Kokum Sharbat or Kokum Juice is the perfect cooling drink for hot summer days. Refreshing, slightly sweet and tangy, it often carries a faint aroma of roasted cumin and black salt and is best enjoyed over plenty of ice. One glass rarely feels like enough.
Kokum Juice or Kokam Sharbat
Making Kokum Juice at home is surprisingly easy. Once you learn this simple method, you’ll likely stop buying preservative- and color-laden bottled sharbat. With just three ingredients you can make a semi-thick kokum concentrate (also called kokum squash) that stores in the fridge for about a week.
There’s no long soaking required — only two main steps: boiling and straining. From there you can turn the concentrate into a chilled drink in minutes.
Spoon out the kokum pulp into a glass, add very cold water, ice cubes and your preferred sweetener — stir and enjoy. We prefer natural sweeteners like organic maple syrup for its rich taste, but white sugar, cane sugar, honey or palm sugar work equally well.
What is Kokum?
Kokum (Garcinia indica) is a reddish-purple fruit in the mangosteen family. Widely used as a souring agent in parts of western India, kokum is valued for medicinal properties — it is reported to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antifungal qualities, and it aids digestion.
The plant is native to the Western Ghats, and the dried rind or whole dried fruit is commonly used to prepare sharbat and other dishes in Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka.
What is Kokum Sharbat?
Kokum Sharbat is a traditional summer beverage made from a concentrate of dried kokum (kokum squash). Served chilled, it’s a cooling, slightly tangy drink often balanced with sweetener and seasoned with roasted cumin and black salt. It’s simple, restorative and easy to prepare at home.
How does Kokam Sherbet Taste?
Dried kokum has a sweet aroma but a pronounced sourness and sometimes a faint metallic note. Fresh fruit tends to be sweeter. When made from dried kokum, the sharbat is tangy with subtle savory notes from roasted cumin and black salt. Unsweetened, the tang and metallic undertone are more obvious; sweetened, the drink becomes more balanced and fruity.
Both versions are enjoyable — salty-and-tangy for a more traditional experience or sweet-and-fruity for a refreshing treat.
How to store the Kokum concentrate in the fridge?
To store kokum concentrate:
- Use a clean, completely dry airtight canning jar.
- Allow the cooked concentrate to cool to room temperature before transferring to the jar.
- Seal and refrigerate.
- It keeps well for 7–10 days.
Use a dry spoon to scoop the concentrate as needed. Its convenience makes it ideal when serving a crowd.
Kokum Sharbat Benefits
Kokum is used in culinary, medicinal and industrial contexts and brings several health benefits. Kokum Sharbat is appreciated for being:
- Anti-inflammatory.
- Highly cooling — ideal for summer.
- Antifungal.
- A good antioxidant source.
- Helpful for digestion.
- Refreshing and revitalizing.
Why is my Kokum Sharbat muddy and not pink or red?
The color depends on the type of dried kokum you use. Whole dried black kokum yields a muddy brownish drink. Dried “wet” kokum rinds produce a pinkish to reddish sharbat. Mixing both varieties (about 50/50) gives a pale pink color. The recipe examples here used a 50:50 mix for a pleasant pale pink result.
What do you need to make Kokam Sharbat at home?
Basic ingredients:
- Dried kokum (whole or rinds)
- Sweetener — maple syrup, honey, cane sugar, palm sugar or white sugar (maple syrup recommended)
- Black salt
- Roasted cumin powder (jeera powder) for flavor
- Water
Where can you buy dried kokum?
Dried kokum (both whole and rinds) is commonly sold at Indian grocery stores and online. Fresh kokum fruit is mainly available in regions where it grows, such as Goa and the Konkan belt.
How to make Kokum Sharbat? Step by Step
Making the Kokum concentrate or syrup
1. In a deep-bottomed saucepan combine 5 cups of water with about ½ cup dried kokum (heaped). Cover and simmer on medium-low for about 30 minutes. The water will darken and reduce.
2. Strain the liquid and set it aside. Grind the boiled kokum solids into a fine paste using a little of the reserved liquid.
3. Strain the paste through a fine strainer to remove any rough pulp. Combine the strained paste with the reserved boiled liquid to form a thick but pourable concentrate.
4. Adjust flavor by adding roasted cumin powder and black salt to taste. Store the concentrate in an airtight jar in the fridge.
Pro Tip: Whole dried black kokum gives a muddy color, while dried wet rinds yield pinkish-red tones. A 50:50 blend creates a pale pink sharbat.
Making the Kokum Sharbat from the concentrate
Scoop 2 tablespoons of kokum concentrate into a glass, add chilled water and your preferred sweetener, stir well, add ice and garnish with mint if you like. Note that the concentrate can settle at the bottom; simply stir before sipping.
Kokum Sharbat
Ingredients
- ½ cup Dried Black Kokum or Kokum Rinds (heaped)
- 5 cups Water
- 2 tbsp Cumin Powder (jeera powder)
- Black Salt to taste
- Any Sweetener to taste (honey, maple syrup, palm sugar, cane sugar, white sugar)
Instructions
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How to make kokum concentrate or syrup:
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In a deep saucepan add 5 cups water and the dried kokum. Cover and simmer on medium-low for 30 minutes until the water darkens and reduces.
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Strain the liquid and set aside. Grind the boiled solids into a fine paste, using some reserved liquid if needed.
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Mix the strained paste with the boiled liquid, add roasted cumin powder and black salt to taste. The concentrate should be thick but pourable.
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Store in an airtight jar in the refrigerator.
How to make Kokum Sharbat from the concentrate:
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Scoop 2 tablespoons of concentrate into a glass, add chilled water and sweetener, stir, add ice and garnish with mint. Serve chilled.
Notes
- Roasted cumin powder: Dry-roast cumin seeds until aromatic, cool and grind to a coarse powder.
- Whole dried kokum yields a muddy-brown sharbat; dried wet rinds yield a pinkish-red color.
- After grinding the boiled solids, strain thoroughly and discard the rough pulp.
- The concentrate should be thick yet pourable and keeps for 7–10 days refrigerated in a dry airtight jar.
- You can omit sweetener for a tangy, slightly metallic sharbat—this is also a traditional and refreshing option.
- Sweetener options: honey, maple syrup, cane sugar, palm sugar, white sugar, jaggery.
Measuring cup used: 1 cup = 240 ml; 1 teaspoon = 5 ml.
Nutrition
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