a lighter cream color. Adding too much kokum makes it brown and too much beetroot makes it dark pink. The right balance of beetroot and kokum gives us a soothing pink color.

Using Coconut Milk

While I like to make my own coconut milk in the recipe, we can make the same using store bought coconut milk too.

To do so, simply whip up beetroot, aromatics and spices with very little water. Transfer to a strainer and extract the concentrate. Add this to thick coconut milk from the can. Remember to mix the can well before adding. Also, do not use thin or lite coconut milk. It will curdle once kokum is added.

Mix everything well, add in kokum and cilantro. Then chill before serving.

Variations

Regular sol kadhi uses kokum and coconut with aromatics and spices. However, there are several variations to this one. Here are some popular ones:

• Tempered Sol Kadhi: After making the sol kadhi, add the tadka. To make it; simply heat oil or ghee and add in mustard seeds, cumin seeds, a generous pinch of asafetida, curry leaves and green chili. Then transfer this to the prepared sol kadhi and mix well. Chill before serving.

• Futi Kadhi or Phuti Kadi:  This version does not have coconut. Simply soak the kokum pods in hot water for a couple of hours and extract the juice. Discard the pods. Add sugar, salt, asafetida and cilantro to the water. Mix well and enjoy cold.

• Using coconut milk: Store bought coconut milk is great to make the recipe. Follow the steps above to make the sol kadhi with canned coconut milk.

Recipe FAQs

Recipes that use Coconut Milk

Coconut milk is a popular ingredient in Indian as well as Thai cuisine. It is often used to replace dairy based milk in many recipes. Here are some popular recipes using coconut milk. For these recipes we can use canned or freshly made coconut milk.

More Summer Specials to try