Pentire Adrift, cucumber, curry leaf, chaat masala & tonic — Trishna London
Kulukki is a Malayalam word from Kerala — it refers to the technique of shaking a drink between two hands (like tossing a ball of dough), used for everything from chilled coconut water to tea. Trishna takes this as the name for their NA garden spritz — Pentire Adrift (a non-alcoholic spirit made from Cornish coastal botanicals including sea buckthorn, sage, and citrus) with fresh cucumber, the South Indian aromatic curry leaf (kadi patta — the fragrant leaf that starts every Kerala tadka), chaat masala for Indian street-food depth, and tonic water. It is the most distinctly South Indian non-alcoholic cocktail currently on a London menu.
Curry leaves should be fresh — dried curry leaves are essentially flavourless in cocktails. Fresh curry leaves are available at all Indian grocery stores in the UK (Patel Brothers, Indian supermarkets). They freeze well — freeze on a tray then transfer to a bag. Pentire Adrift has a more fresh-herb, sea-buckthorn character than Seaward — it's the better match here. Indian tonic is drier and more quinine-forward than regular tonic, which is exactly what this drink needs.
One of London's most celebrated Indian restaurants, Trishna is known for extraordinary Keralan-influenced seafood and an exceptional cocktail programme. The bar team draws on coastal Indian botanicals — coconut, raw mango, curry leaf, kokum — to create drinks that feel as considered as the kitchen's cooking.
Visit trishnarestaurant.com