Jil jil jigarthanda

Jil Jil Jigarthanda

Origin
Place of origin	India
Region or state	Madurai - Tamil Nadu

Jil Jil Jigarthanda is a south Indian beverage. It originated in Madurai, a town in the Tamil Nadu state of India. In Hindi "Jigarthanda" translates to "Cold Heart". The worlds "Jil Jil" are added to give it a rhyming sound and they roughly translates to "Cool Cool".

It is generally prepared and served by road side pull-inns in Madurai as refreshment during the Indian summer.

Preparation

Things needed: 1. Milk 2. China Grass (Commonly known as "Kadal Paasi" in Tamil) 3. Sarsaparilla syrup (Commonly known as "Nannaari Syrub" in Tamil) 4. Ice-cream (Vanila flavour is Ideal)

Steps: 1. Boil the milk till it reduce to half in volume. This is to increase the thickness of milk which will add good taste to the recipe. When milk turns into pale yellow colour then it is the indication that the milk has been brought to good condition. Now remove from boiling and let it come to room temperature. Then refrigerate this for a while. 2. Soak the china grass (Mostly available in many super markets) in water for about 3 hours. After 3 hours it will look like pieces of jellies. Now take out the china grass from water. 3. Now take a glass - Pour milk up to half of the glass - Mix well the sarsaparila syrub and china grass with milk - Finally put a scoop of vanila ice-cream on top - Enjoy the drink.

Note: 1. Badam pisins may be substituted for china grass. 2. Rose syrup is predominantly used in many shops instead of sarsaparilla syrub.

Recipe

Ingredients

• Milk – 5 cups
• China Grass (Agar Agar) – 5 gms
• Sugar – 1 cup (you can add less sugar if you please) or alternatively u can add half a tin of *Milkmaid(tm) this will reduce the cooking time of the milk and give it the faint pink color soon.
• Nannari – 1 tbsp (Available in syrup form in Ayurvedic shops) / Rose syrup - 1 tbsp
• Ice cream – 1 scoop for one glass,
• Sago(javarishi / sabudana) – 1 small cup soaked in water for 2–3 hours

Method

• Boil the milk in a saucepan, till it turns slightly pink.
• In case you are using milkmaid then check for sugar , if you need more sweet you can add sugar to taste and stir until it dissolves and when the mik turns slightly pink, switch off the gas.
• Allow it to come to room temperature and then refrigerate it.
• Take some hot milk (from the milk we boiled with sugar/ milkmaid) from the saucepan and add in another vessel, Add the sago to this milk and cook till the sago becomes transparent.
• Switch off the gas.
• Keep this separately and refrigerate it.
• Prepare the Agar Agar Jelly and keep the cubes ready accordingly.

Serving Instructions

• Take a tall glass tumbler, pour one ladle of the cool milk with the sago, ensuring that there is enough sago at the bottom of your glass.
• Add 1 tablespoon of the Agar Agar (China Grass) jelly that u have cut into cubes and kept.
• Add the nannari syrup, if nannari is not available you can also add rose syrup which is commonly available, Rose is also known for its cooling properties if consumed.
• Now pour the boiled cool milk on top of all this leaving just quarter of a space in the tumbler.
• Top it up with a scoop of ice cream.

To add a special touch to your jigar thanda add a tablespoon of Theretti pal or Paal Khoa

Availability

Jigarthanda was popularised by the Muslim settlers in the areas around Madurai, which is still the only city where this drink is found authentic. "Famous Jigarthanda Stall" on the East Marrat Street along with its branch at Anna Nagar in Madurai have set the records for most jigarthanda sold by volume by a single outlet. The shop witnesses a huge turnout especially in the busy evenings and the mood around the place is always jubilant.

Jil Jil Jigarthanda is popular because of its cooling properties against the temperature of the region.