5 mocktail recipes to prepare this summer

Indian summers are known to be hot and dry in the plains and humid on the coast. To beat the wrath of the scorching sun, one definitely stocks the fridge with cool stuff like pitchers filled with fresh juice, veggies like celery and cucumber, and tubs of frozen yoghurt, ice creams, and granite.

It is always tempting to lean towards alcohol. But a non-alcoholic mocktail offers a hangover-less and dizzy-less yummy option. So it is time to chill with fruity, bubbly, and sparkling punches. Mocktails at home can be really simple and cool. One needs to just have an ample amount of fresh fruits, tonic water, soda, some aromatic spices, herbs and condiments, and loads of fresh ice. A few apparatuses that come in handy are shakers and stirrers. A few refreshing mocktails are shared to cool the summers.

Wood Apple and Coconut Refresher

• Cook time: 30 minutes
• Serves: 4 per
• Type: Drink

Ingredients:

• Wood apple: 5-6
• Coconut milk: 2 cups
• Palm sugar: ¼ cup (can be adjusted as per taste)
• Cumin powder: 1 tsp.
• Green cardamom powder: ½ tsp.
• Black salt: 1 -1 ½ tsp.
• Mint leaves: 5-6
• Lemon juice: 2 tbsps.
• Warm water: 2 cups

Method:

1. Break open the outer shell of the wood apple and scoop out the pulp. Soak the pulp in warm water for 20- 25 minutes. This will soften the pulp and it can be mashed up well. After 20 -25 minutes mash up the pulp either with a masher or with your hands. Strain the juice using a strainer. Extract every bit of the juice.
2. Put this in the refrigerator to chill.
3. Roast the cumin powder on a hot girdle till a nice aroma comes out. Take a bowl and pour in coconut milk. Add palm sugar, roasted cumin powder, green cardamom powder, and black salt. Stir well. To this add the chilled wood apple juice and mix well.
4. Crush mint leaves and lemon juice and mix them into the wood apple refresher.
5. Take a tall chilled glass and add in a few ice cubes. Pour in the refresher and serve cold.

2. Grapefruit and lemon coolant

• Cook time: 30 minutes
• Serves: 4 per
• Type: Drink

Ingredients

• Grapefruit: 4 (ripe)
• Lemon: 2-3
• Green chillies: 1-2
• Black Salt: 2 tsp.
• Mint leaves: 6-7
• Sugar: 4 tbsps.
• Ginger ale flavoured soda: 500ml

Method:

1. Cut the grapefruit in half. Separate the fruit from the pith. After this segments have to be separated from the fruit like one would do with an orange. Gently remove the membrane from the segment and deseed. Put the actual fruit or the pulp into a bowl.
2. In a mixer grind green chillies with salt into a fine paste. Add the paste to the grapefruit pulp. Squeeze in a couple of lemons. For more tartness, another one can be added. Finely chop mint leaves and add them to the fruit along with sugar. Mash the whole thing in the bowl gently so that there are some juice and some pulp.
3. Divide this equally into 4 parts and pour them into tall glasses. Top them up with ginger ale-flavoured soda.
4. Ice cubes can be added to chill the drink.

(Tip: Grapefruit is known as Chakotra in Hindi. They turn bitter once exposed to air. So care should be taken to cut it and have it immediately within 20-30 minutes.)

3. Ruby delight

Ingredients:

• Watermelon: 1
• Cranberry juice: 500 ml
• Cumin powder: 1 tsp.
• Buttermilk spice powder: 1-2 tsp.
• Salt: to taste
• Sugar: to taste
• Lemon-flavoured soft drink: 500 ml

Method:

1. Wash and cut the melon into cubes. Deseed them and put them in a blender. Blend it well with roasted cumin powder, buttermilk spice powder, sugar, and salt. Take it out in a bowl.
2. Mix in the cranberry juice and loads of ice.
3. Prepare a martini glass with salt on the rim and a slice of lemon.
4. Put a couple of cubes of ice at the bottom. Fill the glass ¾ with the juice and top it up with soda.
5. Serve chilled.

4. Fizzy Mango Cooler

• Cook time: 10 minutes
• Serves: 4 per
• Type: Drink

Ingredients:

• Mango juice: 500 ml
• Or
• Alphonso: 4-5
• Mango ginger: 1 inch
• Coriander leaves: 2-3 sprigs
• Rock salt: to taste
• Soda: 500 ml

Method:

1. Wash and remove the skin if fresh mangoes are used. Remove the stone and chop the pulp into cubes. Put them into a blender and blend them well with the mango ginger.
2. Pour the juice into a bowl with some ice. If readymade juice is used, the steps from here can be followed.
3. Chop coriander leaves finely and adds them to the bowl. Season with some rock salt.
4. Fill a hurricane glass with the mocktail till ¾. Top it up with soda.

5. Pina Colada with a twist

• Cook time: 10 minutes
• Serve: 8 per
• Type: Drink

Ingredients:

• Pineapple: 1 small
• Pineapple juice: 500 ml
• Coconut ice cream: 500 ml
• Lemongrass: 1 stalk
• Sugar: to taste

Method:

1. Wash, clean and chop pineapple into very small chunks: Reserve a cup and churn the rest into a fine pulp. Pass it through a sieve to get a smooth texture. Take this out in a bowl.
2. Add the pineapple juice and the cup of pineapple to the pulp.
3. Take a saucepan and boil a couple of cups of water. Add in the lemongrass and simmer for 5 minutes. Cool the lemongrass-flavoured water. Pour this cool water into the pineapple juice.
4. Add in the ice cream and mix well.
5. Serve them chilled with some ice on a broad mocktail glass.

Summertime is enjoying refreshing and hydrating drinks. The season offers the best water-laden fruits and vegetables. It is also a time to stay away from the heat of the stove as much as possible. So adorn the bartender’s robe and get, set, and shake!!