Hibiscus syrup

Cooking with flowers is always therupatic, but cooking with hibiscus is doubly so because of the rich colour, and the burst of flavours. The way the colours change is also wonderful. This time, I found a few more flowers than usual, so decided to make and bottle hibiscus syrup.

6-8 hibiscus flowers

3/4 cup sugar

4 limes

1 1/2 cup water

(The proportions are 1:2:4, juice-sugar-water, with 2 flowers for each lime)

Method:

Bring the water to boil, take off the flame. Add the hibiscus petals and let it infuse for 30 minutes. 

Squeeze in the lime juice, add sugar, and heat till the sugar dissolves. Keep heating, till the syrup reduces to 3/4th of original volume. 

Bottle in a dry glass bottle. 

To make the juice- add water or soda according to taste. 

Kiwi spinach smoothie.

The day I was waiting for finally arrived, and I had a copy of Go Set a Watchman in my hands. I would have liked to shut off the world and read, but life intruded as always. The kids needed to be fed, and I was in no mood to rustle up anything time consuming. A quick survey of the fridge yielded the ingredients to make this lovely green smoothie.

(Makes 3 glasses)

2 kiwi fruits

1 bunch spinach leaves

2 cups water

Method:

Wash the spinach leaves well, chop roughly. 

Peel the kiwi fruits, and cut into eighths. 

Blend the spinach and kiwi fruit with sufficient water till you get a really smooth consistency. 

Strain and serve (I did not strain because I didn't want to lose the fiber). 

Hibiscus tea

I saw a recipe for hibiscus tea, and rued the fact that my plant had got infected by a fungus and was no longer flowering. But after shifting here, I see a profusion of hibiscus flowers, and gathering courage, I plucked a couple to make tea. It was so lovely, I'm sure many more flowers will disappear!

2 hibiscus flowers

1/2 inch piece cinnamon

2 tsp palm sugar*

1 lime

Method:

Boil 2 cups of water. 

Tear the petals into inch square pieces. Pour the boiling water over the petals and cinnamon stick. 

Allow it to infuse for 20-30 minutes. 

Squeeze in the lime, and watch the colour turn from pale pink to deep red. 

Add sugar and mix well. 

Can be had hot, or cold. 

*- to taste. Can use honey or regular sugar too. 

Jasmine syrup

The advantage of having a plethora of blooms is that you can really indulge in your passion for cooking with flowers. Jasmine syrup is something I encountered last year, and finally got to make today!

1 cup jasmine flowers

1 cup sugar

2 cups water

Method:

Wash the flowers well and keep aside. 

Boil the water, add sugar and stir till dissolved completely. 

Add jasmine flowers and let it seep for 2 hours. 

Strain out the flowers and bottle

To use, add water to taste, or use in hot/ cold tea

Watermelon juice

This year, I didn't get watermelons even once, so when I saw them in offer at an online grocer, I added one to the cart. Half we ate, the rest we juiced.

1/2 large watermelon

1 cup water

1/2 lime juice

A dash of Tabasco

A pinch of salt

Method:

Remove the rind of the watermelon, remove seeds and cut into chunks. 

Juice with 1 cup water till well blended. Strain (I partially strained)

Add lime juice, salt and Tabasco. Mix well. Serve chilled. 

Mango mojito mocktail

I've been wanting to make a mango mojito for a really long time, but could never get hold of all the ingredients. Towards the end if the mango season, and in a new city, it finally got made.

Makes three glasses

2 small mangoes

1 sprig mint

Juice of 1 lemon

2 bottles soda

Method:

Peel the mangoes and blend the pulp till smooth. 

Put the mint leaves in a glass and muddle it with the back of a spoon. Add the mango purée and mix well. 

Add the lemon juice and soda and shake to mix well. 

Serve chilled. 

Chikoo milkshake

Sapota, is what my grandmother used to call chikoo. And maybe because I associate the fruit with her, it has always been one of my underrated favourites. So when I saw these globs of juicy brownness sitting next to the mangos I was buying, I had to pick up have a dozen.

Not sure if my kids liked it or not, I thought the best way to introduce it to them was through a milkshake. A little bit of peeling, chopping and whirling later, I was done. They loved it, and they liked the fruit just as much!

4 chikoos/ sapota

1 1/2 cups milk

Sugar to taste, though you can do without

Method:

Cut the chikoo into quarters, peel, and chop into small pieces

Blend the chikoo in a mixie till you get a smooth consistency 

Add the milk, and sugar if required. Blend till well mixed

Serve immediately.*

* chikoo spoils if cut and kept exposed, so serve right after making

Cucumber lemonade

Plain old lemonade never goes out of fashion, but if you add a dash of cucumber, it takes it to a whole different level. 

1 large cucumber (or 2 small)

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

6 glasses water

Method:

Wash and deseed the cucumber (leave the seeds if there aren't too many). Chop into cubes. 

Blend cucumber, sugar and 2 cups water till smooth. Strain (I used the strained part as a salad dressing). 

Mix in salt and lime juice. Chill

Before serving, dilute 1/3 glass concentrate with water or soda. 

Chaas

Summertime, and our thoughts turn towards coolers. Buttermilk chaas is one of my favourites, and I can gulp it down in any quantity.

1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp roasted and coarsely pounded jeera
Rock salt to taste
1/2 cup water

Method:
Roast the jeera, and coarsely pound it. Keep aside, because you are going to use it a lot in summer.
Mix the curds, water, rock salt and jeera in a mixer till well mixed and frothy. Drink immediately.

Aam Panna, with jaggary

My mother used to make Aam Panna when I was a child, and I have strong views on what it should taste like and do not like deviating from my norm. But when I saw a recipe for a version which used jaggary instead of sugar, I wanted to try it out. The mix of spices gives it medicinal properties too, but me being me, I will only have it if it tastes good, and it does.

1 raw mango
1/3 cup jaggery
1 tsp jeera
1 tsp saunf/ fennel seeds
1/2 tsp ajwain/ carom seeds
1 green cardamons
Rock salt to taste

Method:
Peel the green mango, slice it into pieces. Cover with water, and boil for 10 minutes till soft.
Meanwhile, dry roast jeera, saunf, ajwain till well roasted, but not burnt. Dry grind and keep aside.
Powder the cardamons and keep aside.
Blend the cooked mango pieces (with the water), and jaggery till well mixed.
Add rock salt and powdered spices.
Store.

To serve, add 1 part of squash to 4 parts water, mix well and serve. You can also use soda instead of water.

Lassi

Nothing spells Summer more than a glass of lassi, so we had to have it before the summer got over. It was also a great way to use up excess rasagollas syrup,

Leftover syrup from rasagollas - 1/3 cup 

OR

Make the syrup by dissolving 4 tbsp sugar in 1/3 cup water

2 cup curds

Water 1 cup

Method

Mix the sugar syrup, curds an water in a mixer, and mix for 1 minute. 

Pour into glasses and serve with the foam intact.

Pink lemonade with subja seeds

When the heat is killing you, the best way to beat the heat is to pull out the holiday knick knacks from all your previous beach vacations. If thinking about holidays that were memorable despite the heat doesn't make you feel better, nothing will.
And what better drink to sip while you are going through those old memories than pink lemonade?

1 lime
1 tbsp strawberry preserve
Sugar to taste (I didn't add)
1 glass water
1 tsp subja seeds

Method
Soak subja seeds for 15 minutes, and watch in amazement as they quadruple in quantity.
Mix the lemon juice, strawberry preserve and water* to make a lovely pink lemonade. Do a taste test and add sugar if required (I don't add any, because the strawberry preserve has enough for my needs).
Pour over the subja seeds and sip away.


*- I don't like my drinks to be too cold, so use regular water, but you can use chilled water.

Panagam- Ram Navami special

Despite the ease of preparation, my mother made Panagam only on Ram Navami, and I used to really look forward to the festival, so I could have it. Luckily, when she did make it, she made it in bulk, so I could really tank up on it.
This is my first attempt at it.

2 cups Water
1/2 cup Powdered Jaggery,grated
A pinch Cardamom powder
1/2 tsp Dry ginger powder
1 tbsp Lemon juice
A pinch Salt

Method: Keep all the ingredients ready. Add in the grated jaggery in a vessel containing water and let it dissolve.Now add in the dry ginger powder,cardamom powder,salt to jaggery water.
Add lemon juice. Finally filter it and serve chilled.

Neer Mor

Few coolers are more effective than Neer Mor. You can make it as easy or as complicated as you like, but whichever way you make it, it can be whipped up in a jiffy.

1/2 cup Curd
few Curry Leaves
A pinch Hing
1 tbsp Chopped coriander (I used mint instead)
1 tbsp Chopped ginger
2 Green chillies(optional)
1 tsp Salt
1 cup Water
To Temper:
1 tsp Oil til oil
1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds

Method:
Mix the water with curd and prepare butter milk with thin consistency
To this add salt, hing, Green chillies,chopped ginger,curry leaves and coriander leaves.
Stir well.
Heat oil in the pan and temper the mustard seeds. Finally add the tempering into the neer moor and mix well.

Ram Navami Delicacies

Ram Navami falls in the hottest part of the year, and we Tamilians found a perfect way to commemorate the day without having to spend hours slaving over the kitchen fire. Neer Moor and Panagam were deemed the official naivaidyam to be served to Lord Rama. Can there be a better way to beat the heat than with these coolers?

 

I do think it must have been a lady who thought of it, don't you?

Sukku kaapi

A couple of months back, I was given a bottle containing an ayurvedic mixture that was supposed to help keep colds at bay. While the concoction was effective, it was too exorbitantly priced (not to mention, unavailable locally) for me to make it my 'go to' drink to ward away colds. As the powder was getting depleted, I was getting ready to go back to my regular "Madam Pomfrey's Potion", when I came across a reference to Sukku Malli Kaapi. It seemed to have a lot of ingredients in common with my ayurvedic concoction, so I decided to give it a try.

After having three cups in a single day, I am almost ready to swear that it works. That and lots of rest, and other fluids!

1/2 cup dried ginger powder
1/4 cup coriander seeds (whole)
1/2 tsp whole peppercorns
1/2 tsp whole jeera

Method
Dry roast coriander seeds till golden brown.
Dry roast jeera and peppercorns together till nice aroma rises. 
Keep aside, and let them cool down completely.
Grind the roasted coriander seeds, jeera and peppercorn to a fine powder.
Mix with the dry ginger powder, and sieve a few times till well mixed.
Store in an airtight jar.

To make sukku kaapi, bring 11/2 cup water to a boil. Add 1 heaped tsp sukku kaapi powder, and let the concoction boil for 2-3 minutes. Strain the infusion, add panakalkandu (or honey), and drink.

Whey drink

Ever since I started making paneer at home, I have got a lot of whey. People seem to use it to make rotis, but since it is super rich in proteins, I decided to make it my post-run drink. Unfortunately, it tastes rather bland on its own, and I realized I would have to pep it up, if I am not to treat it as a punishment drink. This was one such successful cocktail.

Infuse 2 sprigs of curry leaves, and 1 large green chilli slit lenghtwise in whey overnight. Add salt to taste, and slurp.

Kauri methi and coffee

When a friend commented on how she poured her coffee powder into a container that had contained kasuri methi, I got thinking. Kasuri methi does have a sensuousness of its own, might it not be able to tango with coffee?

I make a light infusion of kasuri methi, and added it it my decoction. A dash of milk and half a spoon of sugar, and it wasn't half bad.
When you open your mind, the possibilities are endless.

Chaas

With the mercury threatening to break through the top of the thermometer, and with me being on a particularly intensive running schedule, I've lost count of the number of times I have made this in the last few weeks.
 

Dry roast jeera and pound it till it becomes a coarse powder (I make this in a larger quantity and keep it).
Whisk curds with the desired quantity of water, add powdered jeera and rock salt to taste, stir, slurp.

Watermelon smoothie

During a weekend trip, we stopped at a stall where they were selling watermelons straight from the field. Not only did the look amazing, they cost a fraction of what they do in the city, and I just couldn't resist picking up a couple. Since there is only so much watermelon that you can eat, I decided to experiment with a smoothie, and it tasted amazing.

Blend 1 cup watermelon chunks (remove the seeds), 6-8 leaves of mint (mine were freshly plucked), and rock salt to taste, till nice and frothy. Slurp!