I have grown up drinking this Sherbet-e-Roohafza or Natural Herbal drink like most other Indians of my age. It has been a regular in most north Indian homes. I remember not liking it much as a kid and mom had to force it down my throat but once I grew up, I learned the goodness packed in it and incorporated it in my list of summer drinks. South India is used to be a far away market and most of the north Indian products were elusive to the buyer. I remember my mom asking the retailer to procure stuff for her. Roohafza sometimes was not available in the market and my mom used to substitute it with Rose syrup but we all disliked it.
Peninsular India is extremely humid in summer due to its proximity to the sea while North India has these dry summer winds known as ‘loo’-yes loo, not the crappy kind! The special Unani recipe of Rooh Afza is a combination of a few herbal ingredients believed to be cooling agents, which are used as a remedy against the hot summer winds. It is a concentrated syrup to give flavour to drinks, cold milkshakes, and cold desserts. Roohafza is available in most Indian stores.
Herbs, Fruits Roots, Vegetables and Flowers like rose and kewra (Pandanus odoratissimus) and fruits like lemon and orange.
Belonging to a traditional and Unani family, Roohafza is not aggressively endorsed by celebrities and thus not as popular like the multinational cola drinks, yet it has managed to withstand the tough competition survive in the market. It has its niche customers who know that this drink is really healthy and it does not need any marketing gimmicks to retain its foothold.
The name Roohafza comes from the Persian language, rooh means soul and afza means, that which nourishes the soul or uplifts your spirit. Isn’t that reason enough to have this cooling elixir that brings down body heat in summer?
The dark rose coloured syrup is cloyingly sweet; hence, the syrup needs to be used sparingly and needs to be liquefied in water or milk. The aromatic and heavy rose flavours of this drink are exquisite.
Ingredients
¾ th glass of water – chilled
1 tbsp Roohafza syrup
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lime juice
Few Lime Slices
Ice cubes (optional)
Method
In a fancy glass pour the Roohafza.
Dissolve the sugar in two tbsp of water and add to the glass.
Add the lime juice and lime slices.
Add ice cubes as you to serve it cold in summer.
Pour the cold water and stir well.
Sip it slowly and let the natural cooling herbs in the Roohafza cool you inside out.
Such an easy way to cool your parched throat, isn’t it? You can make a huge pitcher of this sherbet and store it in the refrigerator and sip it through the day.
Summer Coolers Sherbet-e-Roohafza or Natural Herbal drink or sherbet as we call it in India is actually thirst quenching.
Some more drinks to cool you this summer are Butter Milk, Aam Panna Mango Drink Ice Apple Sherbet Mango Iced Tea Sugarcane Juice Coconut Water Lemon Iced Tea Lychee Mojito Mango Mojito
