In honor of National Margarita Day, I’d like to share with you a simple n sweet recipe that my hubby K used for creating at-home margaritas for us last weekend.
People who know me well know that my go-to drink of choice is always a margarita, preferably accompanied by super-salty nachos. There’s just something about the tanginess of the lime, and the saltiness of the chips that always hits the right spot.
That said, too many times I am served inferior stuff in Bangalore’s bars. And quite a few times I don’t actually want to drive far to the really good joints in Indra Nagar, Koramangala, or MG Road, just to get a drink.
So, I’ve been googling for recipes that I can make right at home in my kitchen. I had posted a recipe earlier, and while that is nice, I really liked the simplicity of the one we tried last week.
My two criteria for a recipe was:
- Doesn’t need shakers or any mixing equipment that I don’t have
- Doesn’t need exotic or expensive ingredients
- Does have to be super-tasty, and just the way I like it
K took it upon himself like a challenge and tried various combinations, mixes, and brands. Finally, last weekend he hit pay-dirt doing his version of margarita, which I absolutely loved.
Ingredients
- Jose Cuervo Gold Tequila – 2 measures
- Lemon squash – 2 measures
- Ice cube trays with ice – 2
Just mix them all up together in a blender, and blend on high until it gets nice and frothy. Add to a tumblr, salt the edge of it, and garnish with a lemon.
It was absolutely delicious. Only two changes I would do to the recipe – cut the amount of tequila, and maybe add some mint leaves for flavor.
Sounds tres simple, non? Why were we struggling to get it right earlier?
Turns out a good margarita really depends on using a quality tequila. We were using cheaper brands, and so we ended up getting a metallic aftertaste. The Jose Cuervo is absolute gold though, and even though its pricey, I think it’s worth every rupee or dollar spent. We picked it up at the duty-free during our holidays, now that we know it’s perfect, we have to check and see if it’s available in the city, and if so at what cost.
Until then, we ration the bottle that we do have 🙂
What is your favorite go-to drink after a long hectic work week? Do you have any favorite drink recipes you’d like to share?
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Sounds fabulous! My go-to is Mojitos – I made mojitos at home over the weekend for the first time and it was great. You might like it as it’s also super simple no equipment required just bacardi white rum, soda water, fresh mint, lime, and ice. x
@Verity M I actually have all these at home right now. Friday night fun! Thanks for sharing, Verity!
This has been one of my favorite drinks and I like to make it more than I drink. Classic Margaritas need following basic ingredients (I learnt this from a New York based mixologist and I have tried in numerous occasions back in US and it was a success every single time):
– Reposado Tequila (not Blanco, not Anejo; you must need Reposado)
– Triplesec or any orange liquor (you can use Cointreau, Grand Marnier)
– Margarita mix
– Fresh Lime juice
– Sugar (don’t use sugar syrup, mix plain sugar with lime juice)
– A lot of ice
– Margarita salt
Let’s see what do we get in India out of these:
– Reposado Tequila: Ask your traveller friend to get Reposado Tequila from Duty Free zones. Hornitos brand is very good, if you don’t get that, try with Patron brand. Don’t try with Sauza brand, the taste is not that great. Worst case, you can still manage with whatever Silver/Blanco tequila we get here in shops.
– Triplesec: It is super expensive here. You can try getting Desmondji Orange Liquor; this one can compensates triplesec very well.
– Margarita mix: This one is not available here in India; I have tried to get one in Bangalore area, with no success for last one year. May be you can try using Lime Juice and Lemon Juice mix.
– Fresh Lime juice: Tequilas taste best with Mexican limes. In India, we mostly get lemons, not limes. Lime+Lemon juice can manage to some extent, but they are still not at par. I find this be the hardest thing to manage in a proper Margarita here in India.
– Sugar: You can use any sugar here.
– Ice: Make a lot of ice cubes in your fridge or borrow it from cafe-coffee-day. 🙂
– Margarita Salt: If you get it somewhere, get it. Rim your glass half with this salt and leave other half plain. Indian salt is okay, but doesn’t look good on the glass.
And, about mint; these are not good companions of Margaritas. If you like mint flavor, I would suggest to make Mojitos. You get every single thing for this cocktail here in India (white rum, mint leaves, lime juices)
@niranjannanda:disqus this is a fantastic sounding recipe, Niranjan. Thanks for sharing. And I love that tip about triplesec. It’s so, so expensive. I have not heard about Desmondji orange liquor, will ask around and see. Seems like a great substitute.
There is a website which talks about making Margarita mix at home…I have bought a lime juice (Dabur Homemade something.. and Kissan Lemon Cordial something..). Next weekend I will try to make it; let’s see how it comes. Will keep everyone here posted 🙂
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/homemade-sweet-and-sour-mix-for-margaritas-200594
@niranjannanda:disqus do keep me posted 🙂 that recipe sounds good 🙂
I tried with following ingredients; the result, although not as great as I used to get back in US, but it was very close.
1. Patron Reposado tequila – 1.5 oz
2. Desmondji Orange liquor – 1.5 oz (this is basically a drink with 40% alcohol, not like triplesecs which are of 10-15% alcohol. So I couldn’t use more than 1.5 oz.)
3. Dabur Homemade Lemoneez – 0.5 oz
4. Kissan Lemon Juice Cordial – 3 oz
I skipped
– sugar because the lime juice cordial is too sweet.
– Lime (or lemon, whatever you call these), because I just wanted to give it a try without these.
The difference in taste could be because of the orange liquor which I could add very less because of its high alcohol content, and the original mexican limes.
Fabulous! Thanks so much @niranjannanda:disqus if I may ask, where did you get the Desmondji orange liquor? I couldn’t spot it in the shops here.
Also do you have a blog?
Hello,
I live in Bangalore and I get Desmondji Orange liquor from Madhuloka or House of Spirits. Sometimes this particular one goes out of stock; like, after waiting for more than 3-4 months, I got it yesterday. I am pretty sure you can get it in bigger cities. Although you can use Cointreau or Grand Mariner but I understand, these are just too expensive in India.
About blog, well…, I do not have any right now. Lot of my friends have asked me to write blogs, but I am yet to start. Once I will start, I will share with you 🙂
I don’t drink, but my daughter loves a good margarita!
Those look yummy and sound east to make,
Could not be simpler! And how refreshing for summer.
@BethFishReads:disqus yes, and it is so refreshing. Summer is already here, and weekend afternoons at home feel like we are getting slowly cooked. Nothing better than an ice-cold drink 🙂
Can I make a recommendation? When I started adding triple sec to my homemade margaritas, they made a large jump forward in deliciousness. Just FYI! But learn from my mistake and do not try to store your triple sec in the freezer. It will freeze. It is not like vodka or tequila or gin that can live in the freezer and stay in liquid form. :p