Hamdard

Hamdard began in Old Delhi as a house of Unani herbal preparations, and today the name is carried by separate Hamdard organisations in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Its best-known product by far is a rose sharbat, a thick red syrup flavoured with rose and a blend of fruit and herbal extracts, which has been poured in South Asian homes for generations.

The Hamdard bottle sits in our rose syrup and sherbet collection, alongside other rose drinks, within the wider cordials and syrups shelf. It is a concentrate, so a single bottle makes a great many glasses, and the large size is the one most families keep for the hot months and for breaking the fast.

The simplest way to serve it is a couple of spoonfuls in a glass of iced water with a squeeze of lime. Stirred into chilled milk it becomes the pink doodh sharbat set out at iftar in Pakistani and North Indian homes, and with soaked basil seeds it turns into a quick summer cooler. It is the syrup that gives falooda its colour, layered with vermicelli, basil seeds, jelly and ice cream, and it is drizzled over kulfi, shaved ice and rice pudding. Some cooks add a splash to lassi or to the syrup for gulab jamun.

Keep the bottle tightly closed in a cool cupboard and wipe the neck after pouring so the cap does not stick. For other rose drinks to compare, see the Stars rose syrup, and for falooda you will also want the falooda mixes and sev collection.