Kulikki Sharbath / Shaken Lemonade

Back to Bangalore after a long vacation from Kerala. In the scorching heat of Kerala, I have seen a lot of road side stalls where they sell this amazing drink. I was told that this is an excellent drink to cool yourself. I wanted to try this from one of the stalls but wasn’t sure about the water. So I tried it at home and realized why this drink is so popular in Kerala.

This is a perfect thirst quencher. There are so many names for this drink like “taste of Kochi” or “new generation drink” and so on. A perfect blend of lemon, green chillies, sugar and ice cubes. We can also add little crushed ginger and also basil / sabja seeds. Just you need some simple ingredients and an amazing magical drink will be ready within minutes.

Ingredients:

1. Lemon- Half a lime
2. Sugar- 1 tbsp
3. Green Chilli- 1 no
4. Water- ½ a glass
5. Ice Cubes- few

Method:

1. Squeeze the lime in a glass along with sugar, green chillies, water and ice cubes.
2. Cover the glass tightly with another glass and shake well for about 30 sec.
3. Serve it by adding a small piece of lime and enjoy an amazing drink.

Prawns, Drumstick Raw Mango Curry / Chemeen Muringikka Manga Curry

This is my M-I-L’s preparation, which was a hit among our friends and family. This is a perfect combination of prawns and drumstick with the perfect balance of the tanginess from  raw mangoes, which makes this curry irresistible.

In Kerala each and every household, has one or two drumstick plants in their backyard. The flower, fruit and leaves of this plant is used in many ways in cooking. The leaves are the most nutritious part of the plant. This dish is simple to make and has now became a favorite dish in our family. Raw mango can be substituted with kokum, which is usually used in Kerala dishes.

Ingredients:

1. Prawns- 250 gms
2. Drumsticks- 2 nos
3. Raw Mango- 1 no
4. Coconut (grated)- ½ no
5. Green Chillis (slitted)- 3 nos
6. Turmeric Powder- ½ tsp
7. Red Chilli Powder- 1 tsp
8. Curry Leaves- few
9. Shallots- 2 nos
10. Oil- 1 tbsp
11. Mustard seeds- 1 tsp

Method:

1. Clean the prawns and keep it aside. Meanwhile cook the drumsticks adding little water, green chillies, salt and red chilli powder.
2. Grind the coconut to form a smooth paste.
3. Add the cleaned prawns and raw mango pieces to the drumstick mixture and boil till it gets cooked well.
4. Add the ground coconut paste and mix along with turmeric powder and salt.
5. Bring this to boil and simmer for about 5 - 10 minutes. Keep this aside.
6. For tempering add oil to a kadi and splutter mustard seeds, sliced shallots and curry leaves.
7. Pour this over the above made curry and serve this along steaming hot  rice.