Re: Rooh Afza and shikanjbeen
NO, they are NOT! shikanjabeen is a thick paste of sugar and lemon juice that people in olden days used to lick with fingers. since it was so ‘khaTtaa’ [sour], you would see skin of the forehead shrivel and, hence, the name ‘shikanjabeen’! [shikan = shirivel; jabeen = forhead] given to it…sharbat shikanjabeen is it’s modern version.
Indian Beverage Company, Kissan, used to make ShikanJabeen and market it in bottles…we used to dilute it to make sharbat.