Tata’s Rose Water Lemonade
This drink was always a staple at my Tata’s house. Our Tata (my dad’s mom, Nimat) had a huge sweet tooth and would stack her kitchen with jars of candy (always including starburst), cookies, and, of course, her sweet rose water lemonade. As a child, I loved going into her fridge and getting a glass of her signature lemonade as I knew it would have the right amount of sweetness along with an interesting floral twist.
The wonderful rose water has finally started to make its way into American cooking and grocery stores, but some tips about this aromatic additive. Rose water must be used sparingly with a few drops at a time. If there is too much rose water is in your drink, it can overtake the taste and produce a bitter flavor. You can find rose water in grocery stores, but Middle Eastern or Indian grocery stores will have it at a significantly cheaper price.
My Tata’s lemonade recipe is on the sweeter side, so feel free to change proportions as you find fit for your pallet. To add some extra color to your summer bbq, you can use this drink as a base for cocktails… I like adding gin and sparkling water for a nice Saturday day drink.
All fun facts aside… I truly hope you enjoy this wonderful drink. It brings back many memories with my Tata, and it’s always a joy remembering her sweet tooth and goodies in her kitchen. Cheers to Tata adding her lovely twist to the classic lemonade!
Tata’s Rose Water Lemonade
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups lemon juice (about 12 lemons)
- 1 1/4 cups simple syrup
- 5 1/2 cups water
- 1 1/3 tbsp rose water
Simple Syrup Recipe
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Combine simple syrup ingredients in a small pot and stir over medium heat. Continue to stir until all sugar is dissolved. Take off stove and wait until it's room temperature before combining with rest of lemonade ingredients
- In a medium sized pitcher, combine lemon juice, simple syrup, water and rose water. This recipe can be as tart or sweet as you like, so you can play with the proportions to your taste preference. However, be careful with adding too much rose water. This can create a bitter taste to your lemonade if too potent, so use the rose water cautiously if you would like to add more
- Add ice and some lemon slices for decoration and enjoy!
