Tamarind and prunes are widely used Indian food ingredients that have many health benefits and helps reduce the heat of the body. The drink is refreshing and cooling.The syrup can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for months as high sugar and tartness from tamarind both are preservatives.
Ingredients:
Tamarind variety: Tamarind is main ingredients and has to be bought carefully. The tamarind I used for this drink is tart and under-ripened and sour variety. Fully ripened sweet tamarind will require a lot less sugar and extra tartness from lemon juice. So you need extra care when selecting tamarind. Tamarind comes in many forms, like in pods, seedless blocks of pulp, or blocks of pulp with seed. Prunes: Prunes are dried plums and have many varieties. The one which I used were soft and used in biryani making. Not thick or fleshy. Sugar: Now if you use sour imli, as I did. You need to add a lot of sugar to balance the sourness of imli. But IF you use sweeter and ripened imli, use less than half the sugar only. Doing a taste test would be the best way to be sure. Mix some water with syrup and then do taste test.Cumin: Roasted and grounded cumin taste amazing and add a lovely boost to the Imli Aloo Bukharay Ka Sharbat. Black salt: Black salt helps balance the tartness of imli as well as help add the salt of the body lost by perspiration in summers. More option: Ginger and mint would be a great addition to the drink. Adding this tamarind syrup with soda would make a delicious tamarind soda drink. You can also add soaked basil seeds if you like.
Benefits
Tamarind contains vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and beneficial plant compounds. The polyphenols in tamarind have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. These can protect against diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Find more information here. Prunes have anti-inflammatory properties. It is good for heart and bones health and also help digestion. Find more about prunes here.
How to make Imli Aloo Bukharay Ka Sharbat?
Making Imli Aloo Bukharay Ka Sharbat takes some time but the syrup can be stored for long in the fridge, so the effort is totally worth it. We need pulp for the recipe with or without seeds is ok. If using tamarind pods first deshell and devein to remove the pulp from the pods. Weight and use in the recipe below. In the visual presentation, I made double of the below recipe. I recommend doubling the recipe by selecting 2X button as you can store the syrup for 2 months in the fridge or freeze it for 6 months. Hungry for more? Check these.
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