Musk Melon Granita

The scorching heat makes us to loose our energy fast and leaves us feeling drained .All one would want is to drink or eat something cool.This musk melon granita leaves you refreshed and is a natural cooler.Kids would love to have them during their holidays .Its very simple  to make and yet an appealing recipe.

Serves :6

Preparation time:15 mins and time to freeze

Ingredients:

Musk melon-1 no( medium size)

Turbinado sugar or powdered jaggery-2 tbsp or more if you are sweet toothed.

Honey-2 tsp for every serve 

Mint leaves-to garnish 

Procedure:

1.Peel the skin of the musk melon and chop them into medium size slices.Discard the seeds.In a juice blender,add the chopped fruits and sugar and beat them till they are puréed well.

2.Transfer the purée to a container and freeze for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight.

3.After a few hours give it a stir.once it is completely frozen ,use a fork or spoon to scoop out the granita .

4.Serve it in a bowl ,drizzle 2 tsp of honey on top and garnish it with fresh mint leaves .Serve chilled.

Rose Falooda shots

A long time craving of mine has been satiated finally! Yes,I love faloodas and always wanted to try once at home. Of course I didn't have the long and slim glasses for falooda but still wanted to go ahead with it and voila -Rose Falooda Shots! The sabja seeds are a natural way too cool your body and has many medicinal properties too.This is a great way to add them to your diet. It's very simple to make and ideal to beat the summer heat!

Preparation time :30 mins 

Makes 5 shots 

Ingredients:

Full cream milk-1/2 Litre

Rose milk essence-3 drops

Sugar-5 tbsp or more if you are sweet toothed

Sabja seeds or chia seeds - 3 tbsp

Boiled vermicelli -1/2 cup

Mixed nuts-3 tbsp

Vanilla icecream -as required

Procedure :

1.Boil the milk and simmer it for ten minutes in a thick bottomed vessel.Add the sugar and stir it till it dissolves .Add the rose milk essence.Mix well and refrigerate the mixture.

2.Soak the sabja seeds in water till it turns transparent on the outside .Keep the boiled vermicelli ready too.

3.Dry roast the mixed nuts till it turns light golden in colour.

4.Now take the small glass cups ,add a spoon of soaked sabja seeds and boiled vermicelli .Then add the rose milk up-to three quarters of the glass.

5.Lastly add a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and top it with roasted nuts and serve immediately .Enjoy the cool and yummy Rose Falooda Shots.

Tips:

• I didn't add jelly,you can add it if you wish.
• You can add cut fruits also to the Falooda.
• I have added only cashew and almonds.You can use pistachio ,pecans and walnut too .

Mango Yogurt

Mangoes are in town and I am going crazy over mangoes.To my surprise my son who doesn't like most of the fruits showed a liking towards mangoes and I am so happy now because I have got a company to buy and eat more of them.

We also like to eat mango yogurt and other such fruit yogurts which we buy from the super markets.For a long time I wanted to try these yogurts at home and finally got my hands on to make these delicious mango yogurt.They are super easy to make and very delicious that you won't even prefer store brought ones which contains artificial colours and flavours.

Preparation time:10 mins + setting time(min 6 hours )

Serves:4

Ingredients:

Alphonso mango pulps(sweet ones)-from 2 mangoes

Evaporated milk or milk powder-5 tbsp

Sugar-1/4 cup(or less)

Milk-2 cups

Yogurt culture-few tsp

Procedure:

1.In a blender add the mango pulp,sugar and milk powder and beat them till they become a smooth paste.

2.Add this paste to the boiled and cooled down milk and mix well.

3.Pour this mango flavored milk in to dessert cups and add a tsp of yogurt culture to each of these cups and keep them at room temperature (preferably warm) for a minimum of 6 hours for them to set.

4.Once they are set,place them in refrigerator and serve chilled as a dessert.

Tips:

* You can adjust the sugar quantity based on your sweet index.

* As I used skimmed milk ,I added milk powder or evaporated milk to add thickness and creaminess.

* If you like cardamom flavor ,you can add a tsp of cardamom powder to the pulp before beating to a paste.

* You can add few small pieces of mango to the yogurt (in addition to the one which is ground to a paste) to add a fruity texture.

Melon Medley/Melon Salad

The Mercury is on the rising and there are no words to describe the intense heat here in Chennai and all I want is to bite in to the cool and juicy water melon or musk melon or cantaloupe .I eat both fruits separately and suddenly thought of making a salad using both.It is very easy to make and has a burst of freshness of mint.You can also add yellow water melon for a more colourful look.

Preparation time:10 minutes

Serves:3

Ingredients :

Diced Watermelon-1 cup

Diced Cantaloupe or musk melon-1 cup

Chopped fresh Mint-10 to 12 leaves

Honey-2 tbsp

Salt-1/2 tsp

Freshly ground Pepper-1 tsp

Lemon juice-2 tsp

Procedure :

1.In a mixing bowl , mix all the above ingredients together except salt.

2.Add salt just before serving and toss well to mix it(Otherwise melons may turn watery).

3. Refreshing melon salad is ready. You can refrigerate the salad and serve it cold 

also.

Neer Mor and Panakam(Panagam) /Rama Navami Festival Recipes

Rama navami is a Hindu festival,celebrating the birth of Lord Ram.It falls in the month march mostly and special poojas and prayers are held everywhere.The most common prasad offered to Lord Ram on this day are panakam(jaggery drink) ,neer mor(spiced buttermilk) and kosambari(salad with moong dal).These recipes are prepared for Rama navami because it comes in summer and these drinks keeps the body cool and refreshing a midst the intense heat.My mom prepares panakam and neer mor every year not only for ramanavami but also for tamil new year and for other bhajans or poojas held in our house.It is really very cool and soothing for our tummy.The recipe is very simple and is as follows.

For Panakam:

Preparation time:10 mins

Serves:3

Panakam/Panagam

Ingredients:

Purified water-2 cups+ 1/2 cup(for jaggery)

Jaggery(powdered)-4 tbsp

Cardamom powder-1 tsp

Dry ginger powder-1 pinch

Pepper powder-1 pinch

Lemon juice -from 1/2 lemon(optional)

Procedure:

1.Heat jaggery in half cup of water till it dissolves.

2.Switch off the flame and filter the jaggery mixture and add it to the 2 cups of water in a vessel .

3.Add the cardamom powder,pepper powder,dry ginger powder to it.Squeeze lemon juice out of half a lemon and add it to the jaggery drink.Panakam is now ready to be served.Add the cardamom peels to the panakam for additional flavor.

 For neer mor:

Preparation time-10 mins

Serves:3

Neer Mor

Ingredients:

Curd/yogurt-1 cup

Water-2 cups

Chopped coriander leaves-1 tbsp

Asafetida/Hing-1/2 tsp

Salt- to taste

Oil-1 tsp

To temper:

Mustard-1 tsp

Cumin/jeera-1 tsp

Curry leaves-few

Procedure:

1.Beat the yogurt/curd well and add two cups of water to it .Add the asafetida and salt to it and mix well.

3. Heat oil in a pan and add the tempering ingredients to it and once the mustard splutters , add it to the buttermilk. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve chill.

Panakam and neer mor are ready.

Tips:

*The leaf in panakam is thulasi(holy basil) as we put a little before offering it to god.
*You can avoid lemon in panakam if you wish.