Sharbat is often seasoned with coriander.
Sharbat is generally considered to be a sweet-tasting and fragrant drink that is usually made up of Rooh Afza syrup, cardamom seeds, pistachios, cashews and almonds. Most often it is diluted with water, milk, or evaporated milk and served over ice. The drink is popular in India and Pakistan, and most people drink it during extremely hot summers to avoid dehydration. Rooh Afza syrup, which is responsible for the pink color of sharbat, is usually made from various herbs, watermelon extract, coriander seeds and rose petals. People who don’t live in India can buy it in Pakistani or Indian grocery stores if they can’t find it in a local grocery store.
A can of evaporated milk, which is used to make sharbat.
Until the 1950s, sharbat was generally considered the sweet drink of choice in India and Pakistan. When Coca-Cola® was launched, many people began to choose it. Sharbat, however, is still widely consumed and is occasionally served in restaurants, sometimes as a syrup to serve over various desserts. There are several ways to prepare it, some of which include the addition of alcohol. Varying the herbs and flowers used to make the drink can give it a different flavor and aroma.
Coriander seeds are used in Rooh Afza syrup, which gives sharbat its pink color.
A common method of making sharbat is to grind a teaspoon (5 ml) of cardamom seeds in a mortar. One and a half cups (360 ml) of Rooh Afza syrup and eight cups (1920 ml) of fine grain sugar are then dissolved in one gallon (4 quarts) of whole milk. Nuts, such as almonds, cashews, and pistachios, are finely ground and mixed with milk, along with powdered cardamom seeds and two teaspoons (10 ml) of vanilla extract. Some people taste the drink at this point and add more Rooh Afza syrup or sugar if the mixture doesn’t taste sweet enough. Sharbat is usually refrigerated overnight and consumed the next day.
Cardamom is a typical ingredient of sharbat.
Although sharbat is generally considered to be a drink native to India, the Turks and Persians may have brought it with them when they invaded the area centuries ago. Some people use the old method to prepare the drink. The essence of the flowers was added to corn syrup, which was usually made by boiling sugar cane juice. Now that corn syrup is generally available in most supermarkets, it doesn’t have to be made from scratch. When making sharbat, corn syrup is still used occasionally.