RAIBI / MOROCCAN YOGURT DRINK WITH MANGO GINGER, COCONUT AND FRESH ROSE PETALS FLOAT - MY DATE WITH BOGART AND CASABLANCA

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I am in Casablanca, no not the movie but this buzzing with smiles city in Morocco which has me thinking about the Oscar winning movie with the (gasp!!! , scream ) hero Humphery Bogart. I stand and take a deep breath, close my eyes and instantly flashes from the movie engulf me. It's been many years since I have seen the movie umpteen, no lost count number of times. But today as I stand in Casablanca with my eyes closed, the sultry sea breeze caressing the strands of hair across my face, oblivious of the crowds nudging me slightly as they break the din and walk past me, all I can remember is the love between the two lead characters of the movie and oh there goes my heart on a thump thump spree.

It's been three years since I made that memorable trip to the Moroccan city of Casablanca, but as I sit now in my home in Dubai typing away on my iPad with the urge to tell the world about my date with Bogart and Casablanca the same excitement breezes into my room as I did feel on that day in Casablanca. I think I had landed in this Moroccan city with an urge to discover more about the Casablanca that I had known through the film. It was so ingrained in me and I had a strong imaginary visual about this city which started with Rick's Cafe Americain and ended with Ingrid Bergman ( the lead actress ) telling "Was that Cannon fire or is it my heart pounding" and all the other memorable dialogues of the film which I knew by heart  mostly by then.

I, however realised as the city of Casablanca unfolded it's beauty slowly but surely, there was much more to this lovely place than what I had preconceived as a result of the movie. As I walked the neatly appointed avenues, past the well manicured public parks I realised how beautifully the city had been accentuated with the flamboyant fountains and astounding buildings whose design were reminiscent of the colonial era. But the most striking architecture was that of  the expansive and lavishly decorated by intricate designs Hassan II mosque. These visuals were enough to get me floored to a place with a fascinating history. Wait, there is more, for the shopaholics, it's labyrinth of souks ( open air market place ) is a true delight navigating you into a world of gorgeous Moroccan fare.

HASSAN II MOSQUE

Having taken in all the sights , smells and cuisine of Morocco I know in my head one thing that I cannot leave Casablanca without a visit to Rick's Cafe . In the movie Casablanca, Humphery Bogart the hero, plays an American expatriate who owns this upscale night club called Rick's Café Américan. Though the movie was shot in a Hollywood studio 6000 miles away from Casablanca, this Moroccan city was made famous by the hugely popular and epic Hollywood film of the same name.

Now coming back to Rick's Cafe which I had to visit before saying my final goodbyes to Casablanca was built only 62 years later after the film played in the theaters for the first time. Rick's Cafe was designed to recreate the bar and cafe made hugely popular by the classic film Casablanca. The owners of Rick's Cafe I am told took utmost care with its designing, architecture and decorative details, so that as one walked through the door's of Rick's Cafe the experience would be, bringing to life the "Jin Joint" of Cinema fame in today's Casablanca.And you bet they did just that.

SOURCE

As I had walked through the doors, I had goose bumps and I could almost hear Humpery Bogart's husky voice saying to me "Of all the Jin joints in all the towns, in all the worlds, she walks into mine." I spent some good hours literally gulping in the intricate brass floors, the metal shades strung dramatically with beads, the 1930's grand piano and so much more, everything reminiscent of the film and evoking the feeling of being right there. I will never forget how the emotions swelled in me as I sat at a table next to the grand 1930 era piano sipping slowly into a Glass of Raibi with a delicate rose float and listening to the pianist play the famous song from the film "As Time Goes By". I truly didn't want this date of mine with Bogart and Casablanca to end.

When the topic of our Blog Hop was decided as Beverages, I knew without a though that I would share the recipe of Raibi, a Moroccan Yogurt Drink and tell the story of how I was lucky to live moments from the Oscar Winning Classic Casablanca right in the city where it was conceived. Before I go back to Casablanca again to experience the action packed moments especially the bike chase from the latest Mission Impossible series Rogue Nation and come back with another story, let's get making Raibi right  away in our kitchens.

Raibi is a very popular Moroccan Yogurt drink. I shared the recipe below that of  how I learnt to make a Moroccan Raibi along with my addition of a mango ginger, coconut, fresh rose petals float. So my recipe is in two steps.

Step 1: Making the Raibi

Step 2: Making the mango ginger, coconut, fresh rose petals sorbet float.

I followed the recipe of Raibi and the grenadine syrup from this SOURCE

SERVES : 4

CUISINE : MOROCCAN

TYPE : BEVERAGE

TIME : FOR RAIBI - 5 MINUTES WITH THE GRENADINE SYRUP READY TO USE

              FOR SORBET FLOAT - 10 MINUTES PREPARATION + OVERNIGHT FREEZING

RECIPE OF RAIBI :

INGREDIENTS :

1) 500 ml Buttermilk ( If thick Butter Milk is used then Mix 50 Ml of Cold Water or Chilled Milk)

2) 80 Gms of Vanilla Yogurt, preferably with real Vanilla beans

3) 80 Gms of Strawberry or Raspberry Yogurt

3) 1 Tbsp Dried Milk Powder ( Optional )

4) 3-4 Tbsp of Grenadine Syrup ( Recipe Below for homemade) Store bought equally good.

5) 1 Tiny Slice of Pre-Cooked Beetroot

THIS IS WHAT YOU DO :

In a food processor or blender whizz all the ingredients to mix well. Chill further and serve chilled.

RECIPE FOR HOMEMADE GRENADINE SYRUP:

INGREDIENTS :

1) 400 Gms of Pomegranate Arils or store bought Pomegranate Juice

2) 1 Medium sized Beetroot, skinned and roughly chopped

3) Sugar

4) 200 ml Water

5) Rose, Strawberry or Raspberry Essence. I used rose essence.

THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT:

1) Boil the beetroots covered with water till fully cooked. Strain the water into a bowl after beetroots are completely cooked. Use the boiled beetroots in any dish. Keep the water aside.

2) In a pan add the pomegranate arils or pomegranate juice and the strained water from the beetroot juice. Bring to a rolling boil and simmer over medium heat for 10-15 minutes.

Note : We add the beetroot water for natural red colouring.

3) Mash the cooked pomegranate arils with a potato masher. Strain. Now weigh the strained liquid. Transfer the strained liquid into a pan. Mix equal amount of sugar as the weight of the liquid. Bring the contents of the pan to a boil and then simmer on medium heat for at least 10 minutes or a little more till the liquid thickens.

Add a few drops of strawberry, raspberry or rose extract. Set aside to bring the liquid to room temperature. The liquid would have thickened. Your grenadine syrup is ready. Refrigerate and use the syrup cold.

FOR THE MANGO GINGER, COCONUT AND FRESH ROSE PETALS SORBET:

INGREDIENTS :

1) 200 Ml of thick coconut milk, either freshly squeezed or store bought

2) 1 Tbsp grated Mango Ginger

3) 1 Tbsp grated fresh coconut

4) 2 Tbsp of fresh rose petals cut in small pieces

5) 4 Tbsp of Sugar

6) 50 Ml of water

7) 1 tsp of rose extract

THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT :

1) Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl until the sugar dissolves. 

2) You can then use an ice cream maker and follow the instructions and get your sorbet ready. I did not use an ice cream maker and therefore froze the mix for 5 hours, then took the bowl out and with a fork broke all the ice that had formed in the sorbet and again froze it back. I repeated this process three times and finally set it. I didn't put the mixture in a food processor and whizz it as I wanted the grated coconut and mango ginger, fresh rose petals to remain as they were.

ASSEMBLING :

In a tall glass pour the raibi leaving some space on the top for the float. Place a couple of scoops of the sorbet on the top and serve this refreshing creamy yummy drink with a smile.
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This post is a part of the Blog Hop event "Beverages". Do Check out other amazing beverages from the Culinary Hoppers team:

Shubha - Sweet Lassi
Anupama - Strawberry Coconut cooler with Kiwi and Lime, Strawberry Banana Yogurt Drink
Vani - Beverage Collection
Jayashree - Iced Expresso
Padma - Honey Ginger Lemonade, Mint Flavored watermelon Cooler, Virgin Pina Colada
Sonal - Jamun Amla Panna
Shailja - Musk Melon Cooler
Swati - Roohafza Applade