When the coastal sun is unforgiving, relish this Sharjah Shake which has the goodness of fresh bananas and frozen milk.
In summers, sister and I used to gobble these up during our college days.
There was a time, back in the 90s, when Sharjah Shake was so popular among the Malayalees. As you know, the summer sun can be unforgiving in Kerala and you can find everyone, young and old alike, hanging out in the near-by juice parlours. Be it the traditional Kerala Lime Soda, soft drinks, or Sharjah Shake, we have our ways to beat the summer sun.
So, what is Sharjah Shake? How did it get its name?
Honestly, I always thought it was a dish that came from Sharjah, UAE and maybe, since there are a lot of Keralites in the Gulf, it became popular here too.
Well, not really.
Legend says that this drink was prepared in one of the Juice shops in Calicut, back in the 1980s. He shopkeeper had prepared this drink, chopping up few Njaalipoovan (small bananas) and blended it with frozen milk. He had served it to a few people watching the Sharjah Cup and when they asked what the name of the drink was, the shopkeeper named it Sharjah Shake. Interesting, don’t you think?
How to Prepare Sharjah Shake
Sharjah Shake is the good old banana milkshake. But we give it a good twist and it becomes a lip-smacking yummilicious drink.
The best variety of banana that can be used to prepare this drink is Njalipoovan, the small yellow banana which is sweet. Blend a couple of bananas with frozen milk. Any type of nuts – like cashew or peanut and a malt drink – Horlicks, Boost or Bournvita is also added. You can also add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, figs, dates and what not!
So, prepare this rich drink this summer and find your kids go gaga over it in no time!
Sharjah Shake Recipe
Sharjah Shake
Ingredients
- 2 small bananas (preferably Njaalipoovan)
- 1 packet frozen milk, crushed
- 2 tbsp Horlicks (or Boost/Bournvita)
- 2-3 tbsp Cashew Nuts
- 1 tbsp salted Peanuts
- 3 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Instant Coffee powder
- 1+1 scoop Vanilla Ice cream
Instructions
- Blend all the ingredients together.
- Top it with a scoop of ice cream, some peanuts, and cashews.
- Serve chilled
That’s all for now!
How do you prepare your banana milkshakes? Let me know.
I hope you’ll drop by tomorrow too.
My theme for the A to Z Challenge this year is ’26 Kerala Dishes that have my heart’, where I would share a multitude of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes from the Spice Capital of the World- Kerala!
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Sounds yummmmy! Will try this for sure!
This is a tasty twist in the recipe. Liked it.
I like banana milkshakes combined with strawberry and Avocado. This one looks yum.
They add horlicks to this? Wow, I would have never thought.
I love Sharjah shake. So delicious and filling it is.
So tempting, an extended version of normal banana shake.Great to know the background story 🙂
Such a wonderful twist to milk Shake. I am keeping the milk to get frozen..
Every successful dish has a humble beginning. Then by quirks of time and space, it gets popular enough to be quoted in A2Z competition. Well from the looks of it, the drink is certainly worth a try. Heat in Delhi is no less than in Kerala. So we also deserve a Sharjah Shake.
Very interesting story behind the name. It sounds like a tasty and nice recipe to try this summer.
Another wonderful recipe! trying it soon
Yum! Interesting story behind it. Addition of Horlicks in it is an interesting combination too. I normally make banana shake with big bananas and never tried with small ones.
In my mind, banana shake was always sharjah shake… but then people would say they add dates and this and that and i used to get real confused… I definitely didnt know about coffee powder but earlier versions told to me had boost or bournvita, i think. saving this for trying myself.
Even I thought this is a delicacy of Sharjah
Interesting story and the recipe as well. Will try it for my younger son who loves banana shakes. Thanks for sharing.