Fancy a spiced and delicious drink this festive season? Try this Spiced Tamarind Mocktail (Imli Mocktail) which is inspired by the flavors of Imli ki Chutney. This tamarind drink is spiced, refreshing, a little sweet and a little tart and is a great drink to serve at your parties.

For the last few years, I have made it a mission to share at least one mocktail recipe for the festive season on the blog. Honestly I feel like people who don’t drink (like me and my husband) miss out big time on drinks during the holidays. And so, I like coming up with drinks which taste great and can be enjoyed by all.

Last Diwali, I shared the Spicy Mango Mocktail and the year before I shared the Spicy Sunset Mocktail. The word “spicy” seems to be the common factor here so this year we have Spiced Tamarind Mocktail. I love drinking the “golgappe ka meetha paani” (the sweet water with golgappe) and I also love imli chutney and so I thought since I love these flavors so much, why not create a drink using the same flavors. And it did turn out good!

Ingredients

Tamarind chutney: for this recipe, you need to either make tamarind/imli chutney or get it from the store. I honestly recommend getting it from Indian stores, will save you time and since this is a drink store bought or homemade chutney won’t make a huge difference to the final taste of the drink (unlike chaat where homemade is obviously better).

Spices: To spice up the drink, we add fennel seeds, black salt (kala namak) and fresh ginger. Also a little bit of sugar to balance out the tanginess.

Ginger Ale (zero): I like using Canada Dry Zero for this mocktail. You can use plain soda as well if you can’t find this. I would not use the regular Canada dry, it will just make it too sweet. Or if you do use it, just skip the sugar in the tamarind syrup.

Step by Step Instructions

1. Take 2 cups (16 oz/480 ml) water in a pan. Add 3 & 1/2 tablespoons of tamarind chutney to it. The chutney can be homemade or store-bought.
2. Add 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, 1/2 teaspoon kala namak, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1-inch grated ginger to the pan. Put the pan on the stovetop on medium heat.
3. Mix everything using a wire whisk and let the mixture come to a gentle boil.
4. Then turn off the heat and cover the pan with a plate and let it sit for 45 minutes for the flavors to steep in.

5. Then using a strainer, strain out the liquid. Chill the tamarind liquid in the refrigerator. You can easily make this 2 to 3 days in advance.
6. To serve the drink, first take 1 teaspoon of kala namak and 1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder in a bowl and mix the two. Reduce the kashmiri red chili powder to 1/4 teaspoon if you want to make it less spicy.
7. Take a lime wedge and run it around the glass rim.
8. Then dip the rim into the kala namak and kashmiri red chili powder mixture that we prepared.

9. Add a small lime wedge and 4 to 5 mint leaves in the glass. Using a muddler (or use a wooden spoon), muddle the lime and mint leaves to release their juices.
10. Now, add ice cubes to the glass.
11. To make 1 serving, add 2 oz of the prepared tamarind liquid first. Note that this ratio works for a 7 to 8 oz glass, smaller glass would need less liquid.
12. Top with the Canada dry (zero) until glass is full. You can also add plain soda but the canada dry adds more flavor. But try to use zero and not the regular one for less sweetness. Top with more mint leaves and serve immediately.

Advance Prep

You can make the tamarind water easily 2 to 3 days in advance. That will make the process of making the drink on the day of your party so easy. Just keep the tamarind mixture refrigerated and then add the soda just before you plan to serve the drink.