Fresh turmeric is an integral part of the Pongal celebrations in Tamil Nadu. The mouth of the Pongal pot (Pongal paanai) is tied with turmeric leaves and bulbs. It's easy to find this ingredient in Chennai's major markets in January during the Pongal season. I discovered that it also makes a wonderful cocktail ingredient (see recipes). As we go beyond classic cocktails and look for new experiences and flavours, local ingredients are the new stars in the mix. From a karuvapellai (curry leaf) martini to sambar thrown into the cocktail shaker, mixologists are not shy to 'shake' things up.
You can play around with these cocktail recipes with a South Indian twist as you turn mixologist in your home bar:
(Also read: 11 Best South Indian Curries You Can Try At Home)
1. Gulabo Sour:
Recipe courtesy - Rohit Pandey, Executive Assistant Manager - Food & Beverage at The Leela Bhartiya City Bengaluru.
The Library Bar at the Leela Bhartiya City Bengaluru is a throwback to the city's colonial past. I first tried this cocktail with a strong presence of cardamom at this bar. Cardamom is sometimes referred to as the queen of spices in the Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka where some of India's best cardamom comes from.
Ingredients: Dry Rose & Cardamon Gin - 60ml Lychee juice 30ml Egg white - whole Sugar Syrup - 20ml Lime juice - 20ml
Method:
Infuse gin in dry rose (50 gm) and cardamom (50 gm) and keep it away for 24 hours
Pour the infused gin, lychee juice, egg white, sugar syrup and lime juice in a cocktail mixer and shake hard
Served in a whisky glass
Garnish with dry rose petals
2. Red Kremlin
Recipe courtesy - Rohit Pandey, Executive Assistant Manager - Food & Beverage at The Leela Bhartiya City Bengaluru.
Star Anise is a key element in the five-spice powder that is used extensively in Chinese recipes. It's also an integral element in Chettinad cuisine from Southern Tamil Nadu. This recipe combines Star anise and hibiscus tea.
Ingredients:
Hibiscus and Star Anise infused vodka -60ml ( Infused Hibiscus tea 50gm |Star Anise 100gms in vodka for 24-48hrs)
Lime juice 20ml
Sugar syrup 25ml
Ginger Ale - top up
Recipe:
Add Hibiscus tea & Star Anise Infused Vodka, lime juice, sugar syrup and Ginger Ale in a cocktail shaker and shake hard.
Serve in a highball glass.
Garnish with Mint leaves or Kaffir lime leaves
3. Neer Mortini
By Devyani Nath, Mixologist at Merak, JW Marriott Bengaluru
I normally finish breakfast with a South Indian style buttermilk or neer more (thin buttermilk). It was refreshing (literally) to see my everday fix reimagined as a cocktail during my last visit to the JW Marriott Bengaluru.
Ingredients:
Vodka - 45ml
Curd - 60ml
Mustard seeds ,Curry leaves, green chillies and Asafoetida (for tempering)
Chopped Ginger
Chopped Mint
Method:
Add Curd and whisk it with water to make a thin consistency
Add a pinch of salt, ginger and mint into it and whisk it all together
For Tempering:
Add oil curry leaf, green chillies and asafoetida
Add the ingredients into the buttermilk
Strain the butter milk into a shaker
Add Vodka with ice
Shake till it's chilled
Serve in a chilled Martini glass
Garnish with Coriander/Tempered curry leaf
4. Kuchipudi
By Devyani Nath, Mixologist at Merak, JW Marriott Bengaluru
Sambar in a cocktail? Why not. This is the equivalent of a South Indian meal packed into a cocktail glass
Ingredients:
Rum - 30ml
Sambar - 60ml
Kokum - 10ml
Coconut water - 15ml
Kori Roti
Gun Powder
Method:
Cut the kori roti into small pieces
Pan sear it with gun powder till it gets golden in colour
Blend the sambar without the vegetables
Strain it into a shaker, add kokum, coconut water to it
Add Rum and shake it with ice
Strain it into a stem glass
Garnish with mini Idli
5. Curry leaf margarita
Recipe courtesy - ITC Grand Chola, Chennai
This might well be the cocktail that James Bond might order in Chennai. While this recipe uses pineapple juice, I've tried making a similar drink with jasmine (bela sharbat) instead of the pineapple.
Ingredients:
Curry leaves - 5-8 Tequila - 45ml Lime -15 ml Pineapple juice- 20ml
Method:
Combine the ingredients in a shaker. Strain and serve
Recipe - Pongalo Pongal
Ingredients:
Gin: 45 ml
Fresh turmeric
Lemon juice: 15 ml
Jaggery syrup: 15 ml
Method:
Crush the turmeric and then add to the shaker with the other ingredients with a pinch of turmeric powder. Garnish with a lime slice. I used Gondhoraj Lemon but you can try this with any other lemon.