HYDERABAD: As the summer heat rises with the days getting longer the body heat increases making us long for those tall glasses of chilled water or when you get bored with the plain taste of H2O you take that can of dark frizzy drink and gulp it down. Or that tetra pack of saccharine fruit juice in different flavours. And it’s only a few weeks later you realise that you have put on weight thanks to the extra calories due to the sugar content of these packed drinks. How about creating your own flavoured water or rather fruity drinks that not only quench your thirst but also give your body the vital nutrients keeping the same supple and hydrated keeping your taste buds and tummy happy. Here’s what you need to prepare six different glasses of fruity or flavoured water.
Put the fruit of your choice in a mason jar, crush slightly for some juice to come out. Be careful not to pulp it up. Add herb of your choice followed by ice cubes till they fill half of the mason jar. Add water. Close the lid and stir a bit. Let it chill in the refrigerator for two hours. Pour in the glass, add a spoon of honey if you want it to taste sweet.
You can refrigerate the fruit water for two days or prepare several jars days ahead in advance. For that tangy flavour add two slices of lemon. Mint and rosemary taste best with red fruits. For cucumber water just add the slices in a pitcher followed by a few sprigs of mint leaves. Let it chill in the fridge for two hours. Nothing quenches summer thirst better than this. If you want to keep the entire affair really simple, just add cardamom pods or fennel seeds and let it sit in the pitcher for three hours before you drink. Happy summers!
Items and ingredients required
6 mason jars
6 large cups of ice cubes
Slices of 2 lemons
Slices of 2 oranges
1 large cup of sliced
watermelon
1 large cup of sliced pineapple
1 large cup of raspberries
1 large French cucumber sliced lengthwise
Honey if you don’t want it bland
A wooden spoon
Mint
Rosemary
Thyme
Basil
Cold water
— Saima Afreen saima@newindianexpress @Sfreen