Aam Panna - Raw Mango Cooler

Summer time is not just the season ..... its about a lot of interwoven memories. Memories that are deep rooted and are close to the heart. Its about the time spent with grandparents and a bunch of cousins. It's about whispers and laughter's. About afternoon siestas and about sneaking out and playing in the hot sun under the mango n guava trees. The sweet smell of neem and jasmine flowers that intoxicate the cool evening breeze. And the smell of earth after a rain shower and a gang of kids walking in the rain under one umbrella to floating paper boats. I wish I could freeze that time forever. 

 
Summer is also about mangoes, especially if one is in India. One can find the markets flooded with varieties. And I can never ever get tired of eating one. Although I prefer ripe to raw ones but I have been hooked to this summer cooler ever since I tasted it. More because it has no sugar in it and is a guilt free drink.
There is no thumb rule of preparing this drink. Every household has its own way of preparing it. The ancient Indian science of Ayurveda and age old wisdom of grandmothers insist on drinking Aam Panna during summers because of its medicinal values. It keeps our body cool and prevents heat strokes. 
 

Health Benefits
Raw Mango is a rich source of Vitamin C, Zinc and Sodium Chloride.  It helps in replenishing these essential nutrients that we loose in the process of sweating during summer.
Also, I have substituted jaggery to sugar for making it more healthier. Jaggery/Gur is rich in iron and helps purifies the blood. 

Ingredients 
Raw Mangoes - 4 (small size) or 3 medium size
Jaggery -3/4 cup
Roasted cumin powder - 1 tsp
Black Salt - 1 tsp
Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Mint leaves for garnishing
Water - 4 cups + 2 cups 
Note : You can add more jaggery if you like it sweeter.


Method of Preparation 

Wash the mangoes properly under running water. In a pressure cooker add about four cups of water. On medium heat pressure cook it for about ten minutes or till the mangoes are cooked and tender.
Let the pressure cooker cool. Remove the skin of the mangoes. (Once the mangoes are cooked the skin comes off easily). Mash the mangoes in the water using your hand to remove pulp from the seed. 

Next take a stainer and stain the juice with the pulp to remove any skin. Add another 2 cups of water to it to dilute it further. Now add the jaggery/ gur to the juice and stir well using a spoon so that it gets completely dissolved in it. 
Next add black pepper powder, roasted cumin powder and black salt. Mix well so that all the ingredients get incorporated in the mango juice.
Chill in fridge for about an hour before serving.

Serving Suggestion
Garnish with mint leaves and serve chilled.

Spiked Grapefruit !

Summer vacation lunch hour was nothing less than an event at Aai's place ..... Cooking and feeding a bunch of juveniles was no joke ..... and each of us being willful kids ! Lunch time equalled to an hour of mothers howling and kids complaining, cribbing, sobbing and eating. It was like an everyday ritual. Another thing that was an everyday thing was the summer power cut.

Thankfully there was no afternoon power cut that day. But it was still hot and humid. Ajaa (Grandpa) sat by the window bare bodied, reading a book. He picked up the newspaper at intervals and fanned himself. The dusty ceiling fan which was never oiled in it's entire life made a periodic noise with each rotation. I laid on the Araam Chair (Recliner) licking the takuaa (mango seed). The juice dribbling down my elbow.

There was a strange silence in the room after the loud lunch hour. Sundaari our pet cat moved around the house and purred in anticipation of some left over rice and fish.

The only sound that could be heard was that of the ceiling fan and the jingle of Aai's glass bangles. Also some broken piece of peppy Odiya music from the baasti close by (slum) ........

Aai moped the dark grey cemented floor with a wet cloth before she rolled out the sapaa (grass mat).

I jumped off the Araam Chair and snuggled on to her mat. She started patting my back .... a gesture to make me fall asleep. Those days I demanded Aai for an extra story telling session in the afternoons. Aai had a bottomless treasure of stories ....... she could even weave stories from her imagination. The story telling sessions often ended with Aai falling asleep and me slipping off.

Late afternoons all of us (cousins) would gather on the staircase ..... that was the safest place where we could sneak in, far from the sight of our mothers. Somehow we never felt the summer heat. We would play silly games. I being the eldest and the bossy one would direct them all to be my students while I act out as a teacher, a strict one !! Sometimes I would become a doctor and write illegible prescriptions to my patients. We would roll out small balls of papers ..... yes you guessed it. They were pills . We would even enact our moms and play with our cooking sets ..... I wonder if kids today still play such games.

And our games only lasted as long as the nap time of our mothers'. The long hours of silence would break into another session of howls and cries ! Loud enough for Aai to wake up ........ She would walk straight up to the kitchen with puffy sleepy eyes and slice up a watermelon into pieces ... while calling our names.

We would all gather around the big plate of watermelon ..... I would hurriedly pick up my share and go sit by the dusty wooden framed green window with cob webs hanging from the grill and watch the baasti (Slum) children play and hoping to catch up a street fight of the women, if lucky !

Preparation Time - 30 minutes

Ingredients

Freshly squeezed Grapefruit - 1.5 Cup or 2 (Nos)

Sugar - 3/4 cup

Granulated Sugar

Mint Leaves - Few

Freshly Squeezed Lemon juice- 1/3 cup

Ginger - 1 inch

Water - 1 cup

Vodka - 1/2 cup

Method of Preparation

1. In a sauce pan add water and sugar. Put the heat on and stir till the sugar dissolves. Add few drops of lemon juice to it.

2. Muddle few mint leaves and ginger and add it to the sugar solution.

3. Keep it in the fridge for 2-3 hours to cool. It will also allow the mint and ginger flavor to infuse into it. You may do this overnight for instant use.

4. Strain the mint and ginger from the sugar solution.

5. Dip the rim of 6 martini glasses first in a dish with lemon juice and then a dish with sugar. Set aside to dry.

6. Combine the grapefruit juice and lemon juice and vodka, if using, in a pitcher.

7. When ready to serve, place ice cubes in a cocktail shaker, add the cocktail mixture to fill the shaker 3/4 full, and shake for about 30 seconds. It's important to shake for a full 30 seconds to get the drink very cold and dilute it slightly with the ice.

8. Pour into the sugared martini glasses and garnish with mint.

Avocado- Rose Milk Shots ....... I am high on a Wednesday !

Why would anyone follow what I am doing ..... I am no celebrity, just another fish in the ocean ! And how in the world am I expected to write my thoughts in just 140 characters ? Yes 140 and not a character more !! Not sure who thought of the magic number 140 .... Oh yah I forgot to mention that I am talking about Twitter. I had been trying and really hard to get a hang of the damn thing. Yes I am jobless !! So I have been trying hard to update my status every now n then .... like 'Having my morning tea ... forgot to add sugar' ,lol. And what makes me glad that there are an equal number of jobless guys like me who respond !

And now that I have finally nailed it .... here comes another one 'Google+', as if the existing social networking sites were not enough. My inbox is getting flooded with requests but I still prefer to be in my cocoon (read Facebook). I know I know .... there is nothing like loyalty, it's just that I refuse to move out of my comfort zone for the time being. It had taken me a lot of convincing and effort to move out of Orkut and join FB ! Yah I did it when my friends were on the verge of disowning me. So guys please be patient with this slow learner :)

Does anyone remember the blue 'Inland Letter' or the 'Yellow Postcard'. Will someone be still waiting anxiously for the postman to come on his rusty rickety bi cycle .... at least some where ?

Or have we left those things far behind us .... True, the Internet revolution has made life much easier and communication in the speed of light BUT even today I would love to sniff the blue color inland letter before opening it. I would still love to rush to the nearest postbox to drop my letter before the last van picks them up for the day. I would jump with joy on hearing the jingle of the postman's bicycle bell.

I agree ... I love being old school when it comes to simple things in life !!

Well ..... I had these avocados staring at me from quite a long time, wanting me to pick them up. I made these rose-avocado shots in a jiffy. And they were just perfect to lift your spirits on a warm summer eve !

Preparation Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

Ripe Avocado - 1

Rose Syrup/ Essence - 1 tbsp

Milk - 2 cups

Sugar- 1 tsp

Rose petals to garnish

Method of Preparation

1. Peel the avocado and scoop the pulp into a food processor.

2. Add chilled milk, Rose syrup and sugar to it.

3. Whip it in a food processor till all the ingredients blend into each other.

Serving Tips

Serve Chilled. Garnish with rose petals (optional)

Minty Watermelon

Slurp Slurp Munch Munch .... I ate away this red ripe water melon.The juice dribbled down my elbow and I licked it like a small kid.I ate till I dropped. Summers are always associated with watermelons and fond summer memories. I would sometime go to the sabji mandi (vegetable market) in the early summer mornings. Dad would stop by the road side where fruit vendors sold truck load of water melons.He would carefully inspect the melon.The fruit vendor would cut a small piece out to reaffirm that it was red and sweet.After getting the melon home, mom would carefully cut,de-seed the melon and keep it in the fridge for later evening hours.Sometimes she made a minty watermelon juice which I love.It is a sure shot way to refresh you after a long tiring day.

Preparation Time - 10 minutes
Serves - 2
Ingredients
Red Ripe Water Melon Chopped - 6 cups
Mint leaves - 5 to 6
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Lime juice - 1 tsp
Method of Preparation
1 Cut and de seed the water melon.Chop them into small pieces.Also chop the ginger into smaller pieces.
2 Combine water melon, ginger, mint leaves and lime juice in a blender.Grind it completely. Add water if needed.
Serving Tips
Serve chilled over some ice.
Variation
Add sugar if needed.

Pineapple Seltzer with a hint of Coconut

Did you just run to the refrigerator to pull open a can of Coke ... Hold on for a minute. !

Treat yourself with a fresh mock-tail of some fresh pineapple and coconut. I had looked over the internet for Pina colada sometime back and got the inspiration for this drink from it.But I didn't want to miss the fizz of the carbonated drinks that I have got so addicted to ! Adding a little Seltzer gave that extra kick.

I suggest next time you have a party, treat the teetotalers with this Pineapple punch. Make yourself this drink and carry it to the beach ..... you can get the feel of being in Hawaii !! Or just chill out on the patio with a book or listen to your favorite music sipping it away.

Preparation Time - 10 minutes

Serves - 2

Ingredients

Fresh Cut Pineapple Chunks - 3 cups

Fresh Grated Coconut - 2 tsp

Sugar - 3 tsp

Rock Salt - 1 pinch

Soda - 1/2 cup

Cherry for garnishing

Method of Preparation

1 Peel the skin of the pineapple and cut it into medium size chunks.

2 Combine the Pineapple chunks and grated coconut along with few cubes of ice and sugar. Grind to form a smoothie.

3 To the serving glasses divide the 1/2 cup seltzer. Drop cherries to the bottom.

4 Pour the Pineapple Coconut Smoothie over it.

5 Sprinkle some rock salt on it.

Serving Tips

Serve Chilled

Notes

Select a sweet and ripe pineapple for this drink.

Variation

1 Instead of fresh chopped pineapples, use canned ones. But remember fresh is always good !!

2 If you count your calories, do not add sugar.

3 You can avoid the seltzer if you wish. I am sure it will taste equally well.

Other Names

Seltzer - Soda/ Carbonated water,Rock Salt - Black Salt.

Mango Milk Shake

Did you raise an eyebrow reading the title of this blog ? Thanks, but with the mercury shooting up, I wanted a break from the kitchen. I am sure many of you also think alike. More over I have penned some recipe of my not so favorite fruit Banana, so it would be unjust not to mention anything about my favorite one - Mango. So break free from the daily monotonous life and replace your evening tea/coffee with this chilled drink. Enjoy the cool breeze, stretch your legs and smell the flowers and the grass with my favorite drink !

Preparation Time - 10 minutes

Serves - 3

Ingredients

Ripe Mango Pulp - 1.5 cups

Chilled Milk - 1 glass

Sugar - 3 tsp

Method of Preparation

1 Take about 2 sweet mangoes. Peel it and separate the pulp (or dice the mangoes).

2 Mix mango pulp, milk and sugar and grind in a Grinder/ Food Processor to make a smooth mixture.

3 Mango milk shake is ready.

Serving Tips

Drop ice to the bottom of a glass and pour the milk shake over it. You may also cut small pieces of mango and add to the drink.

Variation

You may also use the tinned mango pulp available in grocery stores instead of fresh mangoes to relish this drink off season.

Banana Split Milk Shake

Banana is not my favorite fruit. I like mango better than banana. Still I eat bananas more often .... would be rather appropriate if I say that I drink bananas. Now that it is summer, I make a variety of milk shakes with bananas and every time I prepare it I add some extra flavor with some ice cream.
With the temperature shooting up and with kids at home,it sure becomes a challenge for even the smartest mom. But there is always a chill pill !!

So for all those smart moms who are always in the search of camouflaging food and feeding their little devils, here is a double treat .... Milk and Bananas.

And not to forget the adults ....... they love it too.

So here goes my first blog on drinks dedicated to all the lovely kids and their moms.

Preparation Time - 5 minutes

Serves - 2

Ingredients

Chilled Milk - 1.5 glasses

Ripe Banana - 1

Honey - 3 tsp

Ice cream - Any Flavor

Method of Preparation

1 Combine Milk, honey and a few scoops (2 to 3) of ice cream.

2 Whip in a blender for 2 minutes

Serving Tips

Add ice to the bottom of the glass (optional tough as the milk is already chill). Pour the whipped banana milk shake to fill 3/4 of the glass. Scoop ice cream and float on top of the drink. I have used Banana Split ice cream. You may also top it up with some whipped cream and decorate with cut fruits of ur choice.

Variation

Use sugar instead of honey if you wish.

Use any fruity flavor of ice cream - Strawberry, Banana etc. Vanilla is also a great option.