Minty Pineapple Juice

Extremely refreshing summer drink !!

Here’s an energy boosting juice blend recipe contains Pineapple, mint, ginger and lemon. All of these having unique nutritional benefits which when combined gives a super cooler digestive summer drink. 

Health Benefits : (Source : Google)
Mint which helps to soothe the digestive tract, clear up skin conditions and helps whiten teeth. Pineapples are abundant in vitamin C and bromelain, which fight against microbial infections, averts nausea or morning sickness and helps regulate the secretions in the pancreas to aid in digestion. The abundance of antioxidants in pineapples also helps fight against free radicals. 

Ingredients:

1. Pineapple - 4 large pieces
2. Mint leaves - 5 to 8 leaves
3. Ginger - 2 tsp
4. lemon extract - 1 tbsp
5. Sugar - 4 tbsp
6. Water
7. Ice cubes

Directions to make the juice:

• Blend everything nicely in a blender
• Filter the juice with juice filter
• Add Ice cubes and serve Chill

Click the Image and zoom you will get clear stepwise pictures

Wow !! Extremely refreshing summer drink 

Notes:

• You can increase the quantity of Pineapple ... As I like, a lighter pineapple juice, I added only less pineapple.
• Pineapple is bit heat creating fruit ... Can be taken in lesser quantity. 

Kerala Style Mixed Vegetable Stew Recipe

Enjoy your breakfast or dinner with this delicious pair !

Mixed vegetable stew and Spongy Kerala Appam !

For so long time I wanted to prepare the Veg stew for Appam and now my waiting ends up with a delicious Stew which I enjoyed with having Spongy Kerala Appam. My next thought is to have this super taste veg stew with string Hoppers and enjoy cooking. Let me share this flavourful kerala style veg stew with all of those reading this Article.

Ingredients:

1. Carrot - 1
2. French Beans -4 
3. Peas - 2 tbsp
4. Potato - tbsp
5. Coconut - 1/2 unit
6. Big Onion - 1 no
7. Grated Ginger - 2 tsp
8. Cardamom - 1 no
9. Curry leaves 
10. Coriander leaves

To Grind:

1. Cashew - 2 tbsp
2. Poppy seeds - 1 tsp
3. Green chilly - 2 no
4. Cinnamon stick - 1/4 inch
5. Cloves - 2 no

Cooking Method:

Grind the Ingredients listed under grind and keep it ready for cooking.

• Cook the vegetables beforehand you start to make the stew. 
• Take a thick coconut milk. Then add some water and extract the thin coconut milk. Be ready with both the coconut milk.

• In a pan add cardamom, Onion, Ginger and curry leaf and saute for a minute.
• Then add the grounded paste and saute for some time.
• Add the cooked vegetables along with the water.

• Add the thin coconut milk first add some salt and cover the pan. Let it cook with the vegetables for some time.
• After some time add the thick coconut milk.
• Stir well and simmer for just one minute. (It should not get curdle).
• Garnish with coriander leaves and switch off the flame.

Now the coconut flavour vegetable stew is ready for Appam ... 

Mango Mastani

A luscious mouthwatering chilled mango dessert !!

Mastani is a famous dessert drink available in Pune.  It was quite filling when we had it as soon as we came back from work. It was quite filling that we even skipped our dinner that day.There are many varieties of mastani. among them mango mastani is quite famous. Mango mastani is a delicious mango dessert, topped with ice cream and cubed mangoes, chopped nuts and dry fruits. I have used a scoop of mango ice cream which gives an extraordinary flavour of mangoes and topped with few tutti frutti and some chopped nuts which make it as a colourful Mango Dessert. 

Ingredients:

1. Cubed Mangoes - 1 cup
2. Chilled Milk - 1 and 1/2 cup
3. Mango ice cream or Vanilla ice cream - 1 cup
4. Sugar - 1 tbsp
5. Chopped nuts - few
6. Tutti fruiti - few 

Directions to make Mango Mastani:

In a blender or mixie add cubed mangoes, ice cream, sugar and chilled milk. Blend to a smooth puree. It will be in thick consistency. Reserve some ice cream and cubed mangoes for arranging the dessert.

Click the Image and zoom you will get clear stepwise pictures

Now its time to arrange the Mastani in layer ....

1. Cubed mangoes
2. Mango puree
3. Cubed Mangoes
4. Mango puree
5. Mango or Vanilla Ice cream
6. Cubed Mangoes
7. Tutti frutti
8. Chopped nuts

Its time to serve the luscious Mouth watering Dessert .... Have fun with Mangoes !!

Mango Kesari / Mango Sheera Recipe

Mango kesari, a lovely delicious sweet that can be easily made with fewer ingredients as like normal kesari, the only thing you need is fresh mango pulp. I tried this dish for the first time referred from one of the food blogging sites. It came out well and with real fruity flavour sweet dish that anyone can relish and enjoy in this mango season.

Ingredients:

1. Fresh mango pulp - 1 cup
2. White Rava / Sooji - 1 cup
3. Sugar - 1 and 1/2 cups
4. Salt - 1 pinch
5. Water - 2 cups
6. Ghee - 4 tbsp
7. Cashew nuts
8. Cardamom Powder - 1 tsp

Cooking Method:

Cube the mangoes and make pulp

In a frying pan add ghee and fry cashews to golden brown. Remove it from pan. In the same pan add rava and saute for some time till nice aroma comes. remove it from pan and keep separately.

• In the same pan add the mango pulp along with required correct amount of water and salt.
• Add the roasted rava along with the mango pulp. let it cook until rava is soft.
• Add sugar and wait until all the water gets absorbed.
• Add Ghee and stir well.
• Then add cashew and cardamom powder and mix well.

Click the Image and zoom you will get clear stepwise pictures

Now delicious sweet is ready to have in this mango season.

Mint Cooler

Mint Cooler is a common refreshing summer drink. This summer drink can be served after a tiring humid day. Mint is a great appetizer or palate cleanser, and it promotes digestion. It also soothes stomach in cases of indigestion or inflammation. 

Ingredients:

1. Mint leaves - 10 to 20 
2. Lemon - 1 large 
3. Ginger - 1 small piece
4. Pepper - 1 pinch
5. Sugar - 4 tbsp
6. Salt - 1 pinch
7. Ice cubes 
8. Chilled water

These Ingredients can serve up to 2 large glasses of Mint Cooler

Directions to make Mint Cooler:

• Add all the ingredients in a blender or mixie.
• Blend nicely for sometime.
• Filter the Juice through a juice filter.
• Garnish with mint leaves and ice cubes.
• Serve Chilled.

Click the Image and zoom you will get clear stepwise pictures

Radish Curry / Mullangi Kootu Recipe

This recipe is  my Mom in law's. Radish is a fiber rich vegetable and and also having numerous nutritional benefits. Radish can be made in variety of ways like sambar, salad, subbji, curry etc., I am now sharing one of my favorite recipe made using radish vegetable.

Ingredients:

1. White / Red Radish - 1 no
2. Channa Dhal - 1/2 cup
3. Mustard - 1 tsp
4. Turmeric - 1 tsp
5. Shallots - 5 nos
6. Garlic - 2 nos
7. Coconut grated - 1/2 cup
8. Green / Red chilli  - 2 nos
9. Cumin / Jeera - 2 tsp
10. Curry leaves - 2 sprig
11. Coriander leaves 
12. Cooking Oil - 2 tbsp
13. Salt as per taste

Cooking Method:

• Soak the channa Dahl for about half an hour.
• Cook the Radish and soaked channa dal separately and keep it aside.
• Grind Coconut, jeera, garlic, curry leaves, green chilli in a mixie.

• In a pan add oil followed by mustard onion, curry leaves.
• After a while add the grounded coconut masala paste and saute for some time.
• Then add the cooked channa dal, cooked radish and add some water, salt stir well, close the lid and cook for about 5 mins. Stir in between.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice.

Click the Image and zoom you will get clear stepwise pictures

Notes:

For variations you can use snake gourd, white pumkin, chow chow vegetable and some more fibrous vegetables using this method for preparing kootu.

Kerala Special Dessert - Aval Milk Recipe

Healthy and Cool Cool Summer Special Dessert 

Aval Milk is an authentic milkshake in kerala. Once we went on a trip to kerala, there we had a chance to have this yummy milkshake. It is actually a dessert having bananas, rice flakes etc., which provides a different fruity flavour with chilled ice-cream topped with nuts. I love to share this simple dessert recipe which is unique, flavourful, rich and even healthy for kids.

Ingredients:

1. Brown Rice flakes / Kerala Aval - 1/2 cup
2. Riped Banana - 2
3. Boiled chilled milk - 1 glass
4. Roasted Peanuts - 2 tbsp
5. Cashew nuts - 5 nos
6. Almond - 2 nos
7. Pistachios - 2 nos
8. Tutti Frutti - 1 tbsp (optional)
9. Ice cream - 1 cup
10. Sugar - 1 tbsp (optional)

Directions to make Aval Milk :

• In a frying pan simply add the aval and roast for some time. It will become crispy and now roasted aval is ready. 
• Smash the Banana using hand or smasher or spoon. 
• In a large glass add smashed banana follwed by roasted aval( I used aval pori).
• Then roasted peanuts follwed by cashew, almond, pistachios.
• Add a glass of Chilled Milk follwed by sugar and mix everything well.
• Finally add Ice cream and top with all the nuts and Tutti frutti.

Click the Image and zoom you will get clear stepwise pictures

Your Delicious Aval Milk Dessert is now ready to have in this Hot summer. Serve Immediately as chilled Dessert. 

Notes:

• Brown Aval / Kerala Aval is preferable. It is good for health. also you can use kerala aval Pori.
• You can decorate the aval milk dessert with some more toppings of your choice like some other dried fruits, cherries, rose syrup etc.
• As soon as the dessert is made it has to be consumed as cold dessert.
• I haven't added sugar, the sweetness in banana and ice-cream is enough for me. If you prefer more sweetness you can add sugar along with boiled milk or simply as toppings.