Wondering how to stock the refrigerator with interesting blends this season? All you need is a little bit of innovation to add twist to the seasonal fruits.
For Tanya Narayan, a homemaker, it’s the right time to pamper her family with a host of summer quenchers.
This year, she whips up six delectable drinks — ‘mojito’ (mocktail), ‘raw-mango panna’, ‘watermelon smoothie’, ‘chickoo-banana smoothie’, ‘jaljeera’, and ice-tea.
With temperatures soaring, these instant quenchers offer respite to parched throats.
“Instead of gulping down unhealthy drinks, it’s always better to beat the heat with homemade preparations that hardly take few minutes of your time,” says Tanya.
Mojito: Crush a handful of mint leaves and a couple of lemon wedges together in a bowl. Now, take a large glass and add crushed mint and lemon wedges to it. Drop in some crushed ice, lemon juice (one tsp), sugar to taste, and top it up with soda. Blend well and serve with a sprig of mint.
Raw-mango panna: Roast two raw mangoes directly over flame. Remove them and pressure cook for a few minutes. Allow them to cool. Peel the skin off and mash them well by adding a little water. Pour the pulp into a blender; add water (two cups), sugar (two tsp), roasted cumin powder (one tsp), black salt (a pinch), and a handful of fresh mint leaves. Blend well, strain the ‘panna’ and drop a few ice cubes, and it is ready to relish.
Watermelon smoothie: Blend sliced and deseeded watermelon (one cup), sugar (two tsp), milk (half cup), and yoghurt (two tsp). Top it up with chilled watermelon chunks before serving.
Chickoo-banana smoothie: Mix peeled and deseeded chickoo (2-3), banana (half), three glasses of milk, and sugar (one tsp) in a blender and serve immediately.
Jaljeera: Take a glass of cold water, add roasted jeera (one tsp), amchur (a pinch), salt and sugar to taste, black salt (a pinch), mint leaves (a bunch), and lemon juice. Mix all the ingredients in a blender, strain and garnish with mint leaves before serving.
Ice-tea: Boil tea leaves in a glass of water with sugar (one tsp) and allow it to cool. Strain the concoction, squeeze half a lemon, and add a few mint leaves and serve chilled.
