DHAKA: In a two-minute video, Imran Ahmed Saudagar playfully juggles wood apples before cracking them open, scooping out the flesh, and blending it with jaggery, salt, and water into a creamy juice — one of his signature recipes, which for the past few years have accompanied Bangladeshi netizens during Ramadan.
The wood apple juice video was Saudagar’s first this fasting month and it immediately drew the attention of the tens of thousands of his followers, who welcomed back the “much awaited series” and the “Shorbot Saudagar Season.”
The word “shorbot” means “juice” in Bengali, and Shorbot With Saudagar is what the Dhaka-based advertising professional and accidental healthy juice influencer called his short recipe videos, which he started during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The inspiration to create the recipes came from his late father.
“He was around 75 years old at the time. And he started refusing all kinds of fruits. So, I started creating different combinations of fruits and blended them together to make a new juice every day,” Saudagar told Arab News.
As he mixed new ingredients, his father enjoyed guessing them by taste and looked forward to the juice game the next day.
To make sure his father consumed what was beneficial, Saudagar consulted his doctors and sought help from nutritionists while preparing new blends.
Initially a family affair, the juices started to reach a wider audience a few months later, when Saudagar got married and his wife suggested that they should record the recipes.
“We started researching what kind of crockery I should use to cut the fruits, what fruit should we buy, what are the best fruit combinations. We discussed it every night and we started making different juices every day,” he said.
Their first viral blend was inspired by a Goa Lemon juice they tried at the fast chain Nando’s. Saudagar recalled it was with yoghurt, mint and lime, to which he added some vanilla ice cream.
“It was a blast. People started loving it. They tried it at home, and they were saying: ‘Oh man, this is like the original Goa Lemon,’” he said.
“I didn’t have the recipe. I just tried making it and it happened. The Goa Lemon video was (viewed by) around 2 million people.”
While pursuing a corporate career, Saudagar did the videos only in his free time but tried to make more, especially during the month of fasting, as his fans inspired him to do so.
“People started knocking to me just before the day Ramadan started: ‘Brother, when is Shorbot With Saudagar coming? When are you making new juice? When are you making new recipes?’” he said.
“Every day, people were commenting and replying on my posts: ‘I’m waiting for the new recipe, new video. But the best comment was: ‘Brother, I think, Ramadan is incomplete without your videos.’”
Since he started the project, Saudagar has recorded over 70 videos. While he may be short of new local fruits to explore, as he has already tried most of them, this fasting month he will try to develop some fruit-based electrolyte drinks.
“I’m still researching how to make it,” he said. “That should be one new thing. And also, I want to add more smoothies to help you with stomach health and digestion. You need to be healthy during Ramadan.”
