Rosy Mocktail.

This year summer is very extreme in pune,temperature reaches upto 36°,so I am exploring all my mocktail options.

This is very easy to assemble drink…cools you from within.Serve it chilled and it will taste amazing.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp Rose Syrup.

1 tbsp Lemon Juice.

1 tbsp Ginger Juice.

1 tsp dried Rose Petals.

1/2 cup Ice.

chilled Soda.

Method:

In a glass add rose syrup,lemon juice and ginger juice.mix well,top it up with chilled club soda.

Add ice,garnish with dried rose petals and serve immediately!

Happy Cooking!!!

Sameera.

Mango Mojito.

Today I made this refreshing mocktail just to beat the heat of pune.

Mango Mojito is a refreshing summer mocktail made using fresh mango pulp and some simple ingredients,and can be made in less than 10 minutes..

This drink has the perfect sweetness from mango,tanginess from lemon and the fizz from soda and is a perfect summer mocktail to serve for sunday brunches and potlucks.

If you want to make an alcoholic version just add 30 ml white rum and you have an awesome cocktail ready.

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh Mango pieces.(from 1 mango)

1 tbsp Lemon Juice.

1/2 Lemon cut into Wedges.

10 mint leaves and some.more for garnishing.

1 tbsp Powdered Sugar.

1/2 cup Ice.

chilled Soda.

Method:

Add mango pieces to the small jar of a blender and blend until smooth,keep aside.

In a broad glass add lemon wedges, lemon juice,powdered sugar and mint leaves,muddle well with muddler.

Add mango pulp and ice,mix well,top it up with chilled club soda. Garnish with  mint leaves. Serve immediately!

Happy Cooking!!!

Sameera.

Thandai.

Thandai is a very popular drink,which is actually dry fruit and saffron flavoured milk, that is traditionally prepared as an offering to Lord Shiva during the festival of Maha Shivratri.
Thandai is often mixed with ‘bhang’ to make an intoxicating drink popularly served during Holi festival.

Ingredients:

4 cups Milk.

1/4 cup Sugar

A pinch of Black Pepper powder.

A few strands of Saffron.

Make into powder:

1/4 cup Almonds.

2 tbsp Poppy Seeds.

2 tbsp Fennel Seeds.(saunf)

1/2 tsp Cardamom powder

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds.

Method:

Boil the milk in a deep pan, allow it to cool completely.

Combine the powder and milk in a deep bowl, mix well using a whisk and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Strain the mixture through a sieve, add the sugar, pepper powder and saffron and mix well.

Pour equal quantities of the thandai into 4 individual glasses add serve chilled.

Tip:Prepared masala can be stored in airtight jar in refrigerator for upto 3 months and used as and when required.

Happy Cooking!!!

Sameera.

Sugar Cane Juice.

This is a long overdue post,remember the summer of 2020,when due to lockdown there were no sugar cane juice shops open…and I had missed this juice so much….

At that time I had read this recipe somewhere…..sugar cane juice without sugar cane,made using jaggery….had been making it since that time and trust me it tastes amazing….

Do give it a try…

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup Jaggery Powder.

2 cups Water [ 500 ml ]

2 Lemon.

½ tsp Black Salt.

½  Inch grated Ginger.

10 Mint Leaves

Ice Cubes.

METHOD:

In a blender jar mix together jaggery,black salt,mint leaves,ginger,lemon juice,ice cubes and 1/2 cup water and blend well,add remaining 1 ½  cup water and beat till it turns frothy.

Pour from a height in a serving glass,add ice cubes and sprinkle chat masala(optional).

Serve chilled.

Tips:Don’t skip adding ice or else the juice won’t turn frothy.

If you don’t have Jaggery powder,Use grated Jaggery.

Happy Cooking!!!

Sameera.

Mango Lassi.

Mango Lassi is everyone’s favorite summer drink in India.It has the sweetness of mangoes and the tanginess of yogurt in it and has an amazing cooling effect on body.

Here goes the simple recipe for this amazing drink…

Ingredients:

1 cup thick Curd.

1/4 cup Mango Pulp or Mango pieces.

1 tbsp Sugar.

2 tbsp Cream.

¼ tsp Elaichi Powder.

2 cubes of ice ( crushed)

Sliced nuts and for garnish.

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients in a blender and blend well.

Pour in a glass,garnish with sliced nuts and serve immediately.

Happy Cooking !!!

Sameera.

Cucumber Mint Cooler.

Few years back I had visited Cochin,I have a very close friend Sanjay Kurup there,climate in cochin was horribly hot and dry.My friend’s wife Suvarna treated me to a chilling and refreshing drink…simple,tasty and refreshing…. So now it’s a ritual at my place to make this amazing Cooler to beat the heat in every summer.

Thanks Suvarna for this amazing recipe.

Ingredients:

2 Cucumber.

1 inch Ginger.

4 tbsp Sugar.

1 tbsp Lemon juice.

6 leaves  fresh mint.(Optional)

6 pieces crushed Ice.

pinch of  Salt.

1 tbsp soaked Sabja Seeds.

2 lemon wedges for garnishing.

Method:

Mix all the ingredients in a mixie,except sabja seeds.Blend till turns into puree.

Add 1 and half glass of chilled water,blend again till ice is completely dissolved.Strain through a strainer.

Pour in a tall glass add sabja seeds,garnish with mint and serve immediately.

Happy Cooking !!!

Sameera

Guava Juice.

My soul sister my friend from Mumbai visited us for a few days to celebrate my son’s 20th birthday…it’s a ritual to have a one day trip whenever she visits…so this time it was lonavala….we had a lovely time….streets of lonavala were full of vendors selling pink guava.

So I couldn’t resist myself from buying a few…

That’s how this recipe gets posted today….Pink Guava Juice.

Ingredients:

250 gms or 2 cups chopped Guava.

1 cup Water add as required.

4 tbsp Sugar.

2 tbsp Lemon juice.

Salt and Chilli powder as per taste.

Method:

Rinse the guavas very well in water. Chop in small pieces and add to a large blender jar along with sugar.You can peel them if you like.
Add little water and blend the guavas to a smooth pulp. Chop the guavas in small pieces so that they grind or blend faster and the seeds are not ground.

Blend in batches if the blender size is small.

Add the prepared pulp to a medium mesh strainer placed on top of a bowl.
Using a spoon stir the pulp, so that the smooth pulp is extracted in the bowl.
Add salt,chilli powder and lemon juice,mix well.

Add 1 cup cold water to the prepared guava pulp in the bowl. Stir to combine.
Pour the juice in glasses with ice and serve guava juice immediately.

Tip:You can add a small piece of beetroot or a drop of edible pink colour to get a bright colour..

Also soda can be added instead of water just before serving for some fizz.

Happy Cooking!!!
Sameera.

Virgin Mojito.

This is a classic and refreshing non-alcoholic drink.
Mint leaves & lemon juice are the main ingredients used here.

We all must have heard of famous Cocktail mojito.The non-alcoholic version of this drink is known as Virgin Mojito. The base ingredients remain the same that is mint leaves and lemon juice but the alcohol gets replaced with soda or sprite.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tbsp Lime juice.

1 tbsp Sugar Syrup.

10-12 Mint Leaves.

½ Lemon sliced.

Ice as required

Club soda or Sprite.

METHOD:

In a tall or big serving glass add the lime juice, sugar syrup, half of the lime slices and mint leaves and muddle/crush using the muddler (or use back of the large wooden spoon).

Muddle only for 10 seconds  so mint doesnt get over crushed.

Now top the glass with ice and top it up with club soda or sprite.

Garnish with lemon slices and mint leaves and serve Chilled.

Happy Cooking!!!
Sameera. .

KitKat MilkShake.

Today being Fifa word cup semi finals my football crazy son was yearning for chocolate milk shake,had promised him oreo milk shake but we ran out of the biscuits…luckly had a KitKat sitting in the fridge….so made this in a jiffy for him.

Trust me this KitKat shake will make you ditch store bought drinks. To make this creamy chocolaty shake you just need a few simple ingredints along with a pack of Kitkat and you can nail this cafe style shake in just a few minutes.

INGREDIENTS:

1 KitKat.

200 ml Milk.

1 scoop Vanilla or Chocolate Ice cream.

2 tbsp Drinking Chocolate.

Few Ice Cubes.

For Garnish:

1 tbsp Chocolate Sauce.

Chocolate chips.

Whipped Cream.

METHOD:

Add all the ingredients in a blender and mix well till smooth and frothy.

In a mason jar or a tall glass drizzle some Chocolate syrup,pour the cold shake into the glass,using a piping cone add the whipped cream and sprinkle chocolate chips and top up with a piece of KitKat.

Serve immediately.

Happy Cooking!!!

Sameera.

kokum Mojito.

This special fruit Kokam, is widely found around the Western Ghats of India. It is fondly used to make Sharbat and a variety of other Indian preparations.

Here is a delicious Kokam Mojito mocktail recipe perfect for the summers or as a fun addition to your dinner parties.
Here we are using ready-made kokum sharbat,it has a deep red hue and has a sour flavour.

So lets sip on this beautiful and cool summer drink.

INGREDIENTS:

30 ml Kokam Syrup (Sharbat)

20 ml Lemon Juice.

150 ml Soda.

6-7 Mint Leaves.

1 pinch Black Salt .

METHOD:

Muddle the mint leaves in a glass.

Add in the syrup, lemon juice, black salt and stir.

Top up with the Soda and stir again.
Add lots of ice and serve chilled.

Happy Cooking!!!

Sameera.