Sugarcane juice freshly made the ancient way (Ellora Road, Khultabad, near Bhadra Maruti Temple)

How to get there: Onway to Ellora from Aurangabad, ask ur taxi driver to stop here. All local taxi drivers know this place.

Price of the Drink: Rs. 10 per glass of 200 ml

Cuisine Type: Vegetarian

frothy top view

Description:

Sugarcane juice is sold all over India from hand carts that are fitted with metal crushers. These are usually always surrounded by flies & hygiene is a big issue.

Nowadays large sweet shops like Bikanervala, Haldiram’s etc have started selling sugarcane juice from their shops & that is a good way to have hygienic sugarcane juice. Infact in these sweet shop chains, sugarcane is crushed with mint & ginger, thus infusing those flavors into the juice. However, these cost a lot – approx. Rs. 40 – 50 per 100 ml glass.

In Bangalore I have seen shops that sell only Sugarcane juice – with different combinations – i.e. combination of sugarcane juice with other fruits – crushed together. The machines are automated & there is an element of modernity in those.

However, the sugarcane juice experience mentioned above was the most interesting sugarcane juice experience that I have ever had. This system is called a Kolu (a machine operated with the help of a bull)

Bull operated Kolu for extracting sugarcane juice

The sugarcane was being crushed by the ancient method – A wooden plank is attached to the wooden crusher. Pls note wood is used instead of the metal that is used nowadays to make sugarcane crushers.

In case of Kolu, a bull is tied to the wooden plank. So as the bull walks in circular motion, the crusher moves. A guy sitting besides pushes the sugarcane into the crusher & the juice is collected at the bottom in metal containers.

the man in action – crushing the sugarcane in wooden crushers

The result was a frothy thick sugarcane juice that was very tasty & refreshing. A part of the taste is also attributed to the use of thick sticks of sugarcane that is brought fresh from the adjoining fields.

Freshly harvested sugarcane – brought in from the adjoining fields

The best part of the deal was that each glass of 200 ml was being sold for Rs. 10 only!!!!!! ……………. & I finished two glasses at a go.

Rs 10 per glass – written in local language on an adjoining tree – The standby Bull resting below the same tree as well.

Related Topics: Sugarcane juice in Gurgaon – Bikanervala

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