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Rooh Afza (Rose Water Tonic)

Rooh Afza (Rose Water Tonic) is a traditional Indian recipe for a classic tonic concentrate made with rose petal water, spices, lemon juice and pomegranate juice. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Indian dish of: Rooh Afza (Rose Water Tonic).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

20 minutes

Total Time:

40 minutes

Additional Time:

(+over-night steeping)

Makes:

1 bottle

Rating:

Tags : Indian Recipes

Rooh Afza is a commercial tonic sold in India and Pakistan and which is used as the basis for a whole range of drinks. Its use is so ubiquitous, and it's so hard to find outside the sub-Continent that we came up with this recipe for a replacement or substitute for those who can not find it easily. The commercial blend is more complex than this one, but the essence of the drink is captured here.

Ingredients:

160g freshly-picked rose petals
400ml boiling water
1 1/2 tsp green cardamom seeds
2 pieces of Cassia bark
300g sugar
300ml lemon juice
560ml pomegranate juice
1.2l water

Method:

Crush the rose petals in batches using a pestle and mortar until they form a paste. Place in a large bowl and mix-in the boiling water, cassia bark and cardamom seeds. Set aside to steep over night.

The following day strain the mixture through a fine-meshed strainer or a cheesecloth into a clean bowl. Meanwhile, combine the sugar, lemon juice and pomegranate juice in a saucepan bring to a boil and boil gently until the volume has reduced by just over a half. Take off the heat and set aside to cool then mix in with the rose water. Bottle and store in the refrigerator

To serve, mix the concentrate with 1.5l water and serve over crushed ice. Note — if you are using this preparation in a recipe in place of commercial Rooh Afza you will need to add for times the volume recommended in the recipe.