Showing posts with label Mango. Show all posts

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.

Mango Cheesecake (Eggless)

Every time I watch that episode from Friends when Chandler and Rachel steal their neighbour’s cheesecake and eat it, I feel like getting my own. I finally decided to try making one at home. Since it is May and mangoes are abundant, it was an easy choice to make Mango cheesecake. I searched the net for an easy eggless recipe and ended up on this one from Divinetaste. I modified it a little to suit my tin size. I used a 7” loose bottomed cake tin that took me a day to find in Bangalore. I searched high and low for it or for a springform cake tin. Ended up getting it at Ibcablr. Don’t be mistaken, these are available in most places like Hypercity, MK Ahmed, Nilgiris (Brigade road) etc. it was the size I wanted that was missing.

Biscuit base

Ingredients:

Curd – ½ litre (500 ml)

Paneer – 200 gms

Mangoes – 3

China grass –10 gms

Water – 1 cup

Powdered sugar – 1.5 cups

Vanilla essence – 1 tsp

Butter (unsalted) – 6 tbsp

Digestive biscuits – 8 to 10

Lime juice – 1 tbsp

Method:

Biscuit base:

Crush the digestive biscuits and mix with softened butter until it is evenly mixed. You should be able to hold the mixture in a closed fist and it should not crumble. Add less butter if it achieves the same result.

Spread this on the base of the loose bottomed cake tin or the spring form cake tin and press until it is tight.

Refrigerate for 1-1.5 hrs.

Cheese filling:

8-10 hours prior to making the cheesecake, pour it in a strainer with a bowl underneath it and leave it in the fridge. You can achieve the same results by hanging the curd in a muslin cloth as well.

I made paneer from about 1 L of milk, you can use store bought paneer too. In the mixer, add the paneer and the hung curd and mix until there are no lumps.

Soak the china grass in water for 10 mins.

Peel and puree 2 mangoes.

Heat the china grass until it dissolves in water. Simultaneously heat the mango puree. Do not allow either of the two to boil.

Once the china grass is dissolved, pour it into the mango puree.

Add this mix to the cheese mix.

Add vanilla and sugar. I suggest adding sugar little by little until the desired sweetness is achieved.

Pour this over the biscuit base and refrigerate for half an hour.

Mango glaze:

Peel and puree 1 mango.

Add the lime juice and 1 tbsp of water. Add around 1 tbsp sugar and heat for 5 mins. Keep stirring and do not let it burn. Add more sugar if required.

Pour this over the cheese filling.

Refrigerate for 5-6 hours.

Raw mango gojju

Raw mangoes... just thinking of them makes my mouth water. I'm sure they have the same impact on a lot of us. The recipe that follows is something my mom used to make in the summers and would always leave me craving for more. Generally made with a fruit called "amtekai" or "ambade", in its absence, it was made using raw mangoes. Since "amtekai" is only available along the konkan coast, I decided to make my childhood favourite using raw mangoes. And it paid off, my husband loved it too and did not seem bored after this made an appearance multiple times this summer.

Ingredients:

Raw mango - 1

Coconut - 1.5 cups

Sambhar powder - 1.5 tbsp

Hing - a pinch

Urad dal - 2 tbsp

Methi seeds - 1 tbsp

Jaggery - 2-5 tbsp

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric - 1 tsp

Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 8-10

Salt

Method:

Dry roast 1.5 tbsp urad dal and .5 tbsp of methi seeds.

Grind the coconut and the sambhar powder to a coarse paste using little water. Add the dry roasted urad dal and methi seeds and continue to grind to a fine paste.

Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, remaining urad dal and methi seeds and wait till mustard seeds have stopped spluttering.

Add the coconut paste and roast for 1 minute.

Add chopped raw mango and water. Add salt, chilli powder, turmeric and hing.

Allow it to cook till mango are done.

Add jaggery depending on how sweet you like it.