Ramadan Icon · Rose Sharbat
Rooh Afza
Photo: Muffingg. Original uploader was Muffingg at de.wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
After Partition, the founder's son Hakim Mohammed Said set up Hamdard in Pakistan, so the same syrup is now made by separate companies in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Rooh Afza is a ruby-red syrup of rose, kewra (screw pine), fruit and herb extracts, diluted with cold milk or water and poured over ice. It's a fixture of iftar tables and street stalls across Pakistan, especially during Ramadan.
Why it's made this way: Created in Old Delhi by a Unani physician as a cooling tonic, it became an emblem of the fast-breaking ritual across Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh for over a century.
More from Pakistan
Part of World of Street Food — 3443 dishes from 118 countries.
Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below.
Photo credits.