Indian summers are synonymous with cooling summer drinks. A healthy summer coolant is the best way to quench your thirst and refresh yourself from the scorching heat. The extreme summer heat can cause excessive sweating and deplete the body’s electrolyte stores and fluid reserves. It can also lead to fatigue, dizziness, and headache. From traditional favourites like aam panna to the cucumber mint cooler, here are 15 summer drinks that you can make at home to help you stay hydrated and beat the heat.
Why Are Summer Drinks Important?
Summer drinks are hydrating beverages that help replenish lost body fluids and maintain hydration during extreme summer temperatures. An easy way to maintain hydration is to ensure adequate water intake. However, water alone is not enough to maintain hydration, the body loses out on electrolytes too. Adding homemade cooling summer drinks to your routine can help provide essential nutrients and natural electrolytes. Choosing the right drinks can not only prevent dehydration but also help maintain energy levels. Let’s know more about summer drinks recipes that can bring down body temperature.
Top 15 Summer Drinks at a Glance:
Here’s a list of the best summer drinks which you can savour in the hot weather.
1. Nimbu Pani
2. Mango Shake
3. Strawberry Lassi
4. Chaach/ Spiced Buttermilk
5. Watermelon juice
6. Cucumber Mint cool
7. Aam pana
8. Jaljeera
9. Coconut water-pineapple cooler
10. Khus thandai
11. Raw Mango Kanji
12. Sattu drink
13. Bel juice (wood apple)
14. Phalsa juice
15. Panakkam
15 Best Summer Drink Recipes to Beat the Heat at Home
1. Nimbu Pani
- Ingredients: Lemon, sugar, salt, mint (optional)
- How to make: Squeeze a lemon first and then add sugar to a glass of chilled water. Add a pinch of black salt and mix well.
- Benefits: This easy-to-make, low-calorie homemade summer drink is an effective way to replenish hydration levels. Lemon is rich in vitamin C and potassium, which boost immunity and maintain electrolyte levels respectively.
2. Mango Shake
- Ingredients: Mango, milk, sugar
- How to make: Simply add mango cubes/slices to a glass of chilled milk, add sugar and blend. You can top it up with some ice cream or dry fruits.
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Benefits: One of the most-loved summer drinks in India, mango shake is not only delicious, but also offers an instant energy boost. Mangoes are packed with antioxidant-rich vitamins and natural sugars, which fuel the body after working in the sweltering heat.
3. Strawberry Lassi
- Ingredients: Strawberry, curd, water, sugar
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How to make: Add strawberry, curd, sugar and water in a blender. Blend it for 2-3 minutes and your strawberry lassi is ready.
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Benefits: Strawberry lassi is a vibrant, cool and refreshing drink with a delicious tangy taste of strawberries. It offers the dual benefits of the antioxidant-rich strawberries, which help boost immunity, and the probiotic-packed lassi, which aids in digestion.
4. Chaach/Spiced Buttermilk
- Ingredients: Curd, water, cumin powder, black salt, mint leaves.
- How to make: Blend curd with water and mint leaves. Sprinkle dry roasted cumin powder and black salt. Mix well. You can also give it a spicy twist by adding tadka of green chilli, ginger, rai, and curry leaves.
- Benefits: Chaach is a summer staple in most Indian households. This rejuvenating drink is easy to make at home because of the ready availability of curd. While black salt provides electrolytes, curd, cumin powder and mint cool the body down. The dash of black salt and cumin powder give it an earthy taste.
5. Watermelon Juice
- Ingredients: Watermelon, sugar, black salt
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How to make: Blend chopped or diced watermelon pieces. Add black salt and sugar to these. You can also add a few mint leaves or lemon juice.
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Benefits: Cool, refreshing and delicious, watermelon juice is the perfect summer drink. It is high in water content, which provides instant hydration as well as in natural sugars, which prevent energy crashes that are common in summer. Watermelon also contains potassium, which helps maintain electrolytic balance along with hydration.
6. Cucumber Mint Cooler
- Ingredients: Cucumber, mint leaves, lemon, water
- How to make: Add slices of cucumber to a handful of mint leaves and blend. Add lemon juice and salt. Sieve and enjoy chilled.
- Benefits: This ultimate summer refresher provides natural cooling that soothes the body and prevents dehydration during the blistering summer. While cucumber is rich in water content, mint possesses cooling properties.
7. Aam Panna
- Ingredients: Raw mangoes, sugar, cumin powder, black salt, mint, red chilli, water.
- How to make: Boil raw green mangoes and separate the pulp. Add sugar, black salt, cumin powder, mint leaves, and red chilli powder to the mango pulp and blend. Dilute with water for desired consistency and enjoy chilled. You can also add ginger and fennel seeds to give it a sweet-spicy tangy twist.
- Benefits: Aam panna is a traditional drink relished all over India because of its sweet and tangy flavour and health benefits. It acts as a powerful coolant, preventing dehydration and providing protection from heat stroke by maintaining the body’s fluid balance.
8. Jaljeera
- Ingredients: Lemon juice, cumin powder, black salt, mint leaves, coriander leaves, hing or ginger, water.
- How to make: Simply crush fresh mint leaves and coriander leaves with ginger and lemon juice in a blender and then add cumin powder and black salt. Add chilled water and some more lemon juice in the end. You can also add tamarind pulp (imli) to make it tangy.
- Benefits: The flavourful jaljeera is traditionally made in Indian homes to beat the searing heat. It gives a feeling of instant refreshment and also cools down the body.
9. Coconut Water - Pineapple Cooler
- Ingredients: Coconut water, pineapple, lemon, chia seeds
- How to make: Blend pineapple juice with coconut water. You can also add a splash of lime juice. Add chia seeds and drink chilled.
- Benefits: Sipping on coconut water is one of the best ways to stay hydrated in summer. This summer drink is rich in electrolytes, which help restore the body’s fluid balance.
10. Khus Thandai
- Ingredients: Poppy seeds, cardamom powder, chia seeds, fennel seeds, sugar, milk
- How to make: Soak the khus khus (poppy seeds) and grind to a paste. Add saunf and cardamom powder and mix well in a glass of chilled milk. Add soaked chia seeds and enjoy chilled.
- Benefits: Khus Khus is known for its cooling properties that lower the body’s temperature, providing relief from the extreme summer heat. It helps keep the body hydrated and help combat fatigue.
11. Raw Mango Kanji
- Ingredients: Raw mango, mustard seeds, green chillies, cumin seeds, hing, ginger, black salt
- How to make: Grind yellow and black mustard seeds and mix with raw mango, cumin seeds, ginger, green chillies, hing and black salt. Cover and let them warm in the sun for 2-3 days. Once you get a fermented aroma, strain the liquid and refrigerate the rest. Add ice and serve chilled.
- Benefits: This traditional fermented drink from North India is becoming immensely popular across the country. It is highly nutritious and is rich in electrolytes, making it the perfect summer coolant. Kanji is also a good source of probiotics, which makes it good for digestion.
12. Sattu Drink
- Ingredients: Sattu, water, black salt, cumin powder, lemon juice, chopped onions (optional)
- How to make: Take 2 tablespoons of sattu powder and add it to a glass of water. Mix well till you see no lumps. Add cumin powder, black salt and lemon juice and mix well. You can also add fresh herbs like mint or chillies to give it a different taste
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Benefits: This nutrient powerhouse is one of the best ways to combat the heat. It has cooling properties and provides quick relief from the extreme weather. Sattu is a natural source of plant protein which sustains energy levels, which are quickly depleted while working in extreme weather conditions.
13. Bael Juice (Wood Apple)
- Ingredients: Bael fruit, water, sugar, black salt
- How to make: Break the bael fruit and pull out the pulp. Soak it for 10 minutes and then mash it well. Add sugar and black salt and mix well with water. Add mint leaves.
- Benefits: Bael acts as a natural coolant and helps lower the body heat. It is also rich in vitamin C and electrolytes that help boost immunity and maintain hydration.
14. Phalsa Juice
- Ingredients: Phalsa (sherbet berry), sugar, black salt, water
- How to make: Blend the phalsa with a little water and then strain the mixture to remove the seeds and pulp. Add sugar or jaggery, black salt and drink chilled.
- Benefits: It has cooling properties that help rehydrate your body and is also rich in antioxidants that strengthen immunity.
15. Panakkam
- Ingredients: Jaggery, ginger, cardamom, black pepper, lemon, tulsi leaves and spices
- How to make: Add cardamom powder, ginger juice, and lemon juice. Mix well. Now add jaggery, tulsi, black pepper and mix well.
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Benefits: Aids in digestion and provides a cooling relief, preventing heatstroke.
Best Ingredients for Cooling Drinks
The best ingredients for summer drink recipes include:
- Mint
- Fennel seeds
- Khus
- Coconut water
- Lemon
- Cumin
Tips to Stay Cool in Summer
- Sip on fluids or water every few minutes
- Add cooling summer drinks like sattu, lemon juice, coconut water to regulate the body’s temperature
- Always carry a water bottle especially when outdoors
- Wear light coloured and breathable clothing.
- Use sunglasses or a cap to prevent exposure to harmful UV radiation.
Conclusion
Water can be boring for some. However, maintaining adequate hydration is essential in summer. The body loses electrolytes during peak summer season making it dehydrated. Its water requirement also increases during this weather. Adding healthy, homemade summer drinks can play an important role not just in keeping the body hydrated but also in boosting energy levels.
FAQs
1. What should we drink daily in summer?
We should drink water throughout the day to maintain hydration. Additionally, adding seasonal drinks can restore electrolyte balance and replenish body fluids.
2. Are homemade drinks better than packaged drinks?
Yes, homemade drinks are far better than processed and packaged drinks since they are free from any added preservatives or artificial ingredients. Packaged drinks also often contain added sugar which is harmful for the body.
3. Which drink prevents heatstroke?
Lemon water, coconut water, and chaach are among the best summer drinks for preventing heatstroke. They’re packed with electrolytes, prevent dehydration, and also help cool down the body.
4. Can drinking too many chilled or iced drinks harm the body?
No, chilled drinks don’t harm the body but can cause cold or cough in a few people, especially the elderly or children.