Kudampuli (Gambooge)
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Not many people have seen me in my youth, they like me old and wrinkled. Can you believe I was ever this good looking!!
When I grow up, they make me up to look like this! Now do you know who I am?
Yes, I am Kudampuli, as some of you correctly guessed!
Kudampuli (scientific name: Garcinia cambogia) also known as Gambooge, Malabar Tamarind, Fish Tamarind etc is an essential ingredient in all the seafood loving kitchens in Central Kerala, the coastal South Indian state. As the name suggests (Puli = sour in Malayalam), the dried fruit is used as a souring agent in Kerala’s famous fish curries and other seafood preparations.
Kudampuli is known for its medicinal values in Ayurveda. It helps to promote digestion, and a decoction (kashayam) made out of it is used against Arthritis and some uterine deceases. It is also known to cure ulcers.
The green fruit shown in the first picture is a young version, it will turn yellow when ripe. Once fully ripe, fruits are collected, cut in half, deseeded and are sun-dried for a day. The sun-dried fruit halves are smoked till black, and are rubbed with a mixture of salt and oil before transferring to earthenware pots and tightly sealed. These will stay fresh for years. Before use, wash the pieces under running water quickly to remove any dust accumulated from the drying and smoking process, then soak these for 10 minutes in water. Kudampuli pieces are added along with the water in which it was soaked in to curries and it gives a delicious sour taste that is so unique.
Kudampuli is sometimes referred to as Kokum in some of the cookbooks from Kerala, so for the longest time I was under the assumption that Kokum and Kudampuli are the same. But Kokum (Garcinia indica) used in Marathi and Konkani cuisines is a different fruit, these two are not interchangeable in recipes.
Here are some of my recipes using Kudampuli.
Kerala Fish Curry
Meen Peera (Fish with Grated Coconut)
Bitter Gourd and Dried Shrimp Stir Fry
Prawn and Mango Curry
Kudampuli can also be used in some vegetarian curries using vegetables like plantain, colocasia, taro etc. I will soon post a vegetarian recipe using Kudampuli.
Availability in the US: Kudampuli is available in the Indian grocery stores in Seattle, so I am guessing it will be available in other places too at least in the US. Sorry, I am not sure about other countries.
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Category: Ingredient Guide
oh lovely ode to this shrivelled yet expensive fruit. nice one Sig
Nice one Sig…
you rock…
Never heard of this before. Is it available in the desi stores here?
Ok, I only began to guess but could only reach “it grows in Kerala”.
the green ones look very pretty indeed!! are they used in the green state too for cooking?? and hey i too thought kokum and kudampuli are the same….thanks for the info….
Smarty pants! I never would’ve guessed. Unfair keralite advantage. *grumble* *grumble*!
Sig!! I have many friends who are keralites here and I have seen them using this in all their sea food dishes. It gives a unique flavour and taste to the dish right!! Lovely dishes!! :drool:
i have never seen it. we use kokum in cooking. can you eat its seeds? this is really new to me.
The pulp over the seed is similar to mangosteen and has a sweet sour taste. I loved to eat it when I was a kid visting grand parents in kerala. But too much can give a stomachache
Hi Sig…i never knew abt this
:…plain tamarind is what i know…this time when i visit India plan to get some of the few ingredients which are much talked abt here !!!! 
Never would have guessed that one
We have something similar, or maybe this is the same…I haven’t seen the young fruit…only in it’s wrinkled form and found it very hard to explain to the shopkeepers. But judging by the way it looks, and the method of using it along with the taste, I’m pretty sure that it’s the same. I’ve been looking for it for ages…didn’t know it’s other name till now.We too make fish with it…but a very light and sour dish.Thanks dearie! Which reminds me, I need to ask Dinesh to get some from home, he’s going for a week!
aha! now it is all coming back to me
Wow, I didnt even know about this fruit – neither in its green avatar nor as the dried verson. Never ever seen it either. Fantastic! Are you growing it? How cool!
I would never have been able to guess!!!! Loved the pic though.. How did uu get hold of it?!?!?
I saw your guessing game yesterday, Sig! But couldn’t dare to guess it, as I never saw it before. So, this is another kind of tamarind, ha! You are good at these games. Thanks for introducing a new variety.
I use the dry version of kudampuli and now i know how the fruit will look like
Sig,
Are you sure the picture of the green one is Kudampuli? It’s look different from the actual kudampuli, especially the leaves
first time that i am seeing a photo of the young puli. thanks for that and ur collection of kudam puli recipes.
Ohh… never heard of this! Is it closer to ‘kokum’ or tamarind in taste?
Our Indian grocer is hopeless here. How I wish to lay my hands on these wrinkled beauties.
Hmmmm since it is also puli I thought it would be similar to tamarind. Interestingggg one. Where did you get the picture of the young plant???
Beautiful ode to Kudampuli, Sig! Are you already back? Looks like you had a lovely trip
.
hugs,
musical.
Sig, I was in Seattle 2 weeks back. I was busy and it totally skipped my mind that you live there. We were driving around Pikes market and I remembered you mentioning it.
Next time I will let you know.
Thanks for an interesting and informative introduction to a new ingredient.
I never would have guessed that. I’ve seen the dried version once before and it looked like yours but I really would like to see this one (from Inji Pennu’s blog)in all it’s metallic blue glory:
http://myinjimanga.blogspot.com/2006/04/guess-spice-kudampuli.html
Jeez, I did not know that kokum looked like that in ‘his’ youth. The dried kokum that I use does not look wrinkly at all
But the pictures are beautiful!
I have been trying to explain to people the green fruit which i loved to eat when I was younger…in Mumbai and Chennai. Didnt know what it was called and definitely didnt know it was kudampuli and that it dried up like this!! Thanks for the info!
[...] is yet another post with no recipe, I am on vacation after all! Since we all had so much fun with Kudampuli, here is another spice in its natural form. This one is more popular, it is used all over the [...]
Oh oh…I had not seen this post. I am glad to see the kudampuli fruit. Its gorgeous. And I love your reply to comment #26
Hi Sigma, very funky name. Thanx for confirming that kudam puli and kokam are not the same.My wife always was very vociferous about this but I was cynical about her belief.Yes a lot of cookbooks do perpetuate this myth about kokum being same as kodam puli. Ta