Restaurants and pubs in the city have come up with a number of unique concoctions to help people, who walk in tired of the hot and humid weather, beat the heat. Incorporating watermelon, mango, melon, mint, tamarind, tea, coffee and a variety of flavoured syrups and lots of ice, mixologists are shaking things up to create new trends this season.
Bright colours, fresh garnishes and quirky glasses add a visual charm to help the customers get the streets out of their mind before they settle in for a meal.
A trend that has caught on this summer is to take the humble “chuski” off the streets and give it a new avatar by infusing new flavours and spiking it with flavoured spirits.
The summer treat, for which hoards of people would throng India Gate late into the night, was often shunned for the artificial flavouring and the questionable quality of ice. But now, it seems to have found a place on the menu in some of the Capital’s swankiest eateries.
“The first time I saw someone enjoying a chuski at a restaurant, I wasted no time in ordering one myself. It was a take on the ‘kala khatta’ that had pepper vodka in it. It took me back to the days when I used to rush to the chuski bhaiya outside my school gate before getting into the car,” said Ankita Tiwari.
The chuski cocktail seems to be catching on with those trying something new, said bartender Sunny Bhatia, who first started making them when he used to work for a wedding catering company.
“You can customise it, carry it around, and even drink it if you have not finished it before the ice melts. What is better is that we use fresh ingredients so it does not leave that awful colouring in your mouth like the street version does,” said Mr. Bhatia.
Any traditional cocktail, a Margarita for instance, that uses a lot of crushed ice can be given a chuski makeover, he added.
It’s a fun thing to make at home as well, says Nishant Nair who uses popsicle trays to cut fresh fruit and make Sangria popsicles.
Restaurants like Coast Café and Raasta are among some of the restaurants that have come up with a special menu. At Raasta, they have christened it as ChuskuTail and have come up with seven new flavours that include the Jager Bomb chuski and a Baileys chuski.
At Coast Café, the iced delights are more fresh with watermelon and other summery flavours.
Any traditional cocktail, a Margarita for instance, that uses a lot of crushed ice can been given a chuski makeover
