Invented by Hakim Abdul Majeed Availability Yes | Launch year 1906 | |
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Company Hamdard (Wakf) Laboratories | ||
Rooh Afza (Urdu: روح افزا; Hindi: रूह अफ़ज़ा; Bengali: রূহ আফজা) is a non-alcoholic concentrated squash. It was formulated by Hakeem Hafiz Abdul Majeed in 1906 in Ghaziabad, British India and is manufactured by the companies founded by him and his sons, Hamdard (Waqf) Laboratories, Pakistan and Hamdard (Wakf) Laboratories, India. Since 1948, the company has been manufacturing the product in India, Pakistan as well as in Bangladesh. Other companies formulate the same un-patented recipe in these countries as well. The specific Unani recipe of Rooh Afza combines several ingredients popularly believed to be cooling agents, such as rose, which is used as a remedy for loo (the hot summer winds of Northern India and Pakistan and Bangladesh). It is sold commercially as a syrup to flavor sherbets, cold milk drinks, ices, and cold desserts, such as the popular falooda. Rooh Afza is typically consumed by South Asian Muslims to end their fasts in the month of Ramadan, but is also popular among the non-Muslim populace.
Contents
History
In 1906, Hakim Abdul Majeed, a physician of Unani herbal medicine, founded his clinic in Old Delhi. The following year, he launched Rooh Afza from an establishment at Lal Kuan in Old Delhi. Following the partition of India in 1947, while the elder son stayed, the younger son migrated to Pakistan and started a separate Hamdard from two rooms in Karachi.
In 2010, chef Nita Mehta was roped in by Hamdard Laboratories to create new mocktail and dessert recipes for Rooh Afza, their all season summer drink, which was used in a new marketing campaign.
Ingredients
Its original formulation included:
Original
Alternate
Rooh Afza syrup is generally served mixed with cold milk and ice; the closest Western equivalent is strawberry milk. Rooh Afza is often prepared as part of Iftar (the evening meal for breaking the fast or roza), during Ramadan (the holy month of fasting for Muslims). The concentrate can also be mixed with water, which is a common preparation in the hot Indian summer. When mixed with water, the final drink is a type of sharbat. Rooh Afza syrup is often mixed with Kulfi ice cream and vermicelli noodles to make the Indian version of the popular Iranian dessert Falooda.