Badami Haalu (Flavored Almond Milk)

Badami Haalu is a popular Indian drink. It is very rich and flavorful. The milk is enriched with almond paste and saffron. It is then cooked for few minutes. Finally it is sweetened with sugar and flavored with cardamom. I love this simple yet tasty drink. It can be served hot or cold depending on the weather.

I adapted the recipe from here. Do try making this drink and I am sure you will love it!

Ingredients:

• Badam (Almonds), Raw - 15
• Whole Milk - 2 cups + 2-3 Tbsp
• Saffron - A small pinch
• Sugar - 2-3 Tbsp
• Cardamom pod - 1

Procedure:

Let the almonds sit in boiling water for 3-4 minutes. 
Then discard the water and remove the skin of almonds. Now take the de skinned almonds along with 2-3 Tbsp of milk in a blender.

Blend it to get a smooth paste.

Now start heating milk in a pot. When it gets hot, add almond paste, saffron and sugar. 

Mix well and let it boil for 3-4 minutes on medium- low heat. Then turn off the heat. Finally add in the cardamom powder and mix. Badami Haalu is ready!!

Garnish it with chopped almonds and saffron. Serve it hot /cold. Above measurement serves two people.

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Limbiya Sherbet (Lemonade) ~ Easy Summer Drink

Limbiya Sherbet or Lemonade is one of the popular summer drink all over the world. There are so many variations of lemonade and this is the recipe I grew up with. My mother always added a pinch of cardamom powder and it does add a wonderful touch. Do try making this easy summer drink and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• Water - 2 cups
• Lime - 1
• Sugar - 2-3 Tbsp
• Cardamom pod - 1

Procedure:

Take water in a bowl or a measuring jar. Then add in sugar, lime juice and cardamom powder. Mix well and taste it. Add more sugar or lime juice, if desired. Chill the mixture. Limbiya Sherbet is ready!!

Serve it Chilled. Above measurement serves 1-2 people.

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Yellow Watermelon Juice ~ Easy Summer Drink

Watermelon Juice is an excellent drink for summer. 95% of the watermelon is water and hence it is a great fruit for summer. It is one of my favorite fruit and like to have every week during hot days.

During my recent trip to the grocery store, I found piles of watermelon with a red cross mark on it. I just ignored it. As I proceeded inside, there was a lady giving out pieces of yellow watermelon for tasting. I was so excited looking at it and hence went ahead to taste it. It did taste like regular watermelon but the color indeed made me to buy it. Hence thought of making this refreshing easy drink. It looks special because of its color :-)

Ingredients:

•  Chilled Yellow (or red) Watermelon Cubes - 2 cups
• Sugar - To taste
• Salt - A pinch
• Mint leaves - For garnishing (optional)

Procedure:

Cut the watermelon discarding the peel and seeds. Then put it in a blender along with sugar and salt.

Blend it to get a smooth mixture. At this point you can strain it or serve it as it is.

Yellow Watermelon Juice is ready!!

Serve it chilled. Above measurement serves one.

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Strawberry Milkshake ~ Summer Drink

Strawberry Milkshake is a very popular drink. Strawberries are in season and the summer is setting in. So this milkshake is perfect for a hot summer day or it makes a wonderful 'after school' treat for kids. It is very simple and requires handful of ingredients. Do try making it and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• Strawberry - 3-4
• Milk - 3/4 cup
• Sugar - 2 Tbsp (or to taste)
• Ice cream (strawberry or vanilla) - one small scoop

Procedure:

Wash the strawberries and give a rough chop.

Then transfer the strawberry pieces along with milk and sugar to a blender. Blend it until you get a smooth mixture ( I strain the mixture to get rid of the seeds. This is an optional step). 

Now taste the mixture and add more sugar, if needed. Then add ice cream and blend it again for few seconds. Strawberry Milkshake is ready!!

Serve it immediately. Above measurement serves one.

Note: While serving, you can also top it with whipped cream for extra creaminess and richness.

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Mango Lassi ~ Summer Drink

Mango Lassi is a very popular yogurt based Indian drink. Summer always reminds me of Mango and Jackfruit. I strongly believe that Mango is the 'King of Fruits' and is my favorite. It is very hard to find people who don't like mango. I love Mango Milkshake . To be frank, I never had mango lassi in India. I was introduced to this drink after coming to the US :-)

Making this lassi is very easy. Don't follow the measurement. Just follow your heart. Its very hard to go wrong. Do try making this drink when the mangoes are in season. I am sure you will love it !

Ingredients:

• Ripe Sweet Mango, medium sized - 2
• Plain yogurt (Curd) - 3/4 cup
• Water (or milk) - 1/2 cup (optional)
• Sugar - As required
• Cardamom pods - 1-2 (optional)

Notes: 
Mango - Mango should be sweet and non fibrous. The mango I chose was medium sized and yielded 1 3/4 cups of pulp. You can also use store bought mango pulp (in a can). In that case add sugar only if required.
Yogurt - It should not be very sour. Milk can be added to cut down the sourness.
Water - Add water only if preferred. I like the lassi to be medium thick in consistency. 
Cardamom - Add it only if you like. I like it with or without it. But most of the time I make it without cardamom.

Procedure:

Remove the skin of the mango using a peeler or knife. Chop off the flesh discarding the seed.

Now transfer the chopped mango along with little sugar, in a blender. Add yogurt.

Blend it until you get a smooth mixture. 

At this point taste it and add more sugar, if required. Add water to get desired consistency. Blend it again for few seconds. At this point you can add freshly ground cardamom powder. Mango Lassi is ready!!

Serve it chilled. Above measurement serves 2-3 people.

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Nanchane Udha (Finger Millet Drink) ~ Summer Drink

Nanchane Udha is a very popular summer drink in Coastal Karnataka. In Konkani, nanchano means finger millet and udha means water. Nanchane Udha is a drink prepared using ragi which is sweetened by jaggery and has a subtle flavor of cardamom. I got this recipe from my mother.

This drink is very healthy and requires only few ingredients. Do try making it this summer and enjoy!!

Ingredients:

• Ragi (Finger millet)- 1/2 cup
• Jaggery, crushed - 1/4- 1/3 cup
• Water - 1 1/2 cup
• Cardamom pods- 2

Procedure:

Wash the ragi thoroughly.

Now transfer it into a blender and add 3/4 cup of water. Grind it to get a smooth paste.

Now pass the mixture through a sieve. 

You will be left with this. Now add 1/4 cup of water to this and again strain it. Repeat until all the water is used.

Finally you are left with thick ragi milk. To this add crushed jaggery and cardamom powder.

Mix well and taste it. Add more jaggery, if required. Nanchane Udha is ready!!

Serve it chilled. Above measurement serves two people.

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Mango Milkshake

Mango Milkshake is a very popular drink. Mango doesn't need any introduction and according to me it is the king of fruits. In India, mango is a very popular summer fruit. Mango can be used in hundred different ways and milkshake is one of them. This is very refreshing on a hot summer day. The ice cream in this drink does make it much creamier.I hope you all will enjoy this simple yet delicious drink :-)

Ingredients:

• Ripe Mango, medium sized- 1
• Milk - 1 cup (approx 250 ml)
• Sugar- 2-3 Tbsp (vary accordingly)
• Vanilla Ice cream - 1 scoop (or to taste) 

Notes: Mango - Use a mango that is sweet and preferably without fibre. If it has fibre then take an extra step of straining the mango puree and then blending it with rest of the ingredients.

Procedure:

Cut the mango and discard the seed.

Remove the pulp and then discard the skin. Take the pulp in a blender along with ice cream. Then add cold milk and sugar.

Then blend it until the mixture turns frothy. Taste the final mixture and add sugar, if required. 

Mango Milkshake is ready!!

Serve it chilled. Above measurement serves two people.

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Lemonade Using Coconut Water

Lemonade Using Coconut Water is a simple summer drink. I got this recipe from a food group (posted by Nandini). This is a totally new recipe to me but my husband told that he had tasted it couple of times. Hence got a Thai coconut to try this recipe. The coconut water was good but not as tasty as the one we get in India. We had a hard time opening it too:-) At the end it was a good cool drink for us, on a hot summer day. Do try this variation and it tastes so much different from the usual lemonade.

Ingredients:

• Tender Coconut, big sized- 1
• Lemon- 1/2 (or as desired)
• Sugar- To taste
• Ice cubes- As required

Procedure:

Cut open the tender coconut (I used Thai coconut) and collect the water in a bowl.

Now squeeze in the lemon juice and sugar. Mix well. Add ice cubes and garnish with coconut meat. Lemonade is ready!!

Serve it immediately. Above measurement serves two people.

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Kokum Juice (Using Dried Peel)

Kokum Juice is a simple, healthy drink. Kokum Fruit (Birinda in Konkani) is commonly found in the western ghat region of India. It is a seasonal fruit and has a taste which is a mixture of sweet and tartness. These fruits are available in summer. People use the pulp  to make juice and then save the outer skin. The skin is then sun dried for many days and stored in an air tight container for year- long use. The dried skin is used to make saaru (Indian soup). The skin is also used as a tamarind substitute.

Kokum fruit has a cooling effect on our body. Hence it is good to have Kokum juice during summer time. Do give this a try if you can find the dried peel. 

Ingredients:

• Dried Kokum Peel- 8-9 pieces
• Water- 2 cups
• Jaggery/ Sugar- To taste

Procedure:

Dried Kokum Peel looks like this-

Now wash the dried peel and then add it in a pot containing water. Turn on the heat.

Let this mixture boil for 7-9 minutes until all the flavor and juices of the kokum is transferred to the water. Then turn off the heat and add jaagery/ sugar at this point. Mix well.

Then discard the kokum peel. Kokum juice is ready!!

Serve it warm or cold. Above measurement serves two people.

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