Indian food is known for its use of heady spices and strong flavours. Along with hot curries and rich meats, we also have a taste for delicate dishes and subtle fragrances.
A week ago, when I attended a cookery session along with a few friends, the conversation drifted to the availability of authentic rose water in the market. Intrigued with the idea of using home-made rose water in my dishes, I decided to give it a try. The process seemed rather easy. The most important thing was where one sourced the blooms from. Organically cultivated roses are the safest choice for obvious reasons. Another was the flower variety. The most commonly variety for rose water and rose oil is the Rosa damascena to which the Indian gulab belongs. Luckily, the plants in my garden were in full bloom.
Every time I think of rose water, my earliest memory is of my mother dampening cotton balls with the fragrant liquid and placing it over our eyes. Thinking back now, I realise that not only did it soothe after a long day at school but also helped us get into sleep mode. Rose milk was a favourite drink that we got as an occasional treat.
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I love making pistachio-and-rosewater cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting. I also like to add rose water to watermelon, mint and feta salad. And a rose water granita is both easy to make and heavenly to taste.
And so on to my attempt at making rose water. As this was my first try, I selected only those blooms that were starting to wither. After washing the petals, I added them to a pan of distilled water. There are two ways to making rose water. One in which the water is simmered for 20 minutes until the petals lose their colour. Once the liquid cooled, the petals are strained. Nothing prepared me for the intense colour. The water turns a deep bright pink.
All these years, I’ve known rose water only as a colourless liquid so I almost thought my experiment wasn’t real. But the fact that I had not covered it while simmering and also used a metal pan made a drastic difference. The taste was right but the scent clearly lacked the proper “rosy-ness”.
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The next time, I decided to try another technique. I heated the distilled water until it began to simmer and poured it over the cleaned rose petals. This was then left to steep for about five hours. The liquid was of the same colour and the fragrance was more discernible. Choose the most fragrant blooms to make rose water. Adding a few drops of rose essential oil is another option.
The less aromatic rose water has been set aside as a skin toner. It feels good to pamper your skin just before bed. I also made rose syrup. The process is similar to making sugar syrup. Drizzle it on ice cream or as a glaze on a sponge cake or even to add a special touch to a rose-flavoured kulfi.
Once you get the hang of it, there are plenty of options. A rose jelly served with fresh fruit is a great dessert.
But then it’s also one of those things that appeals more to women. I can almost hear the boys grumbling, “Who wants to eat food made with flowers?” Just leaves more for us, doesn’t it ?
Home-made rose water
Ingredients
Organic edible roses 7-8
Distilled water 2 Cups
Glass or ceramic bowl
Method: Remove the petals from the stem and wash thoroughly in cold water. Place in the bowl. Heat distilled water until it simmers gently. Pour over the rose petals. Cover and let steep for about five hours or overnight. Strain and pour into a sterile glass bottle. Refrigerate.