Mango Fizz, say welcome to summer....

                                                         Mango and Mango Fizz

Mango is the king of fruits. It is a stony and juicy fruits. Originally it is habitat of south Asia but it spread all over world. It is national fruit of India, Pakistan and Philippines and the national tree of Bangladesh.  It is big and deep rooted tree.

Mango can be used raw and ripe in cooking. Both way of treatment of the fruits are equally very tasty. The firm and green mango can be used as pickle, chutney, drink and salad. It is used in dal, samber and other dishes for a tangy taste. It is also used as desserts.

The best of consume ripe mangoes is fresh. But it can also be used as drink, chutney, side dish and desserts.

Mangoes are the integral part of many cuisines. In Indian, Pakistani, Thai, Indonesian, Philippines, and Central American cuisine it is used. They make different delicacies from raw as well as ripe fruits.

A drink from raw mango is very tasty and healthy too. It helps to deal with scorching heat of the sun. it is called as aam panna. Here I will give a twist to the drink from raw mangoes. It will give sourness of mangoes, sweetness of sugar and goodness of zeera along with goodness and aroma of mint mixed with soda. It will be a good substitute of  the cold drinks in this season. One can prepare beforehand and serve when guests come to house. Jhat pat and easy drink for your guest. Easy and handy for you and healthy and tasty for your guest.

Mango Fizz.

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Raw mango (big size)- 2

Sugar- 10 to 12 tbsp ( as per your taste, the sweetness u need)

Roasted zeera powder- 2 tbsp

Salt- as per your taste

Black salt- as per your taste

Mint leaves- 3 to 4

 Soda- 300 ml

Soak the mangoes in water and clean properly. Peel and deseed the mangoes.

 Cut in small cubes. Pressure cooks the mangoes with salt. After 1 whistle in high and 2 in low switch off the gas and let it release  the pressure.

 Give a proper blend to the pulp. In pan pour the pulp and keep on the gas. Cook the pulp in low heat stirring continuously up to thick.

 Now add sugar and black salt to the pulp and cook again. When the pulp separates from side add freshly roasted zeera powder, switch off the gas. Let it cool down. 

This mixture can be stored in fridge for 2 weeks.

In a glass first put the mint leaves, crush it a bit. Then add 2 to 3 tbsp of above mixture. Then add half glass of soda. Mix properly. Then full the glass with soda. Add ice cubes and decorate with mint leaves.

khati Mithi Mix Dal Dahi vade

Last evening I was watching TV when Kids came running and asked what am I cooking for tomorrow. “Tomorrow is Holi na?”. All are making special dishes, what is yours? Fuzzy eaters of mine are asking me for special dishes for Holi. That is enough for me to stop watching TV head towards kitchen. Then question came what to cook. Kids gave me a simple clue that, “prepare something yummy”. Asked hubby about it. Got the same old answer “whatever” you are comfortable with. I said, I didn’t know how to cook whatever. As usual I didn’t get any help from him. So I thought of making something usual preparation with my twist. At last I got two dishes. Khatti Mithi Mix Dal Dahi Vade and Orange Tiramisu…

Khati Mithi Mix Dal Dahi Vade…

Urad dal- 1 & ½ cup

Moong dal- ½ cup

Rice flour- 3tbsp

Soda- 1/4tsp

Salt- to taste

Zeera- 1tsp

Ginger- 1inch long

Green chillies- 1

Dahi- 700ml

Sugar- 3tbsp

Dry roasted Cumin powder- 2tbsp

Zeera- 1tsp

Mustard- 1tsp

Whole red chilli- 3 to 4

Curry leaves- 2 strings

Oil to temper and deep frying

Tamarind- a big lemon size ball

Black salt to taste

Wash urad dal and moong dal separately but soak together in a bowl with enough water for 3 to 4 hours. Then make a paste of soaked urad dal, moong dal and green chilies. This paste should be dry but smooth.  To the paste add rice flour, zeera, baking soda and grated ginger and mix properly and keep aside.

In a microwave safe bowl take tamarind and 2 cups of water and keep in the microwave for 2mins in high.  Let it cool down for some time. Then add water and make tamarind pulp and strain it. Add salt, black salt and sugar and mix properly. Keep aside.

Whisk dahi properly, add salt, black salt, sugar and dry roasted zeera powder and mix.  Then add some water but dahi should be thick. Heat a tadka pan, add oil (1tbsp), whole zeera, mustard, and curry leaves and red chilies. Sauté properly and mix it to the dahi and keep aside.

Heat oil (enough for deep frying) in a pan. Make small vadas and deep fry it. You can fry 3 to 4 at a time. When it is golden in colour bring out from oil and drop in tamarind water to soak. Similarly make all the vadas and put them in the tamarind water for 10 mins. Then squeeze out the vadas from the tamarind water and put them in the dahi. Let them soak for half an hour. Ur khatti mithi dahi vade is ready. Serve chilled…

Holi delicacies with my twist..

HOLI……

Holi is a spring festival. It is the  festival of colours. This festival is celebrated throughout India.  We can say length and breadth of the India. Now holi has gone abroad also. Nepal, Bhutan, Indonesia, Philippines and many more countries also celebrate holi like us.

Any festival in India is incomplete without special delicacy. Holi and food always go hand in hand. There are special dishes which are prepared on this occasion of holi. This too differs from region to region. But some dishes are common. They get their fame to be prepared on this occasion only. Some of them are thandai, gujiya, pooran poli, dahi bhalle, mathri  ete etc. if I start taking the names this page will be full.  

Among all these delicacies I choose three dishes for this article to discuss and share the simple way of preparing them…. Thandai, Mathri and Gujiya.  I will try to give some my twist to these traditional recipes. The essence of the dish will be same but the approach and look of the dish will be different.

Thandai as you all know is a healthy dish with lots aromatic spices and exotic nuts. It helps you to beat the heat. I will try to convert the traditional thandai into a pudding.

Mathri is savory snack item. It is also deep fried. The spices in mathri help for digestion. I will try to make colourful marvel mathris. The taste will be same but look will be bit different.

Gujiya is a deep fried sweet filled with different stuffing like mawa, coconut or dry fruits. It is so tasty that one can’t resist having a second one.  

Eggless Thandai Pudding – Thandai pudding is the modified version of traditional pudding. I will divide this recipe in two parts. One is making thandai and another is making pudding.

Thandai-(Serves 4)

Milk- 2cups

Sugar- 6tbsp

Thandai Masala- 6tbsp

The main ingredient of thandai is the masala. The dish gets its aroma from the masala…

Thandai Masala-

Cashew-20nos

Almond- 20nos

Pistachio- 20nos (optional)

Melon seeds- 5tbsp

Poppy seed (khuskhus)- 1tsp

Fennel seed (sounf)- 1tsp

Black pepper-10

Dried Rose petals- 15 to 20

Saffron – few trends

Heat pan add cashew, almond, pistachio and melon seed. In low flame roast for few minutes. Then add fennel and black pepper, fry roast for a couple of minutes. At last add poppy seeds and roast for some more time.  Be careful...High flames may damage the aroma of the spices. Let it cool down completely. Add rose petals and saffron to the dry roasted spices. And make a smooth powder. You can store this masala in dry and air tight container in fridge for a long time.

Heat milk in a pan. Let it boil. Then add sugar. Stir continuously so that the sugar dissolves. Then add the prepared thandai masala and cook for another 4 to 5 mins. Then switch off the gas and allow thandai to cool down to room temperature.

Pudding-

Thandai- 2cups

Agar Agar- 4tbsp(china grass)

Milk- 6tsp

Heat milk in a bowl and add agar-agar (china grass). Stir and allow the agar-agar to melt. Then add to the already prepared thandai. Cook thandai mixed with agar-agar for 3 to 5 mins. Then pour in 4 bowls.  Let it cool downo room temperature. Then keep in fridge to set for 1 and half hours to 2 hours. Thandai pudding is ready to serve.

Whole Wheat Marvel Mathri-

Plain Mathri

Whole Wheat- 1cup

Salt – to taste

Carom Seed (ajwain)- 1tsp

Cumin (zeera)- 1tsp (optional but personally I like zeera in mathri)

Black pepper- 10 to 12

Baking soda – ¼ tsp

Ghee- 1 tbsp

Oil for frying

Beet root Mathri

Whole Wheat- 1 cup

Salt – to taste

Carom seed (ajwain)- 1tsp

Cumin (zeera)- 1tsp (optional)

Black pepper- 10 to 12

Baking soda – ¼ tsp

Ghee- 1 tbsp

Oil for frying

Beet root puree to knead the dough.

Palak Mathri.

Whole Wheat- 1 cup

Salt – to taste

Carom seed (ajwain)- 1tsp

Cumin (zeera)- 1tsp (optional)

Black pepper- 10 to 12

Baking soda – ¼ tsp

Ghee- 1 tbsp

Oil for frying

Palak puree to knead the dough

Shift whole-wheat, salt and baking soda to a bowl. Add all the spices and mix properly. Then add ghee and with the fingers mix nicely till it becomes grainy. Add normal water (room temperature) to knead the dough. The dough should be tight and hard, even tighter than the roti dough. Repeat the same procedure with beet root mathri and palak mathri. Replace water with beet root puree and palak puree to knead the dough.   Now mix the dough in a way it will create a marvel effect on the mathri.  Take a big ball; roll it like a big roti.. Now make hole all over the roti (so that it won’t pop while frying) with a fork. With cookie cutter cut in different shapes. Triangular shape is also possible but it will take more time in frying. Heat oil in a kadai. The temperature should be low or medium. Fry the mathris in low and medium flame till it is golden brown. drain and let it allow to be cooled and crispy.

Coconut and Dry Fruits Gujiya-

Freshly Grated coconut- 1cup

Mix dry fruits- 1 and ½ cup

Maida – 1cup

Salt- ¼ tsp

Ghee- 1tbsp and 2tsp

Sugar- 4 to 5 tbsp

Cardamom- 3 to 4

Oil for frying.

For stuffing- Heat 1tsp ghee in a pan. Add 1tsp sugar in that and let it caramelized but be careful it may burn. Add coconut first and fry for some minutes. Then add dry fruits. Fry again. Add cardamom pods and skin to the mixture. Fry again. Now add sugar and fry again. This mixture should be very dry, so  that the gujiyas can be stored for long.

In a mixing bowl add maida, salt and ghee. Mix properly and gently. Add water and knead to atight dough. Keep for 15 to 20 mins to rest.

Make gujiyas by stuffing the above mixture. Heat oil in a pan in low or medium temperature.  It is always advisable to fry the gujiyas in low and medium flame so that it won’t get soggy soon.

Now its time to celebrate holi.. with a lots of colours and mouth watering our own traditional food....

HAPPY HOLI TO ALL.........

                                                

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