Let’s drink natural this Summer

Regular readers of this blog will know that I always recommended natural drinks instead of aerated softdrinks. This post is a quick listing of few such products and related info. Some of them you must be already familiar with. If there’re any other product you’d like to add, please comment.

Unlike bottled soft drink products with nationwide distribution network there’re challenges/limitations in availability preparation, storage, transportation and consumption of these alternate drinks and the likes of SRK, Sachin and Dhonis are not interested in speaking a few good words about these products, because there’s no big money involved. These natural drinks are made/sold mainly by unorganized small time merchants/small business units without heavy advertising budgets, so we need to use our own judgment to decide which one’s best suited for us.

1. Tender coconut water-
My favorite, but unfortunately it is getting more and more expensive. During my engineering days I used to get 3 small sized tender coconuts for Rs 10, now even the small sized not so good ones cost Rs 10+ and bigger and fresh ones cost Rs 15, 17 or even more. (May 2009 update: Good tender coconut costs Rs 18-20 in Chennai, price is cheaper in Bangalore at around Rs 12-15)

Try drinking it directly without using the straw. Avoid buying them near hospitals-Since tender coconut is recommended by doctors, shops near hospitals are found to sell it for a price premium. Bottled tender coconut water is also available in some cities.

I don’t have to go into details of goodness of tender coconut water-it is always refreshing and healthy. Some of its benefits (Sourced from FruitHut Beverages)

• Low in carbohydrates
• Low in fat 99% fat free
• Keeps the body cool
• Maintains the human body’s natural fluids levels
• Low in naturally occurring sugars
• Helps in carrying nutrients and oxygen to cells

More about tender coconut in this blog: Coco Fresco, Hyderabad * Upadhya’s tender coconut opener *

In some cities Tender coconut water is processed and sold in bottles.

2. Buttermilk-
Next favorite, provided it is prepared with right ingredients in right proportion. Adding water & salt to curd and stirring it doesn’t always make good buttermilk. A bit of pepper/chilly, ginger, dhaniya and such stuff should go into it to get the strong feel. Traditionally one had to make it at home or go to roadside shops/hotels for buttermilk, but currently buttermilk is sold in small packets as well. A 200 ml packet comes for Rs 2.50 or so

3. Lassi-
Though not my personal favorite and I don’t have much information, this is also a very good alternative. Also available in packets besides at hotels and dabhas.

4. Watermelon-
As there may be hygiene issues at roadside shops who cut watermelon and sell in small slices, I recommend buying an entire fruit and taking it home. Depending on season and shop, it costs anywhere between Rs 6/kg to Rs 25/kg and a small sized water melon weighs 2kg+. (Current rate in Chennai is Rs 10/kg- a normal sized one comes for Rs 30 and can serve a 4 member family twice to their heart’s content). Have heard of seedless variant but haven’t seen them. Easy to make a juice as well, if you prefer it that way. Yellow coloured ones are also available (costs more) besides conventional red coloured ones, but I’ve not felt any difference in taste and not worth the price difference. It is also available in different shapes (remember Japanese farmers growing square shaped ones?)
5. Sugarcane Juice-
Another favorite, but should be had without ice, because most of the vendors carry ice in gunny bags and store them in dirty places. Also there're some branded shops (Cane-o-La) which sell Sugar cane juice exclusively, in different flavors.

6. Toddy palm or palm apple-
Not easy to find a shop selling Toddy palm. But if I see one, I usually do not miss the opportunity to eat as much as possible. Insist on small sized fresh ones which have more water and tasty. In an attempt to clear their stock, vendors usually give you bigger and over ripe ones if you leave the selection to their discretion. More about Toddy palm in this post. (this is also getting expensive- was costing Rs 5 an year back for a unit (3 eyes), now costs Rs 10 in Bengaluru. In Chennai 5 eyes (about 2 units) cost Rs 10 currently)

7. Pudina water-
Have seen them in some shops in Hyderabad but haven’t tasted.

8. Lime juice-
Very easy to make. A great combination of sour lemon and sweet sugar.

9. Ganji/KooLu-
Not a cold product. This is a rather warm one and is a staple food in many parts of South India and is a very good energizer. Have it with pickle/fried chilly. More about Ganji/KooLu in this post.

10. Badam milk-
Available in bottles in most of the places. Sold in glasses directly from freezer in some places like Hyderabad.

11. Kulfi/other milk products-
Available in Nandini/Aavin outlets.

12. Other fruit juices-
Don’t have enough info to explain in detail. Most of the fruits can be converted into juices and with added sugar and ice, they taste much better than the fruit. Manufacturing process is fairly simple- peel off, chop, add into the container of a mixer grinder, add sugar, water/milk, stir, filter, serve...

But I hate buying fruit juices at shops here in Chennai, as the prices are unreasonably high. A glass of watermelon juice doesn’t cost more than Rs 5 for the amount of watermelon, sugar and electricity used, but it is priced at Rs 15-20. At least in Bangalore Sri Ganesha chain of Fruit juice centers and other places are selling them at reasonable price.

13. Ragi based products (contributed by MS)

Ragi malt (hot and cold), Ragi mudde (balls)-a nutrient meal and other Ragi products

14. Neera (Contributed by Sanjay)

Neera (more on Wikipedia) is a non alcoholic product but susceptible to fermentation. Treated versions which do not ferment are reportedly available. Reader's discretion advised.

15. Punarpuli sharbath (cocam, murugala, beerunda) - Contributed by Dr Pavanaja

There is a quality concern associated with some of the above products (water used in them, the way they are manufactured and stored), but it is not fair to generalize and with little extra effort I think we should be able to verify if quality is up to our satisfaction.

My strong recommendation (+request):

Please try any of the above alternatives before blindly buying a bottle of coke/Pepsi. Unlike coke/pepsi products these natural alternatives may not be available at all places all the time, but I am at least few of them will be available near your place and you might like them. you'll save some money and earn an iota of good health too.

Related: Travel writer Arun Bhat has a comprehensive collection of Summer destinations you may wish to visit this summer.

Related: Branding tender coconut & toddy palm