Kokum Butter - Reviving a traditional way
(a pictorial recipe of traditional way of preparing Kokum Butter )
-Poornima Sukumar with BuDa folklore
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Lets begin this blog with gratitude to forest and for giving us in abundance!
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And processing the fruit of the forest is what happens next. Nature's bounty fills hearts with gratitude and baskets with fruit —Indira Vijaysimha -participant
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| fresh kokum seeds before drying |
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She was our guiding star in the process of making the butter. Her expertise and patience is what we also learnt apart from the making of butter.
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| dried kokum seeds coated with ash |
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| seed shells are separated form seed kernels |
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| separating outer shell from the seed kernels |
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| Easy traditional way of loosening the outer husk of the seed |
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| after removing the outer shell of the kokum seeds |
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| Roasting the seeds on a wooden fire |
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Meanwhile, as the seeds get roasted Akka was cleaning up the grinding stone. It helps with the removal of the previous mixture or stains and it is always good to clean up before you begin!
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“In the deep Mysteries of the world, their belong time, still unexplored and to be explored.”
― Jerril Thomas Abraham
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Pile the seeds into the little pit, it will be a little hot after roasting. Keep it that way!
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Take a break while you need and continue to pound. Here is where you can share conversations, sing a song or two!
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Grounding the seeds finely is the key. It makes it easier for the later stages. Make sure you feel the powdered seeds authentically generating a little moisture (which is the oil content)
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| grinding |
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Soon after you have finished pounding all the seeds, slowly add water.
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“...no one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.”
― Julia Child.
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Start gathering the kokum butter paste with all its residue all in one place and then into a small vessel.
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Add about 2 cups of water into this paste mixture.
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Boil it in low flame. to convert the butter into a oil
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As it is a time taking process , so its best to continue with your own work like gathering firewood , chatting with Nugli and getting to know people.
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Of course, Akka had to keep an eye in the kitchen since she wanted to make sure the butter/oil comes out well.
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| The unfiltered kokum oil floating on the top |
unfiltered kokum oil will be collected in a separate vessel and boiled again with a small ammount of water
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| kept it overnight and the hard,raw kokumbutter /oil is ready to use |
During the process of boiling all the heavy impurities are trapped by the heavier .water layer at the bottom while filterd kokum oil is skimmed off from the top
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| Raw unrefined Kokum Butter |
