Mango Lassi and Rose Lassi- to beat the heat!!!!

Lassi refers to any yogurt based drink. The traditional ones are the sweet lassi and the spicy lassi. Now a days people are getting creative and varieties of lassi are introduced using different fruits. Today I am here with two lassi ideas which I am sure you all will like and try.

We can see the mango lassi in almost all the Indian restaurants. Kids to elders, everyone likes this a lot. The perfect combination of mango slices along with curd and milk with required amount of honey is what it makes an amazing thirst quencher which gives a cooling effect.

To make mango lassi , we can either use canned mangoes or mango pulp or frozen mangoes. During the fasting time this used to be a filler. These days as it is very hot, this is an amazing drink to make. Adding a dash of cardamom powder will take this lassi to another level. With the mango season and the soaring heat, this is the perfect time to make mango lassi.
Here I have used my Moscow mule mugs, which I used previously for dry ginger coffee post. Doesn't it look beautiful???

Ingredients:
For Mango Lassi:

1. Mango Pieces- 1 Cup
2. Curd- 1 Cup
3. Milk- 1/4 Cup
4. Honey- 3 tbsp
5. Cardamom Powder- 1 tsp (optional)

Method:

• Blend all  the ingredients in a blender and serve in tall glasses, garnish with slivered nuts and enjoy.

Rose Lassi is a another variety, that is made using rose syrup, which is homemade or store bought. I made this using a homemade rose syrup which I made for falooda. We can make the rose syrup and can be stored in air tight jars in refrigerator. This can be used later for making rose milkshakes, lassi and many other drinks. We can also use roohafza, which is easily available, instead of rose syrup. The nice aroma of the rose will enhance the flavors and makes you feel refreshing. Garnish with some fresh or dried rose petals.

For Rose Lassi:

1. Homemade Rose Syrup- 3 tbsp
2. Curd- 1 Cup
3. Milk- 2 tbsp
4. Honey- 2 tbsp (optional)

Method:

• Blend all the ingredients in a blender and enjoy on a hot summer day.

These drinks will be enjoyed by the guests and will be a super hit if served in a party. Just sprinkle some almonds and pistachios on top for the crunchiness, which makes it simply irresistible. Hope you all enjoyed today's post and please try this and let me know.

Healthy and Nutritious Mango- Avocado Salad

I got this salad recipe from one of my friends, who is a fitness expert from Bangalore, who posts healthy dishes on her Instagram and Facebook page. I liked this salad recipe as it required very fewer ingredients and a healthy salad will be ready within minutes.

This salad is so delicious that you will finish off in a go. The flavors and textures in this salad are perfectly balanced. I love the colors in this refreshing mango avocado salad. We like salads and most of the days for dinner I prepare a different variety of salads. Fortunately, my kids, even the younger one love these salads to the core. He likes broccoli in any form.

In this salad we have to choose ripe mangoes, or else they won’t taste perfect. Chop all the mangoes, avocado into bite sized pieces and mix all the ingredients and serve. We can also add different herbs and also if you want we can also add grilled prawns or salmon. This salad is so refreshing and very filling. Try this out and let me know.

Ingredients:

1. Ripe Mangoes- 2 nos
2. Avocado- 3 nos
3. Onions- 2 nos
4. Lemon Juice- 2 tbsp
5. Olive Oil- 1 tbsp
6. Salt- as required
7. Pepper powder- 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Chop the mangoes and avocado into square bite size pieces. Chop the onions to small pieces.
2. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, adjust the salt accordingly and serve as required.

Chicken and Potato Bolani/ Afghan Flat breads along with Carrot Curd and Healthy Mango Milkshake

These days during fasting, I am so much into cooking that I will be searching each and every website or youtube video for a different variety of dishes during iftar. One such recipe is this afghan dish which can be prepared using chicken or with vegetables. But I used both chicken and potatoes to make the filling for bolani, which tasted yumm along with carrot raita.

Bolani is a traditional Afghani flatbread stuffed and baked. Bolani is low in carbohydrates, calories and rich in protein, fiber, and vitamins. We can have a choice of fillings like the chicken, potatoes, spinach and so on. Here I used chicken along with potatoes which were amazingly delectable.

In this the dough is stuffed with chicken- potato filling and then shallow fried to crispy golden brown. In these spring onions are used instead of onions, but I used regular onions. These can be shaped in semi-circle or triangle like I did. These taste good along with curd or any raita. I made carrot raita, which was appetizing.

These bolani, I tasted them for the first time in Costco, where they give samples of food on Saturdays and Sundays. These were so delicious that we ended up buying a couple of packets of bolani. Everybody will like them including the kids. A perfect for guests and during parties. Along with this, I made mango milkshake, in which I added honey instead of sugar which makes it healthy and for a small twist I added cardamom powder, which gave a different and unique taste. Try this out and let me know.

Ingredients:

For dough:

1. All Purpose Flour- 1 Cup
2. Wheat Flour- 1 Cup
3. Salt- as Required
4. Water- for kneading

For Filling:

1. Boneless Chicken- 1 Cup
2. Potatoes- 2 nos
3. Onions- 1 no
4. Garlic Cloves- 3 nos
5. Coriander powder- 1 tsp
6. Turmeric Powder- ½ tsp
7. Pepper Powder- 1 tsp
8. Salt- as required
9. Red Chilli flakes- 1 tsp
10. Coriander Leaves- a bunch

Method:

1. Knead the all-purpose flour, wheat flour and salt using water until the dough forms a ball. The dough should be neither sticky nor dry. Keep this covered with a damp cloth.
2. Boil potatoes and boil chicken. Shred the chicken into small pieces, keep this aside. Mash the boiled potatoes and add this along with the shredded chicken.
3. Add chopped onions, grated garlic, coriander powder, red chili flakes, turmeric powder, pepper powder, salt and chopped coriander leave.
4. Mix well using the hand. Add a little water to make it sticky.
5. Divide the dough into 8- 10 equal balls.
6. Roll the dough into a round disc, scoop 2 tbsp of the chicken- potato filling and spread it on the dough disc leaving the edges.
7. Fold the three sides in the form of a triangle and seal well. Pat well to remove any air pockets. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
8. Heat a pan, smear 1 tbsp of oil and shallow fry on both the sides and enjoy with carrot curd.

Carrot Curd:

1. Carrot- 2 nos
2. Pepper Powder- 1 tsp
3. Salt- as required
4. Beaten Curd- 2 Cups
5. Cumin Powder- 1 tsp
6. Red Chilli Powder- 1 tsp

Method:

• Grate the carrots, add these grated carrots along with cumin powder, red chili powder, pepper powder, salt. Mix these in the beaten curd and serve.

Healthy Mango milkshake:

1. Mangoes- 2 nos
2. Milk- 2 Cups
3. Cardamom Powder- ½ tsp
4. Honey- 4 tbsp

Method:

• Blend everything together in a blender and serve them in big glasses and enjoy.

Andhra Mango Pickle/ Avakaya

Avakaya/ Mango pickle is an authentic pickle exclusively prepared in Andhra. Those who grew up in Andhra will know the specialty of this pickle. I love this a lot. My mom mixes steaming hot rice along with dal, a dollop of ghee and this pickle and the taste was mind blowing, which I won’t forget in my life. A magical combination they are.

In almost all the houses in Andhra, they used to make this pickle at home. My friends always used to bring lunch which was pickle  mixed rice i.e “avakaya annam”.

My mom used to prepare almost all the Kerala pickles, but this avakaya is the one which she doesn’t know the exact proportions. “Priya” pickles are most famous pickles, and they used to have the “mango avakaya”, which my dad used to bring regularly. Our favorite past time in the afternoons, when my mom used to take a nap, is to take a mango piece from the pickle jar, wash it and enjoy it. This used to happen regularly and my mom used to wonder, how come a big jar of avakaya got over within a few days of purchase.. :) (this is a secret till now…)

I used to think that preparing this pickle is a big and tiring process until I stumbled upon the wonderful blogger Lubna’s blog

If we have the right proportions then making this pickle is not a difficult task. This pickle is made in large portions, because of its good shelf life and that too without refrigeration. During the mango season, the Andhra markets are flooded with varieties of raw and ripe mangoes. They used to sell raw cut mangoes for pickling. The mangoes used for avakaya is cut along with the inside shell, which is a difficult process.  If the shell is not intact then the piece should be discarded, as they turn soggy.

Here in the US, I got raw cut mangoes in the frozen section, but I was not sure of how they will turn out after preparing this pickle. But to my surprise, they turned out just like the store bought ones. Just thaw them till done and wipe with a clean tissue and start the pickling process. I was excited and happy by the outcome. I am sure that you all will love this. Just try this out.

Adapted from Kitchenflavours:

Ingredients:

1. Mango pieces- 3 cups
2. Mustard seeds Powder- ½ Cup
3. Fenugreek powder- 1 tbsp
4. Red Chilli powder- 1 Cup
5. Salt- as required
6. Oil- 2 Cups
7. Garlic Cloves- 2 Cups

Method:

1. Take mango pieces in a bowl, add the mustard seeds powder, fenugreek powder, red chili powder, garlic cloves, and oil.
2. Mix well along with salt. Combine everything and keep this in an airtight glass jar.
3. After 3 days open the jar and using a clean ladle, give it a nice stir. Keep it closed.
4. Repeat the process for every 2- 3 days till 10- 15 days.
5. Enjoy the mango pickle along with hot steamed rice and a dollop of ghee.

Raw Mango Curry/ Pacha Manga Curry

I am back with an amazingly delicious  tangelicious dish from Kerala which is prepared along with sadya or even otherwise. It's been more than a month since I have fed my cute little space with newer recipes. Because of the relocation, I was damn busy in packing and unpacking the things, adjusting to new place, new environment, busy with kids and so on… Now since everything is settling down, I thought of sharing some new dishes and I promise, I will be more regular from now on ..:-)

This raw mango curry was there in my draft and so I thought this is the perfect dish to get back during this Onam season. But again got busy with other works and so this got delayed by a day or two. This is an amazing dish which can be served with hot steamed rice. I love any dish that is made with raw mangoes and this one of my favorite. In this recipe, the raw mangoes  along with onions and green chillies are cooked along with ground coconut and spices. This is a very easy dish which can be made within minutes.

Ingredients:

1. Raw Mango( Peel and slice)- 1 no
2. Onions( Sliced)- 1 no
3. Green Chillies- 3 nos
4. Turmeric Powder- 1 tsp
5. Red Chilli Powder- 1 tsp
6. Grated Coconut- ¼ Cup
7. Cumin Seeds- 1 tsp
8. Garlic- 3 cloves
9. Oil- 1 tbsp
10. Dried Red Chillies- 2 nos
11. Mustard Seeds- 1 tbsp
12. Curry Leaves- few
13. Salt- as required

Method:

1. GRind the coconut, garlic and cumin seeds to a fine paste and keep this aside.
2. In a bowl add the sliced mangoes, onions, green chillies, turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Mix well using hand. Place this on medium heat and add little water and salt. Let this cook till the mangoes turn soft.
3. Add the ground coconut paste into the above curry n mix well. Cook this for about 3-4 minutes on low flame.
4. For seasoning, add oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds, curry leaves and dried red chillies. Add this to the above mango curry. Mix well and serve along with hot steaming rice.

Nadan Manga Achar/ Kerala Style Mango Pickle

Usually I like to eat pickles along with rice, breakfast and so on. My mom makes different varieties of pickles and I used to enjoy them always. So recently I started trying to make pickles in small amounts and got successful. This raw mango pickle holds a special place in my heart.

This mango pickle is an important ingredient in any Onam sadhya. In different parts of Kerala, this pickle is made in different varieties. As Onam is nearing, I thought this is the best time to prepare this yummy and spicy pickle. Just try this out…

Ingredients:

1. Raw Mangoes- 5- 6 nos
2. Garlic- 1 Cup
3. Curry Leaves- few
4. Red Chillies- 5-6 nos
5. Mustard Seeds- 1 tbsp
6. Fenugreek Seeds- 1 tsp
7. Water- ½ Cup
8. Red Chilli powder- 5 tbsp
9. Turmeric Powder- 1 tbsp
10. Fenugreek powder- 1 tsp
11. Asafoetida Powder- ¼ tsp
12. Salt- as required
13. Oil- ¼ Cup
14. Vinegar- 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Peel the skin of mangoes and chop the raw mangoes to small pieces (I used a food Processor). Add salt to the pieces, mix well and set it aside overnight.
2. On the following day, heat oil in a kadai, splutter the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds.
3. Add the red chillies, curry leaves and garlic. Saute till the raw smell goes.
4. On low flame, add the red chilli powder, turmeric powder, asafoetida powder and fenugreek powder and mix for some time.
5. Adjust salt and pour water, let it boil till it thickens. Add the mango pieces, mix till everything is well blended. In this stage add vinegar, mix and transfer to a neat glass jar and serve as you wish.