Garcinia
The sour, smoked rind of a Western Ghats fruit, dried until black. Kerala cooks call it kudampuli and put it in fish curry.
- Settles Kapha
- Settles Vata
- Can raise Pitta
How Ayurveda reads garcinia
- Rasa · taste
- Sour, astringent (amla, kaṣāya)
- Guṇa · nature
- Light, dry (laghu, rūkṣa)
- Vīrya · potency
- Heating (uṣṇa)
- Vipāka · after digestion
- Sour (amla)
- Part used
- Fruit rind, dried
Reviewed by the Vapika team.
In the tradition
Two Western Ghats fruits are called vṛkṣāmla, "sour of the tree": kokum (Garcinia indica) on the Konkan coast, and Malabar tamarind (G. gummi-gutta) in Kerala. Which one the texts meant is debated. Ours, sold as "garcinia cambogia", is the Malabar tamarind.
How Ayurveda reads it
Vrikshamla is sour and astringent, light and dry, and heating. It is described as kindling the digestive fire and settling Kapha and Vata.
In the Indian kitchen
Kudampuli is the souring agent of Kerala fish curry, meen pollichathu and meen vevichathu, soaked and torn into the pot instead of tamarind. Kokum makes sol kadhi and summer sharbat on the Konkan coast.
How we use it
We use the dried rind in our Garcinia & Trikatu and Gokshura Ashwagandha kahwas, for a sour lift.
Garcinia in our blends
From the texts: Bhāvaprakāśa Nighaṇṭu, Āmrādi phala varga (vṛkṣāmla).
For learning, not diagnosis. If you are pregnant, nursing or on medication, please speak to your doctor first.