Roses are good for health and are known for their cooling effect when consumed. Since the summers are arriving, here are few refreshing drinks which you can make at home and that too with the benefits of roses.
Take organic and chemical free flowers and take out the yellow white part from the petals.
Gulab Sharbat – Take 1 1/2 cup rose petals, crush them with hands and place them in a bowl. Pour 3/4th cup boiling water to it and add few cardamom seeds, set aside and leave overnight. In the morning strain the mix and add 3/4th cup sugar to it and place this bowl of the mixture over a bowl of hot water, this will help in dissolving the sugar. Cool and mix with ice and enjoy.
Rose Syrup and Rose Milk– Wash 2 cups organic rose petals and soak them in 6 cup water and leave overnight. Next morning add 2 tsp beetroot juice for color and simmer for 5 minutes. To this add 4 cups sugar and let it dissolve on a low flame. Let it boil and keep on cooking till it reaches the consistency needed for a syrup that is one string. Once done let the mixture cool and strain and store it in a bottle and keep it in fridge. Your basic ingredient Rose Syrup is ready and it can be used in number of drinks for summers.
For Rose milk keep the milk in freezer for some time, and when you are ready for preparation, take it out and put it into a mixer jar, to one cup of milk add 3 tbsp rose syrup, 1 tsp almond paste or fresh cream if you like a thick flavor and blend. If you find the almond or the cream too heavy then leave it. Rose milk is ready, garnish with rose petals. While making for kids, you can add a scoop of vanilla or strawberry ice cream too.
Rose and Mint Sharbat– Take petals of around 30 roses, clean and crush them. Boil 2 cup water,and remove from heat, now add the crushed petals into it and leave it overnight. In a blender grind 1 beetroot, 20 Tulsi leaves and 20 mint leaves and 1 tsp coriander leaves with a little water. Take it in a pan and shimmer it for few minutes to remove the rawness of vegetables. In a separate bowl mix 3 cup sugar with a cup of water and shimmer to make a syrup. In a dry grinder mix 2 cup sugar and few cardamom and grind. After everything cools down strain beetroot mix and the rose water into a bowl. To this add the sugar syrup and the sugar powder. Now add lemon juice of fresh lemons to this mixture according to your taste. Strain this mixture and store it in a bottle and keep in fridge. When you want to use mix few tsp with water and ice and serve chilled.
Image reference: Pinterest
