Gulabi-Ginger Fizz

Ramadan is flying by! And it’s also heating up… well sometimes out here in the Bay. And even though food is a big part of iftar, you need to quench your thirst too! And with that thought, I had to incorporate a Pakistani classic during iftar – Rooh Afza. I’ve talked about Rooh Afza in the past, but it’s essentially a rose syrup with a few other herbs that you put into milk or water to drink. It’s really refreshing in the summer time (their slogan literally says “summer drink of the east”), so it’s common in the warmer months or during iftar, since it’s a way to refresh yourself. There’s actually 2 factories – 1 in Pakistan and 1 in India, as one brother migrated to Pakistan during the partition, so you can purchase them from either country/manufacturer.

My recipe was inspired from The Flavor Bender, and the original recipe can be found there!

GULABI-GINGER FIZZ

• 2 fluid ounces Rooh Afza (can be found in Middle Eastern and South Asian markets)
• 1 fluid ounce ginger ale (I used Bruce Cost ginger ale but any brand works)
• 1 fluid ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• Sparkling water or club soda to top glass
• ice (optional)
• edible flowers (optional – lol mine were rose petals from the garden here… so definitely not edible in my case!)

1. If you’re using ice, put ice cubes into glass first. I chilled everything but the Rooh Afza prior to assembling, so I skipped the ice.
2. Pour in the Rooh Afza, ginger ale, and lemon juice.
3. Pour over sparkling water or club soda to fill the glass.
4. Mix!
5. Sprinkle edible flowers of you’d like.

And that’s it! Super simple and easy. This is for one drink so it’ll be pretty easy to multiply for more servings. I would recommend tasting first to decide if you want to add additional sugar or make it more tart. The Rooh Afza has sugar in it since it is a syrup, which is why it’s not included here. You’ll get hints of the rose flavor, which I think is just the right amount because this syrup is strong. Enjoy!