Falooda / Faluda

Falooda / Faluda is a cold dessert / drink popular in the Indian sub continent. Traditionally it is prepared by mixing rose syrup, cooked vermicelli (falooda sev), soaked basil seeds/ tukhmaria/sabja, jelly pieces with some lightly sweetened milk. I have adopted a layer approach and layered the different ingredients (nuts, rose syrup, soaked basil seeds, noodles,jelly pieces and milk) and finally topped with a scoop of ice cream:) It  is perfect during hot summer days:)

Orange glow : Orange juice and Grenadine mocktail

I recently came back from my great vacation to Miami and Key West. The temperature was so high, hot and muggy that we drank so many different types of juices and mocktails. Most commonly we would enjoy lemon mojitos (non alcoholic kind) and Pina coladas. There was this place ,a cuban joint close to the place where we stayed. I had an amazing drink there which was not only beautiful but tasted awesome too. The colors in the drink orange and dark pink blended so well..it was truly  a visual treat:) But sadly I was so busy enjoying with my family that I never got around to asking the recipe. It was only the day we were about to leave that it struck to me to ask the recipe but I was pressed for time:(

Today, I am sharing a drink which is as pretty as the drink that I had in Miami but the flavors are slightly different. This drink calls for a combo of orange juice and grenadine syrup. Grenadine syrup is a syrup prepared by heating a mixture of pure pomegranate juice and sugar until it slightly thickens.

Watermelon Mint Cooler

Today, I share a recipe for Watermelon mint Cooler.Watermelon Mint Cooler is a simple yet delicious drink that's perfect to beat the summer heat. It can be prepared in no time and is totally refreshing.

Kid Sangria

Kid Sangria is simple drink that your little ones can put together. My kiddo prepared it for fathers day:) Mix the juices and add in the chopped fruits..voila a delicious drink is ready:)

Piyush

Piyush , a popular drink belonging  to the Maharashtrian and Gujarati cuisine is perfect for summer. Piyush is a rich creamy drink prepared by combining "Shrikhand" with buttermilk and flavored with saffron, nutmeg and cardamom. Its garnished with chopped pistachios and can be relished after a good spicy meal:)

Sweet Lassi

Lassi is a yogurt based drink that is very popular in the Indian subcontinent. Lassi could be either savory or sweet. It is a blend of yogurt , water, spices and sometimes, fruit. Today, I will be sharing with you all a delicious recipe for SWEET LASSI.

Mango Milkshake

It was a beautiful Sunday. Lovely weather in the temperatures near 70s. Soon after breakfast, we decided to be outdoors doing some pending chores like washing the car, lawn mowing etc. By the time I came inside it was nearing lunch time. While I was thinking what to cook, my hubby suggested that we could finish the left overs from the previous day. But I wanted to make something YUM for such a nice summery day. Thought will serve some cold Mango milkshake at the end of the meal:)

Badam Pista Carrot Milk / Almond Pistachio Carrot Milk

I hope every one had a great and colorful Holi. Holi is a festival colors celebrated during spring. Just the thought of Holi brings back so many fond childhood memories. Playing with friends, getting drenched in colored water, getting hit by water balloons.. super fun. After we were done with the colors, we would clean up and a special delicious Holi lunch would be served for the entire building (where I stayed). Seriously, HOLI and DIWALI are the two festivals I miss the most staying in USA. Especially Holi because we usually have very low temperatures during that part of the month and hence are stuck at home:(. But this year I am happy as the local temple has decided to have a special Holi event in May so that everyone can play with colors in some good weather.
Now coming back to food, traditionally, Thandai is the most popular drink to be prepared and served during this festival. This year, I decided to make something different. I made Badam Pista Carrot Milk.  This drink is easy to prepare and can be prepared in a jiffy. Apart from the easy preparation , I have to mention that this drink is very healthy. It has the goodness of carrots, nuts and of course the milk. This drink can be made VEGAN by switching the regular milk with ALMOND MILK or CASHEW MILK.

Home-style buttermilk

Buttermilk is a drink served at the end of a meal and has a cooling effect.

Ingredients:

1. Fresh yoghurt  - 1 cup
2. Roasted cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
3. Powdered rock salt - as per taste (I used the ordinary salt)
4. Coriander leaves to garnish

For tempering:

• Ghee- 1/4 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida powder - a pinch
• Ginger - 1/4 tsp grated
• Curry leaves - 4

Method:

• Combine yoghurt and 3 cups drinking water and churn with a traditional wooden churner or hand blender until a light froth appears on the top.
• Add roasted cumin powder and salt and garnish with coriander leaves.
• Now to make the tempering, heat the ghee. When it is hot, add the mustard seeds.When it starts to splutter, add the asafoetida powder and grated ginger. Put this tempering in to the buttermilk.
• Serve 1 cup per person towards the end of lunch.

Instead of adding water to yoghurt, you can use the buttermilk that you get after churning out the butter. Here in US that is not possible. Under those circumstances, you can use the plain yoghurt and add water to it.

Source: SUKHAM AYU- cooking at home with Ayurvedic insights

Insights from the book:

As quoted in the book: After meal drinks are known as ANUPANA in Ayurvedic texts. Buttermilk or takra, which is the diluted and churned yogurt is considered as the ideal anupana after lunch. There is often a misconception that yogurt and buttermilk have similar properties. According to ayurveda, yogurt that is hot and sour in essence, when churned in to buttermilk undergoes manthan samskara and becomes sweet after digestion and exerts a cooling effect. The sutras proclaim, "just as nectar is for Gods, buttermilk is for humans.One who consumes buttermilk daily does not suffer from any disease and diseases cured by it do not recur.

Khatta Aam panna

Yes... yet another post on mango.. but this time it is going to be about raw mango . Khatta Aam panna is a refreshing drink that cools your body after a day out in summer. Well I can drink it any time of  the year;-). I spent my child hood days in Anushaktinagar in Mumbai. My dad used to work for BARC and hence we stayed in the office staff quarters. We had a great Maharashtrian neighbour. As a child , I used to almost half of my time in their house. They used to make this amazing Aam pannas... yummmmmmmm.. amongst many other wonderful food. This Maharastrian aunt of mine was a great great cook and thats when I fell in love with the maharastrian cuisine;-) Interestingly , during my college days my best friend Preeti was also a Maharastrian . So again  through her I again started enjoying Maharastrian cuisine. I still remember, i used to swap my tiffin box for hers heheeh;-) Wonderful Memories!!!
Coming back to the recipe, there are many ways of making aam paana. This is the way I do it;-) Hope you like it.

Ingredients:

1. 1 big raw mango (about 600 gms)
2. Sugar -6-7tbsp or as per taste
3. Plain salt or kala namak -as per taste
4. Freshly dry roasted cumin powder - as per taste
5. A few mint leaves.

Method:

1. Steam the entire mango(with the seed) in the pressure cooker after peeling out the skin.
2. After the mango is cooked, separate the pulp from the seed.
3. Now in a blender, add the pulp and the sugar and make a smooth paste and store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready for use.
4. To make 1 class of juice: Take some ice in a shaker, add 3/4 cup of water and about 3 tbsp of mango pulp. Add the salt and fresh cumin powder and shake until everything is well incorporated. Pour it in to a glass. Add some roughly chopped mint leaves and serve. If you do not have a shaker, put everything in a blender except the mint leaves and run the blender just till everything mixes well. As mentioned earlier, while serving add a couple of roughly chopped mint leaves in the glass of juice and serve.
5. HAPPY SUMMER!!!

I am submitting this recipe to the "Serve it-Chilled " Event hosted by Denny of "Oh Taste N see".

Also sending it to the "mango recipes" event hosted by myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.com