Summer Coolers ~ Cucumber Mint Smoothie

Cucumber Mint Smoothie

The heat is showing no signs of respite and the humidity levels are at an all time high. Eagerly awaiting the onset of monsoon and if the weather forecast is to be trusted, its just 2-3 days away, making way for comforting, deep fried foods.
On a hot day like today, there is nothing more refreshing than a chilled yogurt based drink. Prepared a smoothie using chilled homemade curd, fresh mint leaves and cucumber. Quick, easy and a healthy way to get calcium into your diet.
Blend 1/2 cup of peeled and diced cucumber, 2-3 fresh mint leaves, few ice cubes, 1 1/2 cups thick low fat yogurt, few tbsps of water (for a thinner consistency) and pinch of chaat masala powder or black salt. Pour into glasses and serve cold.
Prep time: 10 min Cook time: 0 min Yield: Ingredients: yogurt cucumber On a hot day like today, there is nothing more refreshing than a chilled yogurt based drink. Prepared a smoothie using chilled homemade curd, fresh mint leaves and cucumber. Quick, easy and a healthy way to get calcium into your diet.

Summer Coolers ~ Chikku (Sapota) Milkshake

Cheese Toast with Chikku Milk Shake ~ Nehal’s Breakfast

Sapota, a popular tropical fruit is rich in nutrients and fibre. I relish the small egg shaped ‘pala’ variety with a soft and sweet pulp compared to the large round ones.
Chikku milkshake is an apt cold drink to counter the blistering summer heat, a healthy alternate to store bought artificial drinks.

Chikku, Sapota, Sapodilla

Chikoo Milk Shake Recipe

Preparation: 5-6 mts

Serves 3 persons

.

Ingredients:2 cups ripe chikoo, peeled and de-seeded
1/2 lt low fat cold milk
honey as per taste

1 Blend the chikoo along with a cup of milk for 20-30 seconds.
2 Add the remaining milk and honey and blend for few secs. Serve chilled with ice cubes.

Sapota Milkshake

Summer Coolers ~ Watermelon Smoothie

Watermelons, Tarbooz, Puchakaya

Come summer, its the season for watermelons. I usually blend the watermelon cubes along with fresh mint and serve chilled. Watermelon smoothie is another great summer cooler that is prepared using de-seeded and cubed watermelon, strawberry crush and honey. Simply superb!
Blend 3 cups watermelon cubes, 3 tbsps strawberry crush or (7-8 fresh strawberries), 1/2 tsp ginger juice, crushed ice, 3-4 mint leaves and honey or any sweetener of choice. Serve chilled.

Watermelon Smoothie
Prep time: 15 min Cook time: 0 min Yield: Ingredients: watermelon Come summer, its the season for watermelons. I usually blend the watermelon cubes along with fresh mint and serve chilled. Watermelon smoothie is another great summer cooler that is prepared using de-seeded and cubed watermelon, strawberry crush and honey. Simply superb!

Summer Coolers ~ Fresh Mango Juice

Homemade Fresh Ripe Mango Juice

Summer is the only season one can relish fresh homemade ripe mango juice and I make best use of our home grown mangoes. ‘Suvarnarekha’, a variety of sweet mango is best suited to prepare mango juice. Its pulp blends well to yield a smooth creamy juice.
The next time you head for that Frooti or a bottle of Slice or Maaza, do yourself a favor by blending a glass of fresh mango juice to relish the real taste of mango with all its nutrients.
Peel and chop ripe mango into pieces, place in blender with crushed ice, water and sugar OR honey OR date syrup as required. Blend to a smooth consistency and run through a sieve. Discard the left over pulp in the sieve. Pour into tall glasses and serve.
Prep time: 10 min Cook time: 0 min Ingredients: ripe mango Summer is the only season one can relish fresh homemade ripe mango juice and I make best use of our home grown mangoes. ‘Suvarnarekha’, a variety of sweet mango is best suited to prepare mango juice. Its pulp blends well to yield a smooth creamy juice.

Mango Sambar Recipe

Ingredients for Mango Sambar
toor dal - 1 cup
sweet/sour ripe mangoes - very small size - 6
tamarind - lime sized
turmeric powder - a pinch
sambar powder - 1 tsp
salt - 1 tsp
asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp
karimasala powder - 1 tsp
fenugreek powder - 1/4 tsp
mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
coconut oil -
red chilli - 1

:: How to make Mango Sambar
Cook toor dal and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan and add
mustard seeds. When it
bursts, add fenugreek powder, asafoetida, turmric powder.
Add the green
chillie/red chillie. Add the mangoes. Sprinkle 2 tsp water
and cook covered in low
heat. Let the mangoes boil well until they become very
soft.Add salt, sambar
powder, tamarind juice and heat until the raw smell of
tamarind disappears. Now
add the cooked toor dal to the sambar and cook for 5 min.
Add a tsp of kari
masala powder. Add a bunch of curry leaves.

Boondi Laddu

Ingredients for Boondi Laddu
Besan- 1 cup
Sugar- 11/2 cups
Cardomom- 5 or 6
Cloves- 4
Yellow food color- 1 pinch
Cashew and raisins- 10 each

:: How to make Boondi Laddu
Make the sugar syrup first. Add water to the sugar and
keep checking the syrup
consistency till single thread falls from a ladle.
Immediately remove from fire. Add
yellow food color to it.
To make boondi, add water to the besan so that the paste
resembles dosa batter,
it should not be too watery(boondi will be flat) or too
thick(boondi will be hard).If
you have a ladle with holes in it, pour the batter in it
and fry it in oil at medium
high heat. As the boondi comes out, drain it in a paper
towel and drop it in the
sugar syrup. After finishing all the boondis, add the
fried cashews, raisins, cloves
and cardamoms in the syrup. Let the boondi soak for say an
hour to hour and a
half.Stir occassionally. Try shaping it into balls. If the
boondi is still crisp try after
it starts soaking. Makes 15 small la

Wheat Halwa Recipe

Ingredients for Wheat Halwa
Samba wheat - 3 cup
Ghee - 4 cups
Cashew nuts - 20
Saffron - few strands
Cardamom - 4
Sugar - 3 times of the wheat extraction

:: How to make Wheat Halwa
Extracting milk from wheat: Soak wheat for 2 nights. Grind
in grinder adding
water occasionally. Place a piece of cloth inside a sieve
and pour the gound wheat
on it and collected the filetred milk in a vessel. You may
grind the same wheat
again once or twice until the entire milk is
extracted.Leave the extracted milk for
one hour. The thick milk will settle down and water liquid
will stay on top. Remove
the dilute portion by pouring it out. Measure the quantity
of this milk. The amount
of sugar should be three times that of this milk.
Make sugar syrup by heating sugar and water in the ratio
1:1 until it becomes a
think liquid. Pour the milk in the syrup and keep
stirring. Boil 3 cups of water
separately. When the mix becomes quite thick, add water in
steps of 1 cup every
time the mix becomes thick until the halwa is well cooked.
Add ghee, saffron and
keep stirring.When the ghee begins to separate, add
cardamom powder and
remove from flame. Pour this in a large plate. Roast a few
cashewnuts in ghee
and decorate.