Ladies, In his recent India trip my husband brought a tamarind like thing named 'Kokkam' from some special food store. One of my friend said that we can use this as a substitute for Tamarind. Any of you familiar with this thing? Please help me to find what is this and how to use? Thanks!
Hi Revathi, Kokam (also called amsul) is a spice commonly used in Maharashtrian and Konkani cuisines. Simply soak a few pieces in a cup of warm water for 30 minutes and then extract the liquid to use, just as you do with tamarind. Then use it in any dish that needs tartness. We generally make kadhi and amti (dal) with it.
It is called as punarpuli in kannada. U can make rasam or juice from it. It got lots of health benefits.