A popular Indian juice made with mixed fruits, Cocktail Juice is perfect with a hint of rock salt.
It comes together in five minutes and is always delicious and refreshing!
Warm weather calls for cooling drinks and juices are perfect!
From lemongrass ginger cooler and frozen grape slush to Blood Orange Lemonade and aam panna; these are great for summer.
Mumbai tends to get pretty warm and humid through summers and a glass of chilled cocktail juice does so much good! Made with a mix of fruits and seasoned with a pinch of rock salt, this juice is popular in Mumbai at all the street side juice stalls.
If you have seen the street vendors who sell juices, you would have come across cocktail; a magenta colored juice that is slightly thicker than the other fruit juices and tastes delicious!
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What is Cocktail juice?
To start with, cocktail juice is pretty different from the alcoholic cocktails. This juice has no alcohol and is actually a mix of fruits with sugar and rock salt.
Every vendor will have their own mix of fruits that they use to make this. However, one common fruit is black grapes. When blended, the grapes give a brilliant magenta color, which is signature to the drink.
Quite often there are jokes that making cocktail juice is the best way for the vendor to use up fruits that are lying around the stall. But the way they make it; it is ALWAYS delicious!
This recipe is based on the different versions of cocktail juice I have had in Mumbai. From street vendors to popular restaurants like Amar Juice Centre, Sukh Sagar and Shiv Sagar sell this cocktail juice. This version is based on these.
Why this recipe works
- This juice is a blend of fruits. While there are signature fruits like grapes in it; we can use any other fruits that are available. This is an easy way to sneak in fruits that. kids dislike.
- If the fruits are sweet, we can make do with almost no sugar in the drink. That way it is healthier than the sugar loaded drinks.
- Given that the cocktail juice has only a few ingredients; we can make it any time of the year. Fresh or canned fruits make the drink delicious.
- The juice works great as a welcome drink at parties, for evening snacks or even for kids parties. The attractive color makes it kids favorite too!
Overall, the cocktail juice is easy to make, always a hit at parties and a great way to have a lot of fruits in a glass. Make it and enjoy with kids and adults alike.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Fruits: This juice has a mix of fruits. I have used black grapes, apple and pineapple to make this. Adding some other fruits like orange, sweet lime, pears or watermelon works too. The fruits can all be fresh, canned or frozen. I added fresh grapes and apple along with canned pineapple to the recipe.
- Sugar: Depending on the tartness or sweetness of the fruits, add sugar if required. I added a little as the grapes were not the sweetest.
- Rock Salt: A pinch of rock salt gives the juice a great taste. It balances the sweetness from sugar and fruits along with the tartness of grapes and pineapple. I would strongly recommend adding this. It is a signature of the juice. If you absolutely cannot find it, add a pinch of chaat masala. The taste will not be the same though.
- Ice and Water: A little water will be required to blend the fruits. Add ice if you prefer the drink chilled.
See the recipe card for detailed ingredient information, measurements and nutrition.
How to make this recipe
Pre-prep: Wash the fruits that are fresh. Then remove the stems from the grapes. Core the apple and cut into chunks. Clean the pineapple and cut into chunks. If using canned, drain the liquids and set aside.
1- In a blender jar add the fruits, water, sugar and rock salt.
2- Blend till smooth. Add more water if required.
3- Strain using a mesh strainer and discard the skins.
4- Transfer the cocktail juice to glasses and add ice if desired. Serve immediately topped with some rock salt.
Expert Tips and Notes
- Clean the grapes well and remove all the stems before making the juice. Try and use seedless grapes for the best smooth juice without any stray particles. While black grapes work the best, red or green ones will do too.
- Ice is optional in the recipe. Some ice can also be blended with the juice to make a chilled drink.
- Adjust sugar based on the tartness of the fruits. The same juice can be made without sugar too.
- Add just enough water to blend the fruits to a fine texture. Remember that adding too much water will dilute the juice a lot.
- Consume the cocktail juice immediately to avoid it from getting oxidized. It can be refrigerated for a couple hours but not recommended to keep overnight or for the entire day.
Recipe FAQs
Black grapes, pineapple and apples are most popular in this drink. They give the right consistency and color to the cocktail juice.
Adding fruits like sweet lime (mosambi), green grapes, watermelon, pears and oranges works well in the recipe. Just ensure they do not being all tart ones else a LOT of sugar will be required.
I would totally recommend using it. Rock salt adds the perfect saltiness to balance the sweet and tart tastes in this cocktail juice. It is easily available in Indian stores, on Amazon and at other stores too. Called rock salt, kala namak or Himalayan pink salt, this salt is a MUST-HAVE for the recipe for the flavor.
If you absolutely cannot find it, replace with some chaat masala or regular salt. The flavors will definitely vary but might work to some extend.
More Drink Recipes to try
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Indian Cocktail Juice
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Wash the fruits that are fresh.
- Remove the stems from the grapes. Core the apple and cut into chunks. Clean the pineapple and cut into chunks. If using canned, drain the liquids and set aside.
- In a blender jar add the fruits, water, sugar and rock salt.
- Blend till smooth. Add more water if required.
- Strain using a mesh strainer and discard the skins.
- Transfer to glasses and add ice if desired.
- Serve immediately topped with some rock salt.
Video
Notes
- Clean the grapes well and remove all the stems before making the juice. Try and use seedless grapes for the best smooth juice without any stray particles. While black grapes work the best, red or green ones will do too.
- Ice is optional in the recipe. Some ice can also be blended with the juice to make a chilled drink.
- Adjust sugar based on the tartness of the fruits. The same juice can be made without sugar too.
- Add just enough water to blend the fruits to a fine texture. Remember that adding too much water will dilute the juice a lot.
- Consume the cocktail juice immediately to avoid it from getting oxidized. It can be refrigerated for a couple hours but not recommended to keep overnight or for the entire day.
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