Kokan Nexus for Urban Dazzle's Contest at IFBM 2014

Urbandazzle- Indian Food Bloggers Meet Monsoon/ Summer Cocktail (or Mocktail) Contest

was announced and I was excited about creating a drink that can make me a winner!

They say the best creation is under duress so here I am waiting until last minute to creat and post. With motivation and inspiration from Urban Dazzle's product range I have chosen flavors from the land I come, Kokan or coastal Maharashtra. Hapoos, Coconut and Pomegranate spiced with black pepper and mustard seeds.Yes mustard seeds taste the mocktail and I'd love to hear what you think of it. 

Besides this I have brought the lush green of the Kokan into this drink by using sprigs of mint both to flavor and to dress it up. The pomegrante bejewels the mocktail and elevates it further. 

Won't you want to make it with me now?

Servings 2

Ingredients

The Pomegranate Jewels

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

water

Make pomegranate jewels in advance and keep them available when you plan to make this mocktail.

Fill an ice tray with pomegranate arils and top it with water. Freeze overnight to get lovely ruby ice cubes. I used an ice tray with small cells for this as they look dainty than the standard large ones.

The paste and extract

2-3 tablespoons fresh grated coconut

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

100 ml water

Make a paste with coconut, mustard seeds and 100ml water. Strain it thru a fine sieve to extract the thick liquid. Discard the cake left behind after extraction. Keep aside the extract.

The rest of the mocktail

150 ml Hapoos mango pulp (from my Eshop)

100 ml water

30 ml honey

1/2 teaspoon pink salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

In a drink shaker measure out exactly mango pulp, water and honey. Add salt and pepper. Shake vigorously to ensure honey is dissolved completely and the salt and pepper is homogenized.

At this point add the 100 ml coconut and mustard extract. Just shake once to mix.

Pour out the mocktail in a measuring cup. You will have a total of aproximately 380ml liquid.

The Final Touch

2 sprigs of fresh mint (from my Window Grill Box)

Prepare 2 elegant tumblers (350 ml) by adding to them the Pomegranate Jewels, 20 of the small cubes in each.

Take the sprigs of fresh mint in hand. Except the top 3-4 leaves remove rest of the leaves and drop them into the tumbler. Place the sprig of mint standing in the tumbler which now looks like a tree.

Divide the mocktail into the 2 tumblers, 190 ml each.

Serve immediately to your family or guests and see them enjoy every sip.

To enjoy the drink, sip slowly move it around in the mouth feel the smoothness of Hapoos and coconut. Crunch on the Pomegranate jewels and the mint leaves. Take another sip notice the faint pungency of mustard seeds. Wait and feel your throat warm up to the black pepper. Enjoy the slow sips over wonderful conversations or go to your favorite nook at home and sit with a book.

I would love to serve it in the Urban Dazzle's Longchamp Highball Tumbler 360ml. It is the right volume for this mocktail and the design is regal so it goes with my theme of jeweled ice cubes and the smoothness and warmth of my Konkan Nexus!