Friday, April 22, 2011

A Friday evening and some raw mangoes

A lazy Friday evening, with the entire day spent without any human interaction. Ummmm... I like lazr Fridays. Unfortunately, my joy at having a lazy, long weekend ends here as I have to work tomorrow. Groan! Don't ask.

To cheer myself up, I am making some Aam Panha, an awesome Mango drink that can lace a gloomy, work ridden Saturday with sweet-sour joy. And you know what, it's so easy to make! So get those Raw mangoes home and get going.

Kairipanhe

For roughly 6 to 8 servings of the Panha, you need,

Raw mango Pulp - 1 cup. 
Jaggery or sugar - 3/4 to 1 Cup - Quantity will depend on the sourness of the mangoes and your sweet tooth. 
Saffron strands - 1/4 tsp 
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp 
Salt - a pinch

Boil water in a pot. Put in the raw mangoes, skin and all, and let them boil till they are soft. Should take about 10-15 minutes.If you don't have that kind of patience, you can pressure cook the mangoes.

Once the mangoes are cool, remove the skin and seed and keep the pulp. Blend the pulp well with the jaggery in the blender. Add cardamom powder and saffron. The thick pulp is ready. You can keep it in the fridge and to serve, add about ¼ glass pulp into a glass and top with ice and cold water. Make sure you stir the miture well. You can add Rock salt or black pepper powder for extra flavor and taste. 

I will hopefully be done with work at a decent hour, because I want to try a new chicken recipe for dinner tomorrow. Sunday morning, I plan to go to the Organic Market to get supplies for the week. So, what are your weekend plans?

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Doesn't get better than this!

A wet, monsoon afternoon, good music, friends Mathew and Dhanya's shack, Rainmakers, in Lonavala. And my sweet, special recipe for "Dream Chicken". This will be one of the recipes I will be sharing in my Entertaining At Home classes. Get ready to have your guests beg for more!

Prats_dream_chicken_at_the_rainmakers_shack