I remember as a kid whenever I would fall ill, my mother’s hand would automatically reach out for the bottle of lemon barley syrup kept inside the deep recesses of the kitchen cupboard. ’’It’ll keep you cool and is also healthy, that’s what she would say. And I would of course blindly believe her and gulp it down. At that time, it would be medicine for me as I would always associate it with falling ill. But just recently, when my husband fell ill and the doctor advised him to have barley water, all my memories came rushing back to me and I eagerly went and bought a bottle. This time on drinking it I actually relished the taste of the same.
It has a very lemony flavor which lingers in the mouth even after one has finished drinking a glass of it. I would even go this far and say that it tastes better than the nimbu paani (lemonade) that we usually have and so much easier to make too. And guess what? It gives us nutrition as well!!! Lemon barley water is easly available in the general stores and also at any chemist. We purchased the one manufactured by Mapro which is a 700 ml bottle costing Rs 63/-. You mix it like your regular concentrate …..2 tsps of lemon barley sruyp in a tall glass of cold water. It is primarily made from barley seeds and lemons. It is also recommended for medicinal purposes because of the high protein content.It is known as a diuretic for people suffering from Kidney stones.
Right now, Lemon barley water is definetly high on my list . With summer getting even more scorching , I would recommend it to anyone who wants to cool off by trying this tasty drink with loads of nutrition in it. Yummmmm!