Kokum Kadhi or Sol Kadhi

This simple and easy Kokum Kadhi recipe is a must have in a Maharastian household especially when there is fried fish. Thank goodness for premade coconut milk, though!  In India, my grandmother or even my mother for that matter would have to run the coconut through a mill 10 times to extract the coconut milk. Now granted, the taste of this kadhi is 100 times different with fresh coconut milk. But, hey who has the time to grind and extract coconut milk from scratch. Not I!!  Anyhow, this kadhi goes with white plain rice or you can even consume the kadhi just as is. So where do u get this kokum. Hopefully in an Indian grocery store. But I get mine from India and right from the Konkan region where kokum is homegrown. How do you know your kokum is good? When soaked in warm water, the color of the kokum water should turn deep pink!!
Method and Ingredients:

14 oz coconut milk
2 green chillies (more or less depending on how hot you want the kadhi to be)
2 small garlic cloves, peeled (less if you are not a garlic fan)
1 inch piece of ginger
Handful of cilantro
Kokum - about 4 of them soaked in 1/4th cup lukewarm water
Salt to taste

1. Using a spoon, stir the coconut milk in the can itself. this is to make sure that the thick and thin parts of the milk mix together.
2. In a blender, make a coarse paste of green chillies, garlic, ginger, and cilantro.
3. Add the coconut milk to a bowl. Add the chilli paste to the same bowl.  Mix well. Season with a pinch of salt.  Now add the kokum along with the water. The kokum (if good) will have left a pink color to the water which is a signature color of this kadhi.
4. Now slowly add cold water to this mix depending on how thick or thin you want your kadhi. Since coconut milk is loaded with calories, I often err on the side of thin than thick.
5. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

Note: There are many versions to this kadhi. Many do not put garlic but I love garlic. You can also use Lite coconut milk to shave off the calories.