The name Roohafza instantly transports me to my childhood days. As a kid, I would return home from school and quickly change into comfortable clothes while my mother would be preparing a glass of this chilled, red-coloured drink in the kitchen. I would gulp it down in one go and then hope for another refill, if I was lucky. The sweet, rose-flavoured syrup would arrive in this plastic bottle and just a spoonful of it mixed in water could do wonders to satiate the thirst.
In India, given the weather and geographical conditions, it gets really hot in certain parts of the country during the summer months. In such a scenario, chilled and refreshing drinks like aam panna, nimbu paani, roohafza and the like are prepared and drunk at home. Currently, the holy month of Ramazan is also going on and Muslims across the world are observing day-long fasts only to break it in the evening after sunset during iftar. While the heavy, meaty and greasy dishes that form a core part of iftar meals sound very tempting, the unbearable heat also makes it essential to keep the body cool.
To quench the thirst and refresh you this summer, Chef Kunal Kapur shares an easy Roohafza recipe for Ramadan. This quick recipe is prepared in a matter of a few minutes and is perfect to serve your guests and family members during the festive season. To make Roohafza at home, a large glass is taken and lemon juice is squeezed into it. This is followed by black salt, rose syrup or roohafza, pepper powder and mint leaves. Muddle all of this together. Next, soak chia seeds in water for some time. Once they are bloomed, you can add them to the top of your glass. Pop in some ice cubes and pour chilled soda.
Stir the ingredients in the glass and your concoction is ready to be devoured right away. Since the rose syrup is sweet, you wouldn’t need any additional sugar in the drink. If you do not wish to add soda to your drink, you can replace it with chilled water too. Also, if you don’t find chia seeds easily available, then you can use basil seeds instead by soaking them in water.
Sounds a refreshing treat right? Here is a detailed recipe by Chef Kunal Kapur as shared on his Instagram handle.
Source: Chef Kunal Kapur/Instagram