Make a sugarcane mocktail

• Remember to check for allergies, eating problems or dietary requirements and adjust the recipe as needed. Make sure you've checked everyone's dietary requirements and allergies then adapted the recipe as appropriate. This may include ensuring no cross-contamination during food preparation, too. 
• Check if there are any items of food (or packaging) that people can’t touch or be near to or if there are items that people might not be comfortable using in the activity. 
• Some people may not like certain food textures or tastes and that’s OK. Try to find an alternative for them. No-one has to use all the ingredients or be made to try foods if they’re not happy, comfortable or don’t want to. 

• You could run our kitchen safety and hygiene activities, Kitchen risk bingo and Home kitchen hygiene prior to running this session. 
• Remember to have a hand washing station and take extra hygiene precautions when handling food. Look at our guidance on food preparation.
• Make sure you have all the ingredients ready.  
• You may want to run a kitchen safety talk and show people how to use the equipment safely, such as for cooking or chopping ingredients.  
• If using a gas stove, make sure it’s on a stable heatproof surface and in a clear and open area, with plenty of ventilation. Gas can increase risk of  carbon monoxide exposure. We have more guidance on different cooking methods.

Lohri takes place on 13 January every year. The event marks the passing of the winter solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year in the region, and the beginning of the harvest season. It’s one of the most prominent events on the Punjabi calendar. 

Lohri is traditionally celebrated by lighting bonfires, which communities often gather around to worship the blaze. Festival goers also mark the occasion by eating festive foods, dancing to traditional music, such as bhangra and gidda, and exchanging gifts. The bonfire symbolises Agni, the god of fire, and the worshippers will sing, chant and throw in offerings, mainly foods like sesame seeds, popcorn, nuts and sugar cane. The offerings pay thanks to the gods and ask them to bless the forthcoming harvest and bring the people prosperity and abundance. 

Traditionally, on the morning of Lohri, children go door-to-door around the neighbourhood, singing and asking for sweets, nuts and money. The songs they sing are themed around Dulha Bhattu, the Punjabi Robin Hood, who robbed the rich to give to the poor – and who, legend has it, helped a poor village girl out of poverty by finding her a husband. 

During Lohri, people enjoy treats such as Til ladoo (sesame seed, coconut and peanut balls made with jaggery – cane sugar), and Gud Gujak (another sweet treat made with sesame). Peanuts are given as snacks, thrown into the fire and given to children as treats, while sweets are eaten in abundance. For the main course, traditional Punjabi foods such as Sarson da Saag and Makki di Roti (a spinach dish with Punjabi flatbread) are served. 

The festival is also known as Lohadi or Lal Loi, but no one is certain how the name Lohri originated. There’s also a popular theory that the name has something to do with the sweet treats consumed during the festival. Til (sesame seeds) and rorhi (jaggery, or cane sugar) are foods traditionally eaten during the celebrations, and some suggest that the words were brought together to make tilorhi, which would have eventually been shortened to Lohri. 

Today you’ll be making a mocktail using sugar cane, which is a central ingredient in Lohri snacks, treats and recipes. This is because sugarcane is usually harvested in the month of January every year and Lohri celebrates the harvest.