Ayurveda expert suggests 10 natural cooling drinks to beat the heat
There are many seasonal fruits, herbs and spices that have cooling properties and can be used to prepare refreshing drinks from sattu sharbat, bael sharbat to pudina sharbat.
Come summer and we are naturally inclined to have more of drinks and beverages rather than high-calorie snacks and oily food. While this gives one an opportunity to detox and improve overall well-being, the sugar-sweetened and canned soft drinks, juices and ice-creams end up creating trouble for us and increase risk of obesity and chronic diseases like diabetes. Drinking too much carbonated drinks also harm your oral health and can cause tooth decay, while soft drinks are also known to damage kidney and increase risk of heart disease. (Also read: 5 refreshing detox drinks you must have this summer)
To avoid any such health troubles, one can make a smarter choice by opting for natural and homemade drinks. There are many seasonal fruits, lentils, herbs and spices that have cooling properties and can be used to prepare refreshing drinks such as sattu sharbat, bael sharbat, pudina sharbat and khus sharbat to name a few.
Ayurveda expert Dr Dixa Bhavsar in her recent post shared 10 natural cooling drinks to beat the heat in summer season:
1. Fennel Sharbat
Take a bowl, add 2 teaspoon of fennel powder. Add rock sugar (misri/khand) as per taste. Add 2 glasses of water and mix them well. And your delicious cooling fennel drink is ready to drink.
2. Sattu Energy Drink
Extremely cooling and best source of easily digestible protein during summers, sattu sharbat is a popular choice of fitness enthusiasts.
Mix 1 tsp sattu powder in a glass of water, add pinch of roasted cumin and pink salt and add some jaggery in it and it is ready.
3. Pudina Sharbat
Take 2-3 glasses of water, add handul of mint leaves in it and small pieces of rock sugar (as per taste) and grind it thoroughtly. Then add half lemon and rock salt (as per taste), strain and sip the most delicious mint drink.
4. Gulkand Shots
Take 1 glass of milk, add 1 tbsp gulkand in it and mix it with the hand blender. Then enjoy small shots of gulkand milk mixture with your family.
5. Paan Shots
Take 4 paan (betel leaves) torn into small pieces, 4 tsp gulkand, 1 tsp fennel seeds, 1 tsp grated coconut, 1 tbsp rock sugar/misri (optional) and 1/4th cup water.
First of all add the pieces of paan in the mixer. Then add all other ingredients except water and blend them for a few seconds. Add water and blend until smooth. Your paan shots are ready.
6. Bilva or Bael Sharbat
Take bilva fruit. Cut it from the middle and take out the inner soft pulp. Soak the pulp in 1 glass of water for 20 mins. Then mash the pup thoroughly. Later strain it and add 1 tsp jaggery, roasted cumin, cardamom and a pinch of black salt in it. Your bilva sharbat is ready.
7. Khas Sharbat
Soak Khas (Vetiver) in water for 8-10 hours. Then strain it, add rock sugar in it (as per taste).
8. Kokum Sharbat
Take two fresh kokum fruits, cut them into half, remove the seeds and then grind them into a fine paste. Make rock sugar syrup and pour it into the kokum paste, add cumin and cardamom powder to taste. Add 2-3 tbsp of this paste in a glass, add cool water from earthern pot and enjoy your kokum sharbat.
9. Sugarcane Juice
Drink fresh sugarcane juice during summers. Best energy provider and thirst reliever.
10. Coconut Water
Have it in morning or two hours post meals in the afternoon (around 4 pm).
