R brought to my mind Roohafza first as I thought of my theme, and when I asked my DD what she could think of, she came up with ‘rangoli’ (or kolam as we call it in our mother-tongue Tamil) and ‘rasgulla’ as well as ‘rasmalai’.

But for today, I present Roohafzah – with summer soon upon us, this is going to be a refreshing post!!

Roohafza – Word Origins – ‘Rooh’ means the soul; and ‘Afza’ means ‘that which nurtures/nourishes’, so there you have it – that which nourishes the soul – Roohafza! And a sip of this drink (taken in your favorite version) certainly does that. Growing up, mom always had a bottle of Roohafza in the fridge and hot summer afternoons were cooled down by a soul-nourishing flavored milk, a beautiful pink in color; or by a bright-red, ice-cold juice where it was mixed with water. And many a time, I took an extra spoon to add to my milk, just to lick it off. It might be too sweet for some tastes but a little bit of it added to cold milk is pure heaven – in looks and taste and its refreshing, nourishing, energizing, healing, soothing powers.

Containing herbs, fruits, vegetables, flowers, and roots that were specially chosen for their cooling properties, Roohafza is the perfect summer drink and popular in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and parts of the Middle East.  First made in 1907, it definitely has over a century of sweetness behind it and its branding as a natural, herbal nourisher with a unique sweetness all its own, and a strong cultural following over the decades mean it is here to stay!

And now, I enjoy it with my kids. While they have also mainly taken it with a glass of cold milk or like a lassi (with buttermilk/yogurt) so far, I have discovered wonderful recipes that I know we will all enjoy.  Here are some of the links that you can try out too. Roohafza is available to buy in the US in many Indian and Pakistani grocery stores as well as online.