Now that the mercury is rising, refreshing summer coolers are back on the menu. People are flocking to juice stalls and roadside stands that have popped up all over the place, to gulp down glassfuls of ice-cold drinks to beat the heat. Sample some hot favourite thirst-quenchers that are easy on the pocket too.
SHARJAH SHAKE
Foodies in the city have been in love with the thick, creamy, fruity drink since the mid-90s, and just about every one has his/her favourite combination of ingredients that go into the concoction, not to mention juice shops where they insist they ‘serve the best Sharjah’. Essentially, a Sharjah shake is a banana milkshake ( njaalippoovan , they say, gives the best flavour) with a few quirky touches – with or without a dollop of ice-cream; with or without a handful peanuts, kappalandi muttai (peanut candy), cashew nuts, almonds and the like (or all of them combined); with a dash of Horlicks or Bournvita, or chocolate power…We do recommend the nuts, for the Sharjah is best when it’s thick and crunchy. So popular is the beverage that it’s now spawned a whole range of variations, from apple Sharjahs and strawberry Sharjahs to chocolate and dry fruit ones.
Did you know? A Sharjah shake with cherry is called an Abu Dhabi shake!
KULUKKI SARBATH
Everyone seems to be taking a leaf from James Bond this summer wanting glassfuls of this ‘shaken, not stirred’ thirst-buster. As the name suggests, Kulukki sarbath, has been shaking things up a bit in the summer cooler scene lately – no surprise, it’s even got a Facebook page! Just about every juice shop or roadside juice stall now has a version of this spicy concoction, served shaken. There seems to be a few must-haves for every variety of the sarbath: Naruneendi syrup, soaked basil seeds ( kasa kasa , in local parlance), fresh lime juice and generous helping of liquidised bird’s eye chilli ( kanthari mulaku ), plus heaps of ice shavings. Enterprising shopkeepers often give their own twist to the drink, with the likes of crushed ginger, grape juice, glucose, salt and even raw mangoes in brine ( uppillitta manga ) going into the mixture, always, always finishing it up with a few quick shakes in true Martini style.
Trade secret: Add a dash of instant fruit juice powder to get that extra punch
SPICED SAMBHARAM
Ye old favourite still finds pride of place in the list of top thirst-quenchers, though the ingredients and taste have undergone a sea change from plain buttermilk of yore. A couple of shallots, curry leaves and a green chilli or two added to the buttermilk is no longer enough, it seems. Nowadays, it has to be ‘spiced’, read mixed with coriander leaves, mint leaves, mango, pineapple, ginger, asafoetida powder, garlic, green chilli, lemon, yellow lantern chilli, kanthari mulaku , bilimbi ( pulinjikka ), pineapple… Spiced or not, sambharam is refreshing, cool and it’s healthy to boot – far more than any other cooler around, in fact. It’s to be found in almost all restaurants that serve ethnic food and if you’re on the road, they’re also available in a couple of specialised joints in the East Fort area.
Wow factor: It’s sugarless!
NONGU JUICE
For better or for worse, nongu (fruit of the palmyrah) has been trumping good ol’ elaneer (tender coconut water) as a thirst-buster for the past several summers now. Point in case, the many Kelpalm outlets and scores of mobile units and roadside stalls that have sprung up across the city and, especially, all along the National Highway. It speaks much for the popularity of a fruit that is known for its cooling effect. Nongu is, of course, best had plain. However, vendors do often add a bit of pizzazz by adding fruits such as pineapple, grapes and apples and/or syrups such as naruneendi and rooh afza.
Top tip: Tender nongu is the tastiest
NARUNEENDI SARBATH
Who knew that the root of the Indian sarasaparilla, which is said to have medicinal properties, once boiled in sugar syrup and lemon juice, would find so many takers in the city? Naruneendi (also called nannari) is an acquired taste at best and rather unpalatable when the syrup is simply mixed with plain water.
Squeeze a bit of lime into it, as most vendors do, and the flavour will just explode in the mouth. It’s so versatile a syrup that it goes with every other syrups like strawberry, pista, orange, fruits, ice-cream... Best to keep it simple, though.
Must-have: Milk sarbath. It’s naruneendi syrup mixed with ice-cold milk. Need we say more?
FRUIT COCKTAIL
What happens when you throw together all kinds of summer fruits with some ice and sugar syrup? Voilà! Fruit cocktail. It ’s actually a (surprisingly) filling meal of fruit rather than a drink per se and can be found in a few mobile units around town and on the NH bypass. Diced seasonal fruits such as melons ( shamam as locals call it), pears, apple, green and red grapes, papaya, pineapple, pomegranates, sapota, and robusta bananas often go into the cocktail. Oranges are usually left out of the mixture as they make it bitter, so too ‘palayamkodan’ variety of banana, which can make it gooey, not to mention, sour. In some joints, fruit juices, naruneendi and even custard go into the mixture.
Winning deal: It’s a light meal in itself
ICE TEA
It’s just green/black tea with ice but it has become a must-have summer sipper, especially for the upwardly mobile generation. Ice-tea has of late been appearing on menus in restaurants across the city, though it’s yet to make the journey to roadside stalls, making it one of the more expensive coolers on the list. The idea is to steep the tea (loose tea leaves works best) long enough to release the flavours, but not so long that the tannins take over and it becomes bitter. In other words, five minutes, tops. Although some may argue there is only one way to drink it – sweet and iced – ice teas often come flavoured with cranberry or strawberry-falvoured syrups. Our favourite is what’s known as the classic – sweet ice-tea with a good squirt of fresh lime juice, stirred together and topped with sprig of mint.
For tipplers: There’s always Long Island Ice Tea
ALSO ON THE MENU
Watermelon juice: Available on carts across the city. It often comes mixed with peanuts and bits of pineapple.
Lime juice a.k.a. bonji vellam: Every murukkan kada to glam restaurant serves this eternal favourite. Can be customised as sweet or salty or sweet and salty – the best is when its both sweet and salty.
Tender coconut water: All natural. Beats aerated drinks any day
Sugarcane juice: One stick equals one tall glass. To get that extra punch add ginger, garlic, green chilli, mint and lime juice.
BE AWARE
Roadside kiosks don’t always follow food safety rules and are not for the faint-hearted.
Ensure the stalls meet your hygiene standards before you try something; wherever there is a crowd does not mean it’s hygienic.
Make sure the water and ice used in the drinks is pure or at least, bottled; most vendors will explain their source, if asked.
Don’t look at the vendor’s hands.
