Sol Kadi (Coconut milk and kokum gravy)

Sol kadi is a konkani dish made out of coconut milk, kokum and cilantro. This makes a complete meal when served along with rice or khichdi. A thinner version of this dish makes a very good soup. There are a few different ways of making this dish and the recipe I follow is from one of my friends who got it from her mom.

My love affair with sol kadi started almost 7 yrs ago when my friend introduced me to this tasty concoction. It was our first year in grad school, all of us students trying to live & learn together, far away from our family and taking care of way too many things than what we thought we had signed up for. On one of our very busy weekday, when we were craving for some comfort food, my friend served us sol kadi with khichdi. Her mom used to make it with coconut milk extracted out of coconut and a paste made of cilantro and green chillies. But here we were, pressed for time and with a ill-equiped kitchen. She made do with a bottle of the cilantro chutney that you get in the Indian store and canned coconut milk. And for the rest of the evening we forgot all our troubles and were licking the pot clean :-)

Now that I have graduated in more than one way, with a better kitchen: I grind my own masala with cilantro though I still seek the comfort of using coconut milk from the can. Kokum is very easily available in most of the Indian grocery stores. Kokum imparts the sour flavor to the dish. You can extract its juice by soaking it in warm water. However, I add Kokum directly to the Kadi and it does taste yummy with all the coconuty goodness. Wash the Kokum well to get rid of the dirt that is normally found in the store bought ones. If you like coconut/coconut milk you will love this dish and it is unbelievable that a dish this simple can taste so yummy....

Ingredients
1 can coconut milk
5-8 kokum pieces
4 green chillies
1 medium bunch cilantro/coriander leaves
1 clove garlic
1/4 inch ginger
salt to taste
1 tsp jeera
2 tsp oil

Method

1. Grind chillies, garlic, ginger and cilantro into a smooth paste. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan, add jeera and when it starts to splutter add the ground paste.
3. Saute for 2-3 min and then add kokum.
4. Now add coconut milk and allow it to cook for a few min (3-4 min).
5. Adjust seasoning and turn off the heat.

Serve with plain rice or khichidi.

To make a lighter version for soup, dilute half a can of coconut milk with half a cup water.

Enjoy !!