Chef Sanjeev Kapoor shares 5 traditional natural summer coolers to ward off the heat

Come summer, we all crave chilled, hydrating, flavorful, and healthy summer drinks. While the market is flooded with packaged drinks, celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor feels that nothing beats traditional summer coolers freshly made at home. Keeping this in mind, he recently shared 5 best natural summer coolers that can be easily made at home to ward off the heat. Take a look

It is a delicious tangy, deep-purple coloured fruit indigenous to the Konkan coast. The sharbat made with this fruit is a known coolant and also wards off sunstroke or heat stroke.

Ingredients: 1/2 cup kokum petals, 1/4 cup sugar, black salt to taste, 2 teaspoons roasted cumin powder, 4 teaspoons lemon juice, ice cubes as required, and fresh mint leaves as required

Method: Blend kokum petals with some water to a fine puree. Reserve the kokum water. Heat the reserved kokum water in a non-stick pan. Add sugar, stir, bring to a boil and cook until the mixture thickens. In individual glasses, add 1 tablespoon kokum puree, 1 tablespoon kokum syrup, black salt, ½ teaspoon cumin powder and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Top with sufficient water. Add some ice cubes and some torn mint leaves, stir and serve immediately.

This is also a hydrating summer drink made with watermelon, spices, and super-hydrating basil seeds.

Ingredients: 1 watermelon, black salt to taste, 4 lemons, 4 tbps basil seeds in water, and crushed black pepper.
Method: Peel, roughly chop and deseed the watermelon. Pass the chopped melon through a juicer and collect the juice in a jar. In an individual tall glass, add black salt, crushed pepper, and soaked basil seeds. Slice half a lemon and squeeze the juice of the remaining half lemon into a glass. Add the sliced lemon to the glass. Pour the prepared watermelon juice into the individual glasses, stir with a stirrer to mix all ingredients. Serve.

You might be familiar with this roasted chana powder being used in different kinds of paranthas and breads, but in central India they use it to make a sattu ka sherbet, which works wonders as a cooling drink. Just 3 simple ingredients – sattu flour, jaggery and water are all you need to make this traditional Indian summer cooler. You can also make a savoury one by replacing the jaggery with some black salt, roasted cumin powder, lemon and mint and stay as cool as a cucumber.

Ingredients: 4 tbsp sattu, salt to taste, 2 glass water, 1 tsp black pepper, 1/2 onion, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp cumin powder, black salt, mint leaves, coriander leaves, and ice

Method: Add all the ingredients in a big bowl, combine well, stir and refrigerate. Serve chilled and enjoy.

While the leaves of the tree are used in the worship of Lord Shiva, the fruit is used to make delicious summer drinks that have stood the test of scorching Indian summers for years! Right from aiding digestion to providing you with a ton of essential minerals, vitamins and antioxidants baelphal does you good in several ways.

Ingredients: 1 bael fruit, 6 tbsp sugar, 3 cups water, 2 tsp cumin powder, and 1 tsp black pepper
Method: Break the fruit and soak it in water for 30 minutes. Extract the pulp using a spoon and mash it well. Strain it to remove seeds and fiber. Add sugar, cumin, and black pepper. Stir well, refrigerate and serve chilled.

It is one of the most popular and comforting summer drinks that helps prevent heat stroke and is made with raw mangoes, water, and spices.

Ingredients: 2 medium raw mangoes, 1½ cups sugar, 1 teaspoon black salt, ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder, and ice cubes as required

Method: Thoroughly wash the raw mangoes and put them into a pressure cooker. Add 1 cup water and cook under pressure for 3-4 whistles. Open the cooker once the pressure has reduced completely. Transfer the cooked raw mango to a bowl, peel, squeeze out the pulp and discard the seeds. Add sugar and mix well. Transfer this into a blender jar and blend to a fine paste. Heat a non-stick pan. Add the blended paste and cook till the mixture comes to a boil. Add black salt and roasted cumin powder and mix well. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Take the pan off the heat. Allow the mixture to cool completely. Transfer into a jar and use as required. To make the aam panna drink, put some mixture into individual serving glasses, and add ice cubes and water as required. Mix and serve.