Beat the Heat on a Road Trip with These Refreshing Indian Drinks

From fruit coolers to zesty lemonades, Indian summers are a perfect time to quench your thirst with unique flavours while out on a vacation. Here are a few traditional Indian drinks that you can make before your journey, or find on the wayside while travelling, to stay you hydrated and satisfy your taste buds!

Aam Panna

Prepared mainly with raw mango, this sweet and sour drink was formulated to beat the heat! Made by boiling mango in water till it turns into a pulpy mixture and adding mint leaves and cumin powder to the mix, this drink is served cool after a meal. You can drink it while on a trip with friends in the new Ford Freestyle for a great time and a comfortable ride. It will keep you hydrated while tickling your taste buds and Freestyle’s butter smooth suspension will ensure you don’t spill this tangy seasonal drink.

Jaljeera

Made with a base of lemon juice and jaljeera powder; you can add other ingredients such as rock salt and mint to mould the taste of this drink to your liking. This drink is served at the start of a meal as a means to startle the palate and stimulate the digestive process. It is suitable for long trips when our eating patterns can tend to be erratic. Enjoy it after a day spent well through the an off-road trail in you Ford Endeavour.

Lemon Soda

This drink is available at street vendors across India and is a favourite post lunch beverage. It is ideal to be given if someone in your group unexpectedly gets motion sickness! Made with two simple ingredients- lime juice and carbonated water; this drink is easy to make even on the go and is the perfect thirst-quencher during those excruciating sunny days. So park your Ford Figo by the kerb when you spot a vendor and cherish this bubbly drink that’s best enjoyed fresh.

Sugarcane Juice

This drink is super versatile- of course, you can just drink it freshly pressed. But you can also play around with its taste, making it sweet, sour or spicy! With a whole pantry of ingredients to work with, you can experiment by bringing a bit of sugar, salt, chaat masala or any other spice on your journey and let people make their favourite version of this simple drink!

Kokum Sherbet

This vibrantly coloured drink comes is a staple during long and harsh summers in several Indian states. Kokum has multiple health benefits including aiding in digestion and controlling cholesterol. Its preparation is quite simple: boil the kokum fruit in water along with sugar, salt and cumin powder. Once it cools down, it’s perfect for consumption on a long road journey! Keep bottles of Kokum sherbet neatly tucked in the 20 storage spaces of your Ford Aspire so that you never run out of it during your road trip.

Buttermilk

Also known as Chaas or Lassi (depending on its consistency), this easy to make drink can be consumed with just a pinch of salt or combined with other commonly found kitchen ingredients such as chaat masala or asafoetida. Available across India with a distinct flavour, you will find a shop selling butter milk no matter where you are traveling

Pro tip: Add freshly squeezed lemon juice to your buttermilk and watch your friends scramble to identify the mystery ingredient!

This summer, prepare for long road trips not only by packing delicious food- but also by preparing these hydrating coolers. Your Ford car has more than 20 storage spaces to keep enough supplies of these sweet and savoury drinks for your entire family.