Showing posts with label Drink. Show all posts

Cold Coffee | Iced Coffee

In the winters, we sat on our bean bags in the balcony, all covered up with blankets and sipped on hot tea while watching the clear skies and the twinkling stars.

Finally, it's time to welcome SUMMER!!

Now, days are getting hotter and so are the evenings... The kind of hot that brings out all the sleeveless tops and the shorts. The kind of hot that makes one wince at the thought of going out in the Sun. The kind of hot that demands you relax at home under the cool breeze blown by the fan and just keep drinking COLD DRINKS all the time. Iced water is good, Iced Coffee or Cold Coffee is even better.

Cold Coffee - A chilled caffeine shot is what I call it. All the energy of coffee with all the coolness of ice.

And when it gets so hot that you cannot be bothered to go down to the Coffee Shop to buy a cold coffee, turn to this Cold Coffee Recipe. All you need is right there in your house. Just 5 ingredients - Milk, Coffee, Sugar, Water and Ice. No ICE CREAM in my recipe. Probably less than half the calories of your Coffee Shop Cold Coffee but just as delicious and a lot cheaper on your pocket. What's even better is you can flavor it just as you like it. Cinnamon, may be? Or do you fancy chocolate? Or is Cardamom your vice? It's all up to YOU!!!

I made it plain and absolutely LOVED it...

I've used instant coffee, so it is absolutely INSTANT Cold Coffee.

Cold Coffee | Iced Coffee

Cool beverage made of milk, coffee, sugar, water and ice.

Recipe Type: Beverage
Cuisine: Indian
Cook time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 Tall Glasses

Ingredients:

3 cups of Milk
1 cup of Water
4-5 Tbsp of Sugar
4-5 tsp of Instant Coffee Powder
Ice Cubes

Method:

In a blender, blend together all the ingredients. Start with less sugar and increase if needed. Same goes for the coffee powder.
Serve cold with more ice.

Pudina Majjige Soda | Yogurt Soda with Fresh Mint | Pudina Chaas Soda

Summer is here... yippee... isn't that your first thought when the sun comes out of its winter snooze and begins to shine down with all its warmth? Well... that's how I feel in the initial days of April, until the sun really begins to scorch us poor little earthlings.

As a kid, I did not mind it though. I simply loved summers. 2 months vacation from school, it is definitely any kid's best dream come true.. well, may be except Lisa Simpson. Be it 30 degrees C or 40 degrees C, we played outdoors until we were called indoors for lunch/dinner.

Now a days, without the blissful ignorance of childhood, I actually feel the temperature outside and it makes me want to sit inside all day in the cool confines of the house and keep drinking something cool. But cool drinks aren't very healthy, right? What if there was one that was refreshing and healthy?

South Indians have housed this secret all through the ages - Buttermilk. Known for its cooling qualities, every South Indian meal in summer ends with a tall glass of mildly spiced buttermilk. Spices can range from cumin to ginger to asafoetida. Traditional buttermilk is actually the milk from which butter has been churned. I don't like that too much, so what I make is actually a watered down version of yogurt.

Add to add a little twist... add plain soda water instead or regular water and see the difference...

Pudina Majjige Soda | Yogurt Soda with Fresh Mint | Pudina Chaas Soda

A healthy low fat fresh mint and yogurt soda

Recipe Type: Beverage
Cuisine: South Indian
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Yield: 2 Glasses

Ingredients:

Yogurt / Curd - 1 cup (Taste better if the yogurt/curd is sour)
Fresh mint leaves - 1 cup (washed and chopped)
Plain Soda - 400ml
Salt to taste.

Method:

Grind the mint leaves into a fine paste along with a little yogurt.
Add the yogurt, salt and mint paste to a blender and blend until combined.
Strain well and pour equally into the serving glasses.
Add the soda, stir and enjoy the refreshing goodness of this drink

Aam Panna [Without Boiling] | Sweet and Spicy Raw Mango Cooler

During these hot summer months in Bangalore, I catch myself day dreaming about summers in Goa. Summer vacations, back then was our right, now just a dream. Off to play by 9am and back home only by 8.30pm managing to squeeze in a lunch only cause my friend was called in for lunch and I would be alone in the sun. It was bliss! Hot & sweaty, all tanned up, we would play everything from lagori to chor police. When the heat got to us, we would take juice breaks. Rasna was an all time favorite among kids back then. Come summer, and all the moms would make a bottle of Rasna and keep it in the fridge for these breaks of ours. It was in times like these, my best friend N introduced me to a more natural homemade drink - Aam Panna. I loved it so much, that she had to bring me some every summer when her mom made it.

Aam Panna is a raw mango cooler. So easy to make and oh so tasty. These days we catch it staring at us from the pages of restaurant menus, but that bright green concoction tastes nothing like the real thing. Firstly, the real thing isn't even bright green :) The recipe I have below is N's mom's. The extra additions I have made to it are all the optional ingredients. You can make it without all the optional ingredients and it will still taste equally good.

Aam Panna | Sweet and Spicy Raw Mango Cooler

A sweet and spicy beverage made using raw mangoes

Recipe Type: Beverage
Cuisine: Indian / Maharastrian /Goan
Prep Time: 3 Hours (Includes soaking time)
Cook time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4-5 Glasses / 750 ml

Ingredients:

3 or 500 gms Raw Mangoes
500-750 ml Water
8-10 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Pepper powder
A pinch Salt (Optional)
1/4 tsp Black salt / Kala Namak (Optional)
1/2 tsp Cumin powder / Jeera powder (Optional)

Method:

Wash and peel the raw mangoes

Take 500ml of water in a large container

Grate the mangoes and add them to the water

Cover and leave aside for 2-3 hours

Drain out the water into another container. Squeeze the pulp to remove any more juice available.

Add sugar, pepper powder, salt, black salt and cumin powder and mix well until sugar dissolves.

If it is concentrated, add more water and serve it on a hot summer day.

Notes:

1) The above recipe made 750ml of diluted juice for me. If the mangoes are very sour, you can store this as a concentrate and dilute it while serving.
2) The amount of sugar, salt and spices, all depends on the sourness of the mangoes being used. I suggest starting with half the quantity of sugar/salt/spices mentioned above and adding more as required.
3) N suggested this is usually served at room temperature, however I generally serve is slightly cooler.
4) This may not be suitable if you are suffering from throat infections, it may aggravate it. There is a slightly different version you can make if you are suffering from throat troubles, boil the mangoes until then are half cooked and then peel and grate. Follow the rest of the recipe as is. This version apparently does not aggravate throat infections.
5) This stores well in the fridge for 18-20 days. However, I doubt you will ever get the chance to test this :). Mine barely lasted 3.

Solkadi | Spicy Kokum Drink

Kokum isn't a fruit many are familiar with. It is indigenous to the Konkan coast of India. It isn't generally consumed like other fruits, it is mostly had in the form of the sweet juice or the savoury kadi. The kokum rind is sun dried and is called "Aamsol" in Konkani and used in kadi. It is also used instead of tamarind to add sourness to curries and gravies. Solkadi is a must for every Goan meal. It is made in 2 ways in Goa, one with coconut milk and one without. Solkadi is supposed to aid in digestion. The recipe below is for the one without coconut milk. Although this is eaten with rice in Goa, I prefer it just like a drink along with my meal.

Aamsol or dried kokum rind

The recipe makes 2 big glasses.

Solkadi | Spicy Kokum Drink

Traditional Goan savory beverage made with the dried peel of the kokum fruit.

Recipe Type: Beverage
Cuisine: Indian / Goan
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes
Yield: 2

Ingredients:

10-12 pieces Aamsol / Dried Kokum Peel
2 glasses Water
2-3 Green chillies
A handful of Coriander leaves(Optional)
1/2 tsp Sugar(Optional)
Salt

Method:

Heat 1/2 a glass of water until it is slightly warm.

Add the kokum and allow them to seep.

After 10-15 mins, add this seeped liquid along with the kokum to the remaining water

Slit the green chillies and add to the water

Add salt and sugar. I don't add sugar, I prefer the tartness.

If it isn't yet tart/ sour enough for you, allow the kokum to seep longer in the water

If you think it is too sour, add more water.

While serving, remove the kokum and the green chillies and garnish with finely chopped coriander and serve.