Culinary Xpress: Thirst Quenchers

Cantoloupe & Greek Yogurt Medley

8:22 AM

To enjoy the whole nutrient of any fruit, it needs to be consumed in it’s whole form. I like to have more fresh fruit juices during the summer and especially to counter the humidity here. All you need is light , healthy and quick breakfast along with some refreshing cold beverages to tackle this hot and humid weather at Bhubaneswar. Cantaloupe or muskmelons are perfect summer coolers as it has lots of water content which reduces the body heat during summer. Though one could consume this directly, you could also this to juice, smoothies, sorbet, icecream, soup, desert etc.

Cantaloupe juice is easy to prepare and could be made in minutes by just adding it to the blender along with some ice cubes and honey or jaggery depending on the sweetness of the fruit and you are ready with this healthy cantaloupe juice. I personally like to eat the fruit instead as it is so juicy.But sometimes I also like to experiment and loves it .Muskmelons have a classic sweet melon flavor and a smooth texture making it ideal for use in as a puree for sauces and soups, smoothies, milkshakes and lassis. it can be added as cubed or pureed when making sorbet, kheer, cakes, ice cream and puddings.

Muskmelons also known as sweet melon, kharbuja and cantaloupe are botanically known as Cucumis melo and a member of the Cucurbitaceae family. There are approximately ten different commercial varieties of Muskmelon grown in India today such as Kharbuj, Kharbooj and Karbuja. In addition to fresh eating in India the Muskmelon is utilized to produce Muskmelon oil which is used in skincare, for cooking and in naturopathic medicine.( Source:http://www.specialtyproduce.com).Muskmelon has a lot of health benefits like controlling blood pressure, it is high in fibre, reduces body heat and is an anti oxidant.

Recipe type: drinks

Cuisine: world

Prep time:5 minutes

cooking time :5 minutes

serves: 2

Ingredients:

1 cantaloupe or muskmelon
Sugar or jaggery as required
200 gms fresh greek hogurt
a pinch of black salt
1 tsp cardamom powder
few cherries to decorate

how to make the recipe:

Cut the muskmelon into half. Remove the peel and separate it from the flesh.Discard the seeds. Chop and add in a blender along with sugar or jaggery as per requirement and the black salt. Blend till smooth without adding water.
Pour the Cantaloupe juice onto individual serving glass Mix the cardamom powder in the greek yogurt and pour over the muskmelon juice.
Garnish with Cherries and serve immediately so that the juice retains it’s freshness.

Foodie Monday Blog hop

Roasted Plum Ice cream on Oreo crumbs and Caramelized Pineapple

9:23 AM

With the onset of summer holidays , comes the responsibilities of making varieties of kids friendly recipes to keep them busy. Every time I visit the departmental store for grocery, I simply head towards the fruit zone to check for exotic fruits and whenever I find these juicy fruits on the rack I pick them up . Plums are those rare fruits which comes with such myriad of colors which are not only juicy but taste awesome also. I try making almost all kinds of recipes with fruits but in summer I just fall for the roasted Plums Icecream. The best way to have them is roast them with little sugar and some salt and you get finger licking plums at your disposal.

When you think of one favourite items with the kids , its undoubtedly Ice cream, which is universally accepted as a summer delight. You can never go wrong with the flavors of Ice cream available in the market, but developing your own flavours with the available ingredients is the greatest joy for me and when a flavor is accepted by the kids I seems to be on cloud nine. I always suffer from this guilt pang like any other working women when the time of summer holidays approaches. How to keep them busy, with the healthiest foods and the varieties so that they do not get bored is the concern which is common to all the mothers in this world. So to bring a relief to your summer delight planning, the theme for the 42nd Foodie Monday Blog Hop theme will come very handy to you #kidsdelight.

This summer holiday is a bit different for me this year as my kid has finally completed his Senior High School and about to embark upon a new journey of his life and when I have to think of his favourite foods down the year , one thing tops the list is his love for Oreo Biscuits, Milk and milk related products and his love for fruits especially the juicy kinds as he is very fond of chilled beverages. So I try to put all his favourite things on a platter for this 42^nd Foodie Monday Bloghop theme of #kidsdelight……….Roasted Plum Ice cream on Oreo crumbs and Caramelized Pineapple.

Recipe Type: Dessert

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Setting Time: 1 day

Yields: 400 ml

Ingredients:

For Plum Icecream

200 ml Amul Fresh Cream
100ml Condensed Milk
4 nos of Plums
8 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

For Caramalized pineapple

1 Pineapple
4 tbsp sugar
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp black salt

For Oreo Crumbs

8 nos of Oreo biscuits

Let’s Learn How to make this recipe:

For the Ice cream:

Wash and chop the plums and cook with sugar and salt on low flames till the plum gets cooked and become tender. Take off from heat and let it cool completely. Once cool coarsely puree in a blender and keep aside.

Place the container and the blades in the freezer till for 20 minutes.

Beat the cream for 5 to 7 minutes. Add milkmaid to it and blend well.

Now add half of the plum puree into the mixture along with a tsp of vanilla essence and mix it well. Pour into air tight container and let it chill in the refrigerator for minimum 5 to 6 hrs or till set.

Take out from fridge and blend to a fine puree . You will see the volume rising and becoming airy. Repeat this process once more after the ice cream is set and add the remaining plum puree and mix a little so that you can see tiny chunks of plums in the Ice cream and keep in the fridge to set it overnight.

For the caramelized Pineapple

Cut the pineapple and take off its skin and cut into triangular shape. Prick it with a toothpick. Sprinkle some black salt and chilli flakes on it and keep aside.

In a pan take a sugar and 1 tsp of water and heat on a medium flame till sugar melts and starts to caramelize . Now dip the pineapple pieces in the caramelized sugar and keep aside.

For Assembling the whole recipe:

In a plate, crush the Oreo biscuits and place them in the bottom . Take a big scoop out of the roasted Plum Ice cream and place it over the crumble. Place the caramelized pineapple pieces in the side and serve with some chocolatae syrup on top.

Thirst Quenchers

Mango Iced Tea Lemonade

10:19 PM

If you are a confusing soul like me when asked to choose between having Tea or having Amras , then look no further, Mango Iced tea is the perfect summer drink for you. This sweet, tangy and delicious summer drink with the goodness of green tea and a hint of lemon in it, has become a regular drink during this summer .Your Mango Iced tea taste differently with the use of different mangoes, but try to stick to mangoes which is not fibrous. You can create this iced refreshment with green tea, mango and a hint of lemon at the comfort of your own home before the mango season goes away.

Mangoes have marked their presence felt in almost all parts of the World, it's no wonder why it is called the king of Fruits. Being neighbors, Odisha market gets flooded with mangoes from Andhra Pradesh which are truly becoming favourites all over India as well.The two popular Andhra varieties found in Odisha market is Beganpalli and Sundari known as Sapheda and Sundar respectively in Northern India.

You do not require any special ingredients or technique to enjoy this Mango Iced Tea. All you need is some mango syrup, some strong black tea which is cooled in the refrigerator and lemon juice to spice it up and some mint leaves to garnish.

Recipe Type: Beverage

prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Serves: 2 glasses

Ingredients:

3 nos of Mangoes chopped and pureed
4 nos of tea bags
4 cups water
I inch ginger finely grated
1 medium lemon
2 tsp sugar
a few mint leaves for garnishing
Ice cubes

Let us learn how to make the recipe:

Wash ,peel and chopped the mangoes and puree them in a blender and keep in the refrigerator to chill.

Heat water using the gas stove. Add sugar and the ginger and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add the tea bags and cover . let it steep in hot water for 7 to 8 minutes. Strain and let keep it in the refrigerator to cool.

Before serving , place 3 to 4 ice cubes in a glass ,pour some mango puree, add the lemon juice, tea liquor and stir well .

Serve the mango Iced Tea with lots of ice and garnish with mint leaves and lemon wedges.

Foodie Monday Blog hop

Chai Ice cream - How to make Masala Chai Ice cream at home

4:27 PM

My mornings are never complete without a sip of chai . This has been a routine since I was a kid when mom would make the first batch of tea early in the morning and the aroma of the freshly brewed chai would compel us to wake up from bed. Chai or Tea is always a part of most of the discussion be it in the morning or in the evening. Sharing the newspaper along with a cup of chai and some biscuits early in the morning is what many of you can relate to. This morning ritual is still a part of my life today when both mom and son would sit down in the morning to have our tea together.

Whenever I have traveled I always make sure to find the best tea stall and have my tea there. Be it a small town in the foot of the Himalayas or a simple Sikkim village selling homemade tea made with yak milk, Tea or Chai evokes a feeling of belonging, a sense of togetherness, a feeling well beyond words. If you happen to travel through north India, you will definitely come across a tea stall at almost each corner offering Chai. Apart from the regular Tea, you will likely to find a delicious Masala Tea.

The spices used in the Masala tea vary according to the region and how strong or light you want to have it. The traditional spices used in chai are cinnamon, ginger, clove, cardamom and black pepper. Tea drinking in India has been popularized by the English in the early 1900's to market their produce.But the Indian people preferred to have tea not only with sugar and milk but also used to add cardamom, pepper, cinnamon as opposed to the way the Englishmen prefer the Indians to follow.

You must be wondering why I am speaking about Tea or Chai in this hot and humid summer, that’s the reason why I choose my favourite hot beverage to give it a cold makeover for our 40^th Foodie Monday Bloghop theme of Summer coolers…. settle for this unusually flavoured Masala Chai Ice cream which is thick,Creamy, Sweet and Perfectly chai-spiced.

This Chai Ice cream is infused with the spices (masala), crushed green cardamom seeds and freshly grated ginger root just like my mother used to prepare for us when we wanted that something extra comfort and warmth. Holding this cup of Chai Icecream in my hand makes me a little nostalgic and brought back memories of sweet playful years which is never going to come back again.

Recipe Type: Dessert

Prep time:30 minutes
Setting time: Overnight
Yields: 400 ml

Ingredients:

200 ml Amul fresh cream
200 ml of Amul Whipping Cream
2 cups milk
2 tbsp sugar
½ cup water
200 ml of condensed milk
4 whole cloves
2 crushed green cardamom pods
2 crushed peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick
A pinch of nutmeg powder
1inch piece peeled, chopped ginger
2 tbsp Assam Tea

Let's Learn How to make the Chai Ice cream:

Boil half cup of water with cardamom, pepper, crushed ginger,cloves,nutmeg powder and cinnamon on medium flames . when it starts to boil, add the tea leaves and boil for another 2 to 3 minutes on low flame. Remove from stove and strain. Now transfer the strained tea into the saucepan and add milk and sugar to it and starts boiling the liquid on a medium-high flame till it reduces to half say roughly 1 cup tea. Remove the liquid from the stove and keep aside until ready to use.

Once the chai has cooled completely, add the condensed milk to it and mix till combined.

Place the container as well as the whipping blade in the freezer for 30 minutes along with the cream. Whip the cream till it becomes stiff and then add the condensed milk and tea mixture to it and blend everything well.

Pour into an airtight container and refrigerate over night . After it is set, take it out and churn again in a blender and put it back on the container to set it for another 3 to 4 hours. Your Chai Ice cream is ready to be savoured.

Sending this Chai Ice cream seasoned with rich and warm Chai Spices to the 4oth #Foodie Monday #Bloghop theme of #SummerCoolers ...In the meanwhile you might be also interested to check Sugar Palm Ice cream , Pomegranate Ice Cream or Expresso Choco Chips Ice cream.

Thirst Quenchers

Lychee Mojito- A refreshing summer mocktail

8:20 AM

Mojito is a traditional Cuban highball consisting of white rum, sugar, lime juice, sparkling water, and mint. A mojito which does not have alcohol in it is a ‘virgin mojito’ and is categorized as a mocktail. Mocktails are those drinks which can be consumed by everyone who wants to relish flavorful drinks without adding alcohol to it.

This Lychee Mojito is just that subtle , sweet something you always wanted to linger over on a warm summer evening. Simply add some ice cubes , garnish with a lemon slice and few mint leaves and you are ready to beat the heat with a glass of refreshing virgin Lychee Mojito .You can use fresh lychees and muddle them with the limes but it can be made with lychee juice also.

lychee being sweet and juicy treat, gives a high content of water which keeps us being hydrated. Lychee is a great source of dietary fiber that helps in achieving efficient digestion. Lychee is known for its remarkable levels of Vitamin C content which is a very essential mineral needed by the body for it to be able to defend multiple disease and illnesses on its own. Lychee is very abundant in strong antioxidants that remove harmful toxins in the body which triggers development of cancer cells.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time/ Serving Time: 5 minutes

Serves:2

Ingredients:

1 tbsp Lemon juice
6 to 7 Mint leaves
3 tbsp Sugar syrup
1 cup lychee puree + some for garnishing
Crushed Ice
lemon slices and few mint leaves for garnishing

Let's Learn how to make this Lychee Mojito:

Prepare sugar syrup by heating 1 1/2 tbsp of sugar in 1/4 cup water on low to medium flame. Let the sugar dissolve completely. Allow to simmer for a little less than half a minute. Turn off the flame and bring the sugar syrup to room temperature.

Peel the Lychees and deseed them. In a blender make a puree of the lychees.

Take two serving glass, add 2-3 fresh mint leaves, a tbsp of sugar syrup and a little more than a tbsp of lemon juice. Use a spoon to gently crush or bruise the mint leaves.

Pour the lychee puree in it. Add 1 to 2 whole unseeded lychees in it and slowly pour chilled water into the glass till it almost reaches the brim and stir to mix.

Garnish with a slice of lemon, a small sprig of mint leaves and add 2 to 3 ice cubes in each glass and serve.
In place of chilled water you can also add chilled soda water for all that extra fizz.

Ice cream

Sugar Palm Ice cream- How to make Ice cream at Home without Ice cream Maker

1:21 PM

Ice Apple,Palm fruit, Sugar Palm, Tala Saja or Nungu is one such fruit you will find on every street corner during summer . Palm fruits or Sugar palm are called Taal Shaja in Odia, Nungu in Tamil, Thaati Nungu in Kannada, Thaati Munjalu in Telugu ,Tad gola in Marathi and Tad phal in Hindi. Palm fruit, is a refreshing treat for those languishing in this hot summers. Due to its cooling effect, this fruit is known as ice apple. The fruit, which is available in abundance during the hot season, is rich in B vitamins, iron and calcium. The flesh of the this fruit is similar to litchi in texture and the taste is similar to fresh coconut.

Palm fruit/Sugar Palm has a lot of health benefits. It provides a perfect balance of minerals and sugar for the body during the summer season. Ice apple or Sugar Palm is also rich in Vitamin A, B and C, Iron, Zinc, Phosphorous, Potassium and lots more which is good for the human body. Above all, this is a natural coolant food for the body during the summer season. Since it contains a lot of water, the best way to keep yourself hydrated during summer is with the help of this fruit. During summer, people generally tend to feel a lot more tired since they sweat a lot. The best way to fight fatigue is with the help of ice apple or Sugar Palm.

Though there are a ton of summer fruits to eat during summer, ice apple or sugar palm is the best, since it has less amount of calories and high amount of energy.It keeps the glucose levels up and provides the right balance of minerals and nutrients to the body.It has a buff color covering that has to be removed to eat the ice apple inside. Ice apples have soft jelly like flesh beneath that contains minor amount of sweetened water inside it. Ice apples must be consumed at once when cut as it become rubbery when stored and the sugar inside ferments changing its taste.

Do try making a tender ice cream out of sugar palm at home in this summer and I am sure you will love it.My boy loves it and that's the best reward for me. The basic ice cream recipe has got it's makeover with this tropical fruit and the addition of chocolate sauce has taken it to a different level. Go ahead and enjoy this yummy sugar palm ice cream.

Recipe Type: Ice cream

Setting time: 24 hours

Cooking time:30 minutes

Serves: Approx 400 ml of Ice cream

Ingredients:-

1 cup chopped sugar Palm flesh + extra for garnishing
200ml Amul fresh cream
100 ml Condensed Milk
¼ tsp vanilla extract
Hot Chocolate for garnishing

Let’s Learn How to make this interesting Ice cream:

Clean and wash sugar palm flesh. Chop them into pieces and blend into smooth puree.

Place the attachment of the hand blender and a deep bowl in the deep freezer for 15 minutes.

Whip the chilled cream till for 5 to 6 minutes. Add condensed milk , vanilla extract and sugar palm flesh puree and combined well so that no lumps remain.

Set the temperature of the freezer to highest.

Pour the mixture into an air tight container or aluminum tray, cover with an aluminum foil and put in the freezer for overnight or minimum 6 hours. Once it is set, remove from freezer and beat with the help of a hand blender till slushy.

Pour the mixture again into an air tight container or aluminum tray and freeze again for at least 5 to 6 hours or till the ice cream sets. Repeat this process once more to get a smooth creamy ice cream.

Scoop and serve with some chopped sugar palm and drizzle some chocolate sauce over it to enjoy this exotic and tropical Ice cream.

Thirst Quenchers

Wood apple Tamarind Aquafresca- Fruity Refreshing drink for Summer

10:29 PM

This light, refreshing non-alcoholic drink served throughout Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean, as well as Mexican cafés are made by combining fresh fruits, grains, seeds, with sugar and water.One of the best way to enjoy fresh fruit is in agua fresca form. Agua frescas are nothing but refreshing fruit drinks made with fruits , water, lime juice and a bit of sweetener.

I am sure you must be familiar with bael or woodapple pana if you have roamed along the streets in Bhubaneswar on a hot Summer day. Since childhood I am used to having the Bela Pana my mother used to offer us, more than the taste, her recipe is about using the bael fruit for the health benefits. I have given the traditional Bela Pana a modern twist suiting to our palette,if you have seen it but never had it before, you must try it once.

Cuisine; Mexican

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS :

Pulp from 1 medium size Wood Apple( Bael /Bela)
2 tbsp tamarind pulp
4 tbsp jaggery
Juice of one Orange( optional)
1 tsp Black salt / kala Namak
1 tsp roasted cumin powder
4 to 5 crushed mint leaves
4 glasses of Chilled water
Ice cubes to serve
oranges wedges for garnishing

Let's learn how to make this Agua fresca:

Crack open the Wood apple, scrap out its entire pulp using a spoon into a glass bowl/vessel.

Fill up the bowl with 2 glasses of chilled water till the entire pulp is covered in water. Mash the pulp so that it completely dissolves into the water. Use a large strainer and strain the entire thick pulpy wood apple juice into a larger bowl, you may need to stir and press down the pulp with a spatula to completely extract the juice.

Discard the remaining seeds, fibers etc left in the strainer.

Add the jaggery,tamarind, mint leaves, roasted cumin powder and the remaining chilled water. Stir well, you may pulse it in a blender for a smother consistency.

Stir in the orange juice and black salt, you may keep in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving.

Pour into serving glasses and garnish with fresh mint and a slice of orange with loads of ice.

CustomsandTradition

Sattu ka Panna - Celebrating Maha Bisubha Sankranti

7:07 PM

Pana Sankranti or Maha Bishubha Sankranti is celebrated as the Odia New Year.This day marks the beginning of the New Year in the traditional Odia calendar.Pana Sankranti, like all other new year festivals, is the celebration of the end of the old year and the beginning of new. People pray to God at the beginning of the year so that the new year brings joy and happiness to everyone's life. Farmers pray for a better harvest and good rain. Hence Pana Sankranti is a grand celebration in Odisha and people participate in the celebrations with great enthusiasm.This day is also known as Jala Visuva Sankranti which is the first day of the Baisakha month.

There is an interesting story of Maha Bishubha Sankranti associated with Bhishma in the Mahabharata .‘Bhishma after being defeated by Arjuna in the Mahabharata war was lying on a bed of arrows (Shara Sajya). Pandavas and Kauravas had assembled near him and he asked for some water. Then Arjun aimed an arrow in the ground and from the crevice created by the arrow appeared Holy River Ganga to thirst the quench of Bhishma. Out of contentment and compassion Bhishma said that those people who would offer cold water to thirsty people on this day would not only be free from all sins, but also the departed souls of their ancestors as well as the Gods in heaven would be pleased. In remembrance of this day people in Odisha distribute water and a popular drink called Pana on this day.

In Odisha, Bisubha Sankranti or Pana Sankranti festival is observed with great sanctity in various forms. On this day Chhatua (Sattu), Pana (sweet water), umbrellas ( Chhata), fans(made out of palm-leaves or bamboo-strips known as Barada patra Binchana) and Paduka (wooden slippers or Kathau) are offered to Brahmins and the poor people. All these are the remedies for the scorching Sun.

Water as the vital source of life becomes more symbolical in another ritual of the festival.Above the Tulasi plant- which is a must in every Hindu household of Odisha, a shed is prepared with branches of green leaves and a small pitcher filled with water is suspended with a rope hanger. Beneath it a small piece of straw which is fixed to a hole in the pitcher through which water is drained drop by drop on the Tulasi plant. This is called ‘Basudhara’ (the stream of the earth). Here, Tulasi plant symbolizes the human life and it is to be saved from the scorching sun by resting in the shed and taking enough water.

This act symbolically represents that water being the most important constituent for sustaining life in the earth, should be provided to all in the month of summers.A special drink called Pana, prepared from the mixture of Bael fruit and yoghurt is offered to the Tulsi plant on this day. Besides this a pana made with a mixed chatua or sattu is prepared and offered to the deity on this day.

Sattu ka Panna is an energizing drink that not only quenches our thirst but also protects us from the intense summer heat. Sattu was originally known as Sat-Anaj (seven cereals, millets and pulses). All across the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha, Sattu is eaten daily in various forms.There are two versions of sattu drink – meetha (sweet) and namkeen (savory). Sattu a ghol is a salted version where black salt, black pepper, roasted cumin powder, lemon juice and mint leaves are used.In Odisha we mostly use the sweeter version of this drink named as Sattu Panna .

Cuisine: Odia

Prep time:10 minutes

Serves:4

Ingredients:

1 cup Chatua or sattu
1/4 cup grated coconut
2 nos of ripe banana mashed
1/2 cup jaggery
1/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup chena
1 tsp grated ginger
1/4 cup chopped mango
a pinch of black pepper powder
a pinch of salt
Ice Cubes
Mango slices for garnishing
chilled water as needed

Let's Learn How to make Sattu Panna:

Take equal quantity of wheat, green gram, Rice, Peanuts, Chana dal and dry roast them on slow heat till brown separately and keep aside to cool.Once cool, grind them along with 3 to 4 green cardamoms to a fine powder and store in an airtight jar to be used later. Or else you can buy Sattu powder available in the market and do this recipe.

Now in a mixing bowl, add chena, mashed banana, grated coconut, jaggery,grated ginger, chopped mangoes, salt, pepper powder and mix well.

Add the chatua powder or Sattu to it and mix well. At this point it will be too dry. Add 2 glass of chilled water and make it a little runny.Taste the sugar level, if needed add more jaggery.