Rooh Afza, Summer Drink of The East
I've featured sharbat (the South Asian equivalent of the Western chocolate milk for kids) in the past. The key ingredient in sharbat is a product called Rooh Afza, which is a syrup made of flower petals such as Gulab (Rose), coriander seeds, kewra and watermelon extract. It literally translates to "that which tempts your soul".
Rooh Afza is fairly versatile and is used in many other drinks and desserts. One such recipe is similar to sharbat, but without the milk and nuts. I often make this drink when I need to cool off a bit. It's very refreshing and light.
Ingredients
1 quart ice cubes
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
8-3/4 cups water, to taste
Preparation
For the simple syrup: In a saucepan, dissolve the sugar in 3/4 cup of water. Bring to a near boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Let the syrup cool completely.
Assembly time: Combine the simple syrup and Rooh Afza syrup. Dissolve the syrup with water.
Serve over ice in tall glasses; stir and enjoy with pink cookies.
Enjoy!
Tips
You can omit the simple syrup and just use the Rooh Afza, if you're health-conscious.
I prefer using superfine sugar. It's fine-grained sugar and it dissolves much more quickly than regular granulated sugar.
If you like a lemony taste, add the juice of 10 lemons (about 1-1/2 cups) and reduce the same amount of water.
The girls like to make the drink fizzy by adding seltzer water (or even Coke), in place of water.
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About Jackie
Hi! My name is Jacqueline Pham and I am a self-taught home cook based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am French-Vietnamese, born and raised in Paris, France. I live with my husband Lulu and his family.
My hubby's family is from India, so our home is a melting pot of cultures and cuisines with all the rewards and challenges that you can imagine. There are vegetarians, meat-lovers and allergies of every kind. This site is a way for me to share my love of food and interact with all you Femme Fatales out there putting food on the table for your loved ones everyday.
