Just so there's no confusion, this post will be about drinks from the country of India, and not those enjoyed and manufactured by Native Americans. On that note, Happy (slightly belated) Indigenous People's Day! As you might expect, I got these three beverages from that great grocery store I recently "discovered", India Bazaar in Stratford, NJ. The ones I'll talk about are Sosyo mixed fruit drink from the Hajoori company, Ashoka mango milk from KFPL, and the Nature's Best Kashmiri soda (spicy soda).
Alas, I wasn't able to find out much of anything about the KFPL company, such as from an official company website. The distribution company was ADF, for American Dry Fruits, which in addition to Indian cuisine also distributes Mexican and Mediterranean fare. ADF started in 1932. The mango milk drink is a canned version of a mango lassi, the common smoothie-like drink in basically every Indian restaurant. The drink was a product of India, though.
Similarly, I wasn't able to learn anything about the Nature's Best firm, and just a bit about the distributor. The distribution company was IGS, short for Indian Groceries & Spices, Inc. This business was started in 1971 by Shirish Sanghavi, and it distributes Indian, or Indian-style pickles, spices, rice, flour, oil, ghee, and other drinks to the U.S. and Canada. Nirav is one of their brand names. However, spicy soda, or Masala soda (Masala means "spice mix"), is hugely popular in India, especially during hot times of the year. It's a common street vendor drink, and has several variants. One, called "nimbu," is a spicy lemon or lime flavored drink. Masala soda itself is made with a combination of regular white salt, black salt, cumin, amchor (dried sour mango), ginger, tumeric, black pepper, chili pepper, mint, and/or dried pomegranate seed powder. Black salt (aka kala namak) is salt infused with sulfur, which provides its distinctive pungent, eggy odor and flavor. Not surprisingly, big corporations have tried their hands at these drinks, and even Coke and Pepsi sell version of spicy soda in India.
The Hajoori company dates back to 1923, started by a man named Abbas Rahim Hajoori. Hajoori decided he wanted to make an Indian soft drink to compete against the U.K.'s Vimto (see my June 9, 2013 post for more about that drink), so he created his own fruity soda. It went through a couple of name changes: For a while in the 1950's it was called Socio, reportedly after the Latin word for social, socious. However, the moniker eventually reverted back to Sosyo soon after. The Sosyo brand is evidently huge in India, and is considered the country's traditional, flagship brand. The company even has drink stands called "The Sosyo Cult." Hajoori itself markets over 100 different drinks, including various fruit flavors, their own Kashmiri spicy soda, an energy drink, and bottled water. They export to many nations, including South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Zambia, Switzerland, the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.
1) Hajoori Sosyo mixed fruit drink: Came in a small, 250 mL (8.45 ounce) can, and was a brown color. Contained a small amount (7%) of apple juice, and 3% lemon juice. This was was just mediocre, or "meh." I found its sweetness a bit cloying. Alright, but not exceptional.
2) KFPL badam mazaa, mango milk drink: Was a yellowish color, and came in a 180 mL (6.08 ounce) can. Drink was 88% cow milk, and apparently no actual mangoes--it was listed as "nature identical flavor (mango) .08%." It also had almonds in it. I should say I adore mango lassies, so I was hopeful going in. And this canned version didn't disappoint--I really enjoyed this drink quite a lot. Very tasty.
3) Nature's Best, Nirav, Kashmiri soda (spicy soda): This one came in a plastic bottle (300 mL/10.1 ounces) and was a brownish hue. What an odd experience! Spicy soda was one of the weirdest soft drinks I've ever had, with a unique flavor. It tasted like some crunchy snack food. No sweetness at all, just savory. But here's the thing--it worked. It had its own special charm, and I loved it. I will definitely seek this kind of soda, and this particular brand, out again. Congrats to the soft drink makers of India--what an amazing idea for a beverage. Spicewise, the listed ingredients were cumin and salt, and I don't know if this was regular salt, or the black, kala namak sulfur kind.
Therefore, all in all I was favorably impressed by these Indian drinks. Two of them were at least very good, and even the weakest one was still alright. Plus it was neat to try something different in a soft drink (for two of them, at least). Most countries just have their similar versions of cola, or various common fruit flavored soft drinks, so it was refreshing to have something off the beaten path. I'll definitely buy the mango milk and spicy soda drinks again, and look to try other company's takes on them as well.
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