Raw Mango Drink aka Kairee Panha

What comes in your mind when you hear the word Summers??? It's "Mango Season", isn't it...Mango is a gift of nature in the summer, not only for its delicious taste but also for its numerous health benefits.It's loaded with various Carotenoids especially Beta Carotene which protects us from dangerous summer rays.Also rich in Vitamin A,Vitamin C & E,B complex(anti stress) Vitamins,Potassium,Magnesium,Zinc,Folic acid ,and last but not the least its exceptional flavor and aroma. So in a summer of Mango love I am here with my other recipe "Kairee Panha" to beat the scorching Indian heat. Kairee refers to Raw Mango which is mostly used to make pickles,Salads, Chutneys and Panha . Here ,unlike sugar I have added Jaggery as I prefer the taste of it and benefits too.

Preparation Time: 40 min
Cooking Time : 10 min

Ingredients :

4 Raw Mangoes
2 teaspoon Rock Salt
2 teaspoon Cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
3 teaspoons paste of coriander, Mint leaves, Ginger and Curry Leaves
1/2 cup Jaggery


Directions :

Pressure cook the raw mango and let it cool.After cooled , remove the skin and seed and keep aside. Dry roast Cumin , Black pepper , Fennel seeds and powder them . Now add the salt , paste, jaggery and powdered spices in the pulp and blend it all together to get a uniform concentrate. You can adjust the amount of salt and jaggery as it depends on the sourness of Mango.You can store the concentrate in a bottle in your fridge for a week.To serve , fill the half glass with concentrate and add water with crushed ice .Garnish with Mint leaves and enjoy your sip in a hot summer afternoon.

p.s : If you like gol gappas you can use this panha instead of traditional tamarind khatai.

Spiced almond drink- "Thandai"

Ah Summer! time for heat,but you know the best part of India

Summers are special homemade summer coolers as they are more healthier and tastier than the packaged drinks we get in the market....Here i am sharing one of my favourite summer cooler recipe "Thandai" ,the traditional Indian drink made with milk,dry fruits and spices.The ingredients present in thandai have numerous health benefits, apart from its excellent body cooling property .

Preparation time:5 hours
Cooking time : 20 min

Ingredients :

Dry fruits : Handful of  almonds,pistachios,Cashew nuts,melon seeds
Spices : 1 Teaspoon Fennel seeds
1/2 Teaspoon Black pepper
4 Cardamom
1 Teaspoon Poppy seeds

1 litre Milk
1 Teaspoon Rose Petals or Gulkand
A few Saffron strands

Directions :

Soak the almonds, Pistachios, Cashew nuts , Melon seeds and Poppy seeds for 3-4 hours and grind them to a paste and keep aside. Boil the milk in low flame, add sugar and saffron strands,allow it to cool .Crush cardamom,Black pepper,Fennel seeds. Now add the dry fruit paste and crushed spices to milk and strain it(Straining is optional). Add this mixture to the milk along with Gulkand and Rose Petals and refrigerate it for 4-5 hours.Serve chilled.