- Bonji Water
Bonji Water (a variant of lime juice) traditionally called "naranga vellam", is an ethnic preparation of
lime juice prevalent in southern parts ofKerala ,India .This is usually prepared by crushing slicedlemon with fingers and mixing the juice with mild hot water, cold water or soda (commonly called BonjiSoda); sugar, salt or a mixture of both are added to the mixture. It is probably as popular as "karikku vellam" (tender coconut water) and "sambharam" (buttermilk) as ethnic drinks of Kerala.The origins of the word "bonji", pronounced in the local dialect as "bwaanji", remain shrouded in etymological mystery. The lemon fruit is popularly known as "bonjikkaaya" in southern parts of Kerala. "Bonji water" is popular in the southernmost regions of
Thiruvananthapuram . In other parts ofKerala it is commonly known as "Naaranga Vellam" or Lime Juice. Usually in kerala houses, guests were welcomed with "Bonji Vellam". In occasions like temple festivals and "Kavadiyattam", there will be long queues for "bonji water".There are several variations of Bonji water. Often soda is added to bonji syrup.To make it tastier, ginger is added at times. In some parts of Kerala,
cardamom is also added.In popular culture
The term and the concept was popularised by the 2005
Malayalam movieRajamanikyam . In the movie, Rajamanikyam, the hero played byMammootty mentions about this rejuvenating drink to his sidekick, Varkeychan (Bheeman Raghu).See also
*
Lime (fruit)
*Lemon
*Malayalam language References
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