Rose Scented Rooh Afza Play Dough : Perfect for Ramadan

Years ago, I made this rose scented Rooh Afza play dough for my children. It is perfect for Ramadan themed sensory play. Check out the recipe below.

The thing with play dough… it is addictive! After our Monster Slime adventure, we found that our little toddler wasn’t very fond of slimes. So when she requested play dough (our son had dissolved all our Flavoured Jello one in water while ‘experimenting’), We had to make a new one!

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We wanted something more fun. So when we found a bottle of Rooh Afza in the kitchen… Why not? We had to see if we could come up with a desi version of play dough… so here it is!

After all, we are desi… so we had to use something to prove that, didn’t we? So Rooh Afza it was!

For those of you wondering what it is, Rooh Afza is a flower cordial from India and Pakistan. It is a must at every table during Ramadan! You can think of it as a fruit and flower punch that you stir into water or other liquids. It tastes very sweet and all you have to do is add it to water, milk, ice cream or buttermilk (to make a Lassi!) and you can quench that heat and thirst! Some people add it like a syrup to their deserts or fruit salads too. It is of caramel like consistency but bright red in color and… it smells like roses.

We added it for color and that flowery sweet smell to our play dough.

It worked! This Rooh Afza scented and colored play dough is my daughter’s favorite now. We have had it for over two weeks now in the fridge and it hasn’t lost either its scent or the texture. It is still smooth, soft and fragrant.

What this playdough feels like:

It felt like… well… play dough! 😉 But… the prettiest pink play dough I have ever made! It was a little tougher at first and I was afraid it would dry soon. It didn’t. It got smoother with cooling. It got even smoother with storing. It has been more than two weeks now and it is so silky soft.

Update 2018: This is one of our favorite play dough recipes. My children call it the roses play dough. Every Ramadan, my son reminds me to make it. This play dough has a silky feel to it due to the syrup. It isn’t sticky but so smooth and soft even after repeated playing.

What Rooh Afza Play dough looks like:

Soft, pink, flowery, distinct Rooh Afza smell.

My children’s room and the hallway was fragrant all day! We had some white plain play dough, with no color added, that Lil’ One was playing with, while I made this Rose Scented one, . She mixed it up after I gave her both. I knew she would be mixing them all anyway so, I got creative and showed her how to make ‘candy’. We now have a mixture of both types of dough! The color is now that of a milk shake… but it still smells so awesome!

I loved that the color didn’t bleed into the other dough very easily.

Our Verdict

We love it! It has been over two weeks since we made it and it just keeps getting better! The toddler would not let go of it and when son came home from school, he was with it the whole day and evening.

Or try this simple no prep Ramadan Calendar with Stickers.

How to make Rose Scented Rooh Afza Playdough

Ingredients

1cup flour,
1 cup (really) warm water
2tbsp tartaric acid,
2 tbs salt,
2tbs Rooh Afza.
2 tbs oil (we used vegetable oil)

In a non stick pan, mix the dry ingredients together. Stir the really warm (almost hot) water with the Rooh Afza and add it to the dry ingredients. Add the oil. Stir it well.
Cook on a stove stirring continuously on low flame. Keep on stirring till it gets thicker and starts coming all together in a lump.
Remove from the pan when it is starts to stick to bottom.
Transfer on to a floured surface. Let it cool for a while.
While it is still comfortably warm, start kneading and continue till you have a non sticky ball. Done.

You can store this in fridge in either an airtight container or a zip lock bag for up to two weeks. At room temperature, I don’t advice using for over 3-5 days as it is sweet to taste. It can grow a fungus!

Is Rooh Afza Playdough taste safe? Yes it is. But remember that it contains over two tablespoons of salt so better to not let a child eat it.

What if I don’t have Tartaric Acid. You can use lemon juice or white vinegar of equivalent quantity.

Will it be sticky as Rooh Afza is sweet? It will not be sweet. 🙂 It has salt. It will be a bit salty. The Rooh Afza only imparts it’s color not the sweetness. (sadly!)

Where can I get Rooh Afza? If you are interested in making this play dough, you can buy the Rooh Afza from any Asian shop that sells Asian ingredients or you can buy online from Amazon:

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Related: Looking to create Joy this Ramadan? Check out more Ramadan for Kids posts Here.

Need activities that your child can make and do on their own? I created this fun pack that is perfect for children 3-14 year old to do by themselves. Click image below to find out more.