Virgin Plum Mojito | Mocktail Recipe | Summer Drink

 

Hi All!

Today I’m sharing yet another simple recipe which is a perfect summer drink to beat the heat. Though I have called it a summer drink, personally I could have it any time. It is so refreshing and the flavours are fresh and natural. It’s a Mojito made using the stoned fruits in season-the plums.

Mojito (pronounced Mohito) essentially is a Cuban highball, enjoyed during the summers. A highball is a mixed drink which has less volume of alcohol content and more volume of a non alcoholic mixer. An original Mojito is made of five ingredients; mint, lemon, sugar (sugarcane juice), rum and soda water. The virgin version of the Mojito has become very popular in India and leading  food joints serve and sell Mojito, also the Mojito mix is readily available in retail outlets, making it more easy to make but nothing beats a freshly made Mojito using fresh ingredients.

Like my previous post Plum & Coconut Soup, I’ve used the tanginess of the plums to my advantage here as the plums I bought were as sour as the lemon, so decided to use less lemon juice in the preparation. This preparation is so simple and quick to make, if a simple sugar syrup is made in advance. Now a days, I keep the sugar syrup ready at all the times, as it stays good for a month and it comes very handy while making fresh lemonade or any Mocktail.

In an authentic Mojito, the sugar, lemon juice along with mint is crushed gently using a muddler. The mint is allowed to release it’s essential oils without tearing the leaves. Now I don’t have a muddler, so I used my spring form lentil churner to mix (one can use the wooden churner too), and while muddling I added lemon slices also in my mix as I wanted the flavour of the lemon rind in the Mojito. Do try adding the lemon skin as it adds an extremely nice aromatic flavour but one has to be careful as if the lemon slice is pressed hard it releases the bitter flavour from the pith side. Else, grate some lemon rind and add to the mix.

I made about two large glasses of the Mocktail and we all shared in the family. It was so refreshing that it instantly brought a smile on my face. My parents loved it and it was enjoyed more as it has been extremely sultry here for the past few days.

This drink is going as my first entry to Urban Dazzle Contest and my second entry to Kitchen Aid cooking contest organised especially for the participants of IFBMeet. I love Urban Dazzle glassware and I would have loved to serve the plum Mojito served in Serie High Ball Tumbler from Urban Dazzle’s highball collection.

Since the Mocktail is gluten free, I’m also sending it to my event ‘ONLY’ Gluten Free cooking, hosted here through this month.

 

Virgin Plum Mojito

Preparation Time:5-7mins | Serves: 1 | Difficulty Level : Easy

 

Ingredients

2plums, seeded and chopped finely

1/2 lemon’s juice (adjust based on the sourness of plums)

7-8 mint leaves

1/2 lemon sliced

1/2 - 3/4cup simple sugar syrup*

ice cubes

1/2 – 3/4 cup of soda/ aerated water

To garnish

lemon slice

plum slice

fresh mint leaves

drinking straw

Method

In a bowl mix, plum, a little sugar syrup, lemon juice, mint leaves and lemon slices and muddle lightly for half a minute using either a muddler or the lentil churner.

Remove the lemon slices (if one likes them, can keep, I do not like, so I removed most of them) and transfer the mix to a tall glass. Add more sugar syrup and top it up with aerated water/soda water. Gently stir and add ice cubes and serve immediately.

Drink chilled.

 

Notes

* To make simple sugar syrup mix equal portions of sugar and water and put it on heat. Bring it to a boil, let the sugar dissolve completely. Simmer and boil more for a minute. Cool and store in a bottle. Refrigerate and use within a month.