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Coolers and shakers

A mocktail can be the best bet for an alcohol-free fun at a party, says Harjeet Kaur Allagh

Photo: Mohammed Yousuf

STAY COOL As the soaring temperature parches your throat, a wide range of mocktails are there to quench your thirst.

Mocktails are unique and refreshing drinks that do not contain alcohol. At least two factors are working in favour of popularising mocktails. To become a teetotaller is fashionable. Alarmed by the disastrous effects of alcohol on men, pregnant women and their babies, the tribe switching over to soft drinks and juices is growing by the day.

The sight of corporate honchos swigging heady cocktails at a hi-fi party while discussing business strategies need not make you feel isolated. Remind yourself of the delightful option you have to chill out with a different drink in your hands. Mocktails are special drinks, garnished and served in an array of tangs that are slightly bitter, sour or sweet.

Party scene apart, even the common man on the road swears by these drinks for a different purpose though. The blazing sun has prompted many to cash in on the cooling effect of traditional drinks like mango panna, jal jeera or the humble buttermilk. Mangi, a housewife and an innovative cook, shares a special recipe for making mango panna.

Ingredients required for it include raw mango, cumin seed powder, sugar, black salt, common salt and mint leaves. Boil the mango and remove its pulp. Add other ingredients and crushed mint leaves and strain through a colander. Add lots of water and serve chilled after garnishing it with fresh mint leaves. Mangi says this is the most simple and best option to beat the summer heat.

Dash of zing

The ubiquitous buttermilk can also be spiced up by adding in it a dash of lime, ginger, curry leaves, coriander, pepper and cumin powder. Sunita, a housewife, relies on the many recipes she has to bring down the heat effect in summer. Instead of serving plain soft drinks, she prefers to get inventive and serve a Sprite with a Strawberry cordial, lending it magenta colour and adding fizz to it. Khus syrup in green can be served chilled with a lime cordial. A nutritious and cool drink that she takes daily is a carrot and cucumber juice blended with mint and ginger. It is low in calories as there is no sugar in it.

Presenting mocktails in a desirable way is an art. The drink should be served in long stemmed or tall glasses and garnished with a variety of fruits and other accessories. Fancy straws, drink umbrellas and stir sticks are a few embellishments to start with. Depending on the drink, one can make use of carrot sticks, pineapple slices, lemon wedges, orange wheels, bunch of grapes, a kiwi slice sprigs of mint or basil. Ruby has specialized in serving iced tea. "A steaming cup of tea is the last thing preferred in summer. Those addicted to the dark beverage have the choice of iced tea," she points out. The recipe she suggests is: Take a tall glass and pour crushed ice into its base. Then pour some lemonade and top it with tea decoction. When cooled, mix it with mint leaves. Garnish the glass with a lemon ring on the glass along with a sprig of mint. "It is the ultimate cooler and shaker to beat the heat," she emphasizes.

Blending, puréeing or mixing innovative drinks just takes a little imagination and can be done with easily available fruits and ingredients. "A combination of lemon juice and pomegranate juice or even strawberry juice can give you a colourful drink made in a jiffy," says Anu, a mother of two.

Pina Colada

A Pina Colada is an all-time favourite of Lata, an entrepreneur. To prepare this drink, it takes three glasses of pineapple juice, three cups of coconut milk, three cups of ice vanilla cream and sugar to taste. Blend all the ingredients well, chill and serve it in tall cocktail glasses, dressed with pineapple wedges and a paper umbrella. "It is a wrong notion that these drinks are made only in star hotels. With little effort and an equal dose of imagination, we can make them at home," she says. Funky names like double trouble, green with envy, pineapple fizz, lemon iced tea, summer cooler, creamy milk, fruit punchor mango merry add the zing thing to these drinks.

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