The recent India trip was fantastic. As much as we had fun, there are a couple of things that this India trip ruined for me. One was bread the other was rose milk. That was my simple pleasure which the milk booths used to keep in plenty. During this trip, I searched high a low for some but found none. As soon as we got back and the jet lag faded off,  I had to make some myself. Since it has become a kind of rarity, I guess it is best if it is on our blog too.

What is rose milk?

The gorgeous, pale pink, milk-based drink is a gentle lightly sweetened drink popular in summer. With the juicy crunchy basil seeds added, this summer drink is a popular one for the heat and humidity of the tropics. With flavours of extract of rose and the same as its fragrance, the cold, frothy milk drink is a relief from the heat. The drink Bandung in Malaysia and Thai Nom Yen are all versions of the same. However in this recipe today we have not used the rose syrup that gets utilized in most recipes, rather have gone in to create a natural alternate with fresh rose flower petals. 

Ingredients to make the rose milk

Milk : boiled and chilled milk is what we use traditionally for this recipe. However, over a  period of time, I find Evaporated milk gives a full-bodied thick frothy milk moustache-making consistency. You can use half-and-half or low-fat milk too.
Rose petals: nothing beats that fresh rose petal that gets blended in. Use known sources of pesticides free fresh rose petals or edible grade dried ones. The actual variety that we look for with its fragrance is the panneer rose, the one from which rose water is extracted. Make sure your source is from the edible roses as there are plenty that is just ornamental.
Rose water: since the rose petals may not be fragrant enough, edible-grade rose water is required. If you have plenty of rose petals you can avoid using this.
Red food colour: the pink colour is characteristic of this drink. A small drop or two of natural red food colour will do the job. You can use natural dried beet powder in its place too.
Sweetener:  is totally optional. Use honey or sugar to flavour if needed. Since the milk in Australia is much sweeter, I have not used any here.
Sweet basil seeds: this is the exciting part of this drink. Basil seeds are small black seeds often sold in Indian spice aisles as Sabja. This when added to water swells into small jelly globes. They add a lovely touch to the drink and also promote gut health. These are not chia seeds, however, if you cannot get there you can use some chia here.

How to make this drink?

Soak the basil seeds in about 3 times water. Once you gather the ingredients it is as simple as blending them together all except the basil seeds. Once frothy pour into tall glasses and top with the bloomed basil seeds. Check the recipe card below for detailed instructions and exact measurements. YOu can pin the same from th recipe card on to your board if saving for later.

Can this be a vegan drink?

It is a milk-based drink, however, using soy or almond milk gives a delicious vegan pink milk without a huge change in flavour. In fact, I love to use soy milk as my choice for the vegan version. The rest of the ingredients are the same.

Make ahead and storage

The freshly blended rose milk is certainly frothy. However, it is an easy drink to make and store in the refrigerator. It stays good for upto 3 days with regular milk and about 7 days with Evaporated milk. Keep it in a sealed bottle or a small covered pitcher to have on hot days. You can mix in the basil seeds too. They stay at the bottom, so stir well before pouring out the drink for yourself.

Easy summer thirst quenchers on this blog

Apple celery green juice
Nectarine fizz
Fresh fig milkshake
Strawberry lassi
Cherry watermelon smoothie

Stay connected

If you have spent your childhood in the tropics, I am sure you would have also had a version of this. Pink milk as it is fondly called us now revived for me. Try out this caffeine-free, afternoon pick-up and rate us using the star system below. Share in the comments your childhood experiences with the easy thirst quencher. Subscribe to us for new recipes or visit us often.
Enjoy your glass while I get some more. 

I was recently watching the Megan and Harry series on Netflix. There was one particular part I actually liked. The friends’ idea for the new year is to set a word. My instant reaction to that was wow,  that’s profound.  Rather than having a resolution that you drop off after a few days,  finding a word that is adding meaning to you in multiple ways sounded far better.
Guess what word I am choosing…after a bit of thought! Imperfect that is my word. As we evolve this year I will share with you how we are taking it forward. For now,  we are starting with imperfect produce. We have imperfect radishes that we are using to make this lesser-known South Indian style preparation.

Prepping the radishes

Radishes or Raphanus sativus, come in long cylinder ones or small round varieties. They have red or white skin. Inside they can be white, variegated or watermelon colour. I choose the small round red varieties to make this dish. The skin is red here and the flesh white. To prep, these, wash them thoroughly especially if they are not in perfect shape. I use a toothbrush to get rid of the mud in the folds. remove the leaves (don’t discard make mullangi keerai poriyal) and trim the root. Now slice the radishes into wedges. Save a few radishes to make our much-loved Radish pear salad with tahini dresssing.

Ingredients to make puli mullangi

Red radishes: prep the radishes as per the notes above. These radishes are crunchy and have a slightly stronger peppery flavour than daikon. Thus goes nicely with the spices added. If you are looking for a low food map option make it with daikon as this has been tested.

Sambhar powder: the archetypal curry powder for anything South Indian is the Sambhar podi. It works for this one too imparting the classic mix of heat from the chillies,  smokiness from the coriander seeds and complexity from the fenugreek.

Tamarind extract:  a thick extract of tamarind is the souring agent in this puli mullangi. This along with the salt and the sambhar podi forms that thick sauce that coats the red radish wedges.

Tempering: spices most South Indian dishes start or layer on with a spice-infused oil. This is created by crackling mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves and red chillies in sesame seed oil.
Seasoning: to balance the flavours salt is needed. My mum swears by crystalline salt in anything she wants to keep for a while. This is not the pink rock salt but clusters of sea salt that are not powdered. The flavour this imparts minutely changes depending on the other minerals in it. For acutely trained tastebuds like hers, these are important.

Serving ideas for the radish in tamarind sauce

The puli mullangi is kind of a spicy side dish. You could pair it with a South Indian thali meal. For a simpler platter, I would choose keerai molagutal and puli mullangi with cooked millet.
Fill up a wrap with some cooked beans, stir-fried kalonji rice and pieces for puli mullangi spicy filling wrapped burrito lunch on the go.

Meal prep and saving for later.

The puli mullangi will stay well in the refrigerator for up to a week. In freezer-safe containers, they stay well for up to 3 months. The radishes do go a bit limp but taste fantastic even upon thawing. Save in smaller portions so you thaw only what is needed.

Stay connected

This new year share with us what you think you will be doing. Stay subscribed to see how we are going with our word. Connect with us (instagram or facebook) as we plan to travel a bit more and share new locations and experiences with you.