Summer Cooler with Fennel Seeds

An amazingly cooling, refreshing zingy drink served with lots of ice makes a fabulous summer cooler.  The drink has no harmful colorants or additives.  Fennel seeds are the main ingredient in this cooler and these seeds have many benefits.  Fennel seeds help freshen breath and aid digestion and often these are used in desi mukhwas as a breath freshner and an aid to digestion.

In Dar-es-Salaam it is almost always very warm and I used to make this cooler very often for the Chinmaya Mission meetings that I led and the Gayatri Parivar events at our home.  We never served shop brought drinks at these events and the ladies that hosted these events always came up with an amazing array of refreshing drinks that helped keep everyone cool and hydrated.  This drink is also served at engagement ceremonies in Gujarati households although I dont quite know why or how this became a tradition.

Whilst reminiscing about Dar, I had mentioned this to my Charleston friends and my friend Sadhna who was hosting a get together over the weekend, suggested I make this cooler for all the guests.    We wanted to serve a drink that was interestingly different and at the same time appetising and refreshing.  Judging by the fact that there was only half a glassful left over, the drink was a deemed to be a sure hit with the guests. So a big thank you to Sadhna for suggesting I make this drink; it definitely reminded me of my time in Dar and I loved making this cooler.

How to make Varyali nu pani:

1/2 cup waryari (fennel seeds)

3 cups fresh lemon juice

3 cups sugar

hand full rose petals

few drops rose water

soak the fungreeg for 2/3 hrs .Crushed the seeds and rose petals,pass it through tea strainer.add few drops of rose water and all above ingredients .Mix well and top with crushed ice.