Growing up in Pakistan, there was always a bottle of Rooh Afza in the kitchen cabinet. The ruby-coloured syrup sat on different cabinet shelves depending on the season. During winter, it retreated to the farthest corner. The moment the weather became warm, signalling the onset of the harsh Pakistani summer, the bottle began making its way to the front. It occupied prime shelf space as soon as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan started because there's nothing quite as energising as a glass of chilled Rooh Afza after a long day of fasting.
Growing up, I was responsible for making jugs of it for our family during Ramadan. I added water to the concentrate, but because I was fasting, I couldn't taste it to determine if I'd achieved the right ratio. Instead, I looked for the right hue of red. It was inevitably too sweet on the first day of fasting, but I got it right by the third or fourth one.
Swirl of liquid red roses. Source: Foodie and Mrs.
Also known as laal sharbat (laal means red in Urdu, and sharbat is short for drink), Rooh Afza is fruit and floral flavoured, and includes rose and screw pine (kewra) extracts. It's usually diluted with water. You can also squeeze lemon juice into it for a hint of tartness. It is a thirst quencher on hot summer days. It's also common to welcome visitors with a tray of glasses filled with it and ice cubes.
Rooh Afza also tastes delicious with milk. The rosy-hued drink helps children and adults alike get their calcium intake. It's used in desserts too, such as to layer falooda.
People also drizzle it over gola ganda, a crushed ice dessert that's common in Pakistan, kulfi and other ice creams. Nowadays, it also substitutes grenadine in mocktails.
Rooh afza can be used to make falooda. Source: Chris Chen
KULFI RECIPE
Rose-flavoured kulfi
After moving to Australia in 2018, I was thrilled to find a bottle of it at my neighbourhood Indian grocery store. However, it tasted different and I found the ingredients differed and that it was produced in India.
The story of this vibrant drink begins in the year 1906 when Hakim Hafiz Abdul Majeed, a practitioner of Islamic , opened a pharmaceutical shop called Hamdard in India's Old Delhi. He developed Rooh Afza 1907 as an ailment to withstand India's hot summers.
After Majeed passed away, his wife kept going until Majeed's elder son, , looked after the business. After the Indian partition, Majeed's younger son, Hakeem Mohammad Said, migrated to the newly created Pakistan and began . Today, the Hamdard India and the Hamdard Pakistan Rooh Afza looks almost identical, right down to the distinctive yellow caps.
Ahsan Qureshi of food bloggers , who launched a Pakistani food pop-up at the Adelaide Central Market with his wife Mehwesh Ahsan last year, also thinks that the Pakistani and Indian Hamdard formulations differ. When Qureshi and Ahsan designed their stall menu, they included it because "it is the undisputed Pakistani drink".
There's a Hamdard that offers rooh afza in India, and another in Pakistan. Source: Kiran Afzal
It's neither too sweet, nor too strong, and is equally loved by both adults and children.
According to Mehwesh: "It's neither too sweet, nor too strong, and is equally loved by both adults and children". They sold it with the addition of chia seeds, and it became a best seller.
Rooh Afza is an integral part of Ramadan across the Pakistani diaspora. Sydney Pakistani-Indian dining establishment , with restaurants in Darling Harbour and Surry Hills, offers the beverage as part of its breaking-the-fast (iftar) buffet. Co-owner Arfan Mirza says: "It's only available as part of the in Ramadan. Sometimes it is served plain, and sometimes with lemon that adds a hint of tang."
From its humble origins, you can now find Rooh Afza around the world. The Hamdard brand has also developed a milk-based version, called doodh rooh afza, and a carbonated version, called rooh afza go.
Come summer or Ramadan, this ruby-coloured beverage is a sign of hospitality, whatever may be written on the back of the bottle.
