Mint Passionfruit Drink

Leftover Fruit Platter Popsicles

Hibiscus Popsicle- Beat the Heat

Watermelon Wheatgrass Drink

A simple refreshing nutritious drink to begin the day with!

Berry-Banana Smoothie- Beat the Heat

It's that time of year on this side of the globe when we do everything to "beat the heat". Can there be anything better than superfruit strawberry, the storehouse of nutrients?

Jackfruit Gadbad-International Sundae Incident

Time for this month's IIP. And what better choice in the season of love than a sundae!

Jackfruit IceCream

Some of my priceless recipes are from most unexpected sources. I got my best chicken tikka recipe from an in-flight magazine. This traditional ice-cream recipe was given to me by one of my Psychology lecturers. We had attended a rural camp and on the last day she prepared this decadent ice-cream and we all pounced on her for the recipe.

Avocado Smoothie

Here's a nutrition filled lip-smacking smoothie to begin the day. Since it is the first time I am blogging on Avocado, I looked up the health benefits. There were so many that I decided to keep it for the next post.

Kids will love this one.

Tropical Fruit and Nut Smoothie - Beat The Heat!

The month of June heralds two very important changes in this part of the globe. The monsoons and the begining of a new academic year. The Met department predicts that monsoon will hit us today. Lets see how accurate they are, till then we continue to beat the heat expectantly.
I've adapted this smoothie from Sanjeev Kapoor's recipes. A great combination of tropical fruits and nuts. Cool and healthy!

Watermelon-Mint Crush- Beat the Heat!

Since its the first time I am blogging on the watermelon I thought of doing some research on this refreshing fruit. Was I in for a surprise with some of the facts I found!

Health Benefits

• Watermelon contains about 6% sugar and 92% water by weight, thus has an excellent capacity to rehydrate and gives a special cooling effect.
• It is packed with some of the most important antioxidants found in nature.
• Contains large amounts of beta-carotene (one can guess with the colour).
• The red flesh is a significant source of lycopene. This can help reduce the risk of prostrate cancer. Infact it is the only fruit that contains higher concentrations of lycopene than any other fresh fruit or vegetable.
• It is rich in electrolytes sodium and potassium that we lose through our perspiration.
• Watermelon is rich in the B vitamins necessary for energy production. Food experts recommend watermelon as a very good source of vitamin B6 and a good source of vitamin B1 and magnesium. Because of its higher water content approximately ninety percent and calorie value it is ranked more valuable than other fruits. 

Did You Know?

• Watermelon rinds are also edible, and sometimes used as a vegetable. In China, they are stir-fried, stewed, or more often pickled. When stir-fried, the de-skinned and de-fruited rind is cooked with olive oil, garlic, chili peppers, scallions, sugar and rum. Pickled watermelon rind is also commonly consumed in the Southern US, Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria.
• In Japan, farmers of the Zentsuji region found a way to grow cubic watermelons, by growing the fruits in glass boxes and letting them naturally assume the shape of the receptacle. The square shape is designed to make the melons easier to stack and store, but the square watermelons are often more than double the price of normal ones. Pyramid shaped watermelons have also been developed and any polygonal shape may potentially also be used.
• There are more than 1200 varieties of watermelon ranging in size from less than a pound, to more than 200 pounds with flesh that is red, orange, yellow, or white.
• Yellow Crimson Watermelon has been described as "sweeter" and more "honey" flavoured than the more popular red flesh watermelon.

Watermelon-Mint Crush

Ingredients-
A sprig of mint leaves
Chilled watermelon cubes
2 ice cubes

Preparation-

• In a juicer, run the washed mint leaves, with a cube of ice.
• Add the deseeded watermelon cubes with another cube and juice.
• Serve chilled and Beat the Heat!

Falooda- Beat the Heat!

In our home Falooda is the top ranking Beat the Heat drink/dessert

Hubby and I are addicted to Falooda and what's better than preparing your own. One hot day when we were out on errands and shopping we stopped at a Cool bar for Falooda. We were so disappointed,- it was too sweet, the jelly was too thick and there was sago used. We usually relish Falooda, but after having that version I didnt want to have Falooda for sometime.

Here's my version to share with you, but dont forget to garnish with some chopped nuts. I was in a mighty hurry to photograph this one. My little girl loves Falooda, she can gulp it all down in one go. So I had to prepare this while she was napping in order to click a picture. At the age of 2 she does not understand why something that looks so good needs to be photographed, instead of devoured. Often she is so impatient as I try to take a picture of my food, that after I have clicked and check if its good enough, I find a little hand in the picture edging towards the dish!

Ingredients-

1tbs rose syrup

2tsps basil seeds/sabja

2cups milk

Rice vermicilli

Homemade Jelly

Ice cream

Condensed milk to sweeten

Chopped nuts

1 cardamom

Preparation-

• Basil seeds- soak in water till they swell. Drain after they are ready.
• Vermicilli- cook in boiling water and drain.
• Milk- boil and reduce to half, sweeten with condensed milk. Peel, and crush cardamom and add to the milk.
• Jelly- scrape it with a fork, to get blobs.
• Chill all the above before layering.

Layering-

Some recipes for Falooda suggest mixing all the ingredients in the milk. I believe Falooda must be layered with all the chilled ingredients.

1. Take a tall glass and pour in the rose syrup.
2. Add the basil seeds.
3. Layer the vermicilli.
4. Add the jelly.
5. Pour in the sweetened, flavoured milk.
6. Top with scoops of ice-cream.
7. Garnish with chopped nuts

Enjoy and Beat the Heat!

You might also like-

Watermelon-Mint Crush

Homemade Jelly

Pineapple-Barley Squash

Lemon-Barley Squash

Sending this for 5Star Makeover Smoothies and Shakes.

Homemade Jelly- Beat the Heat

With your responses to my post on Pineapple-Barley Squash I realised that many of you are trying to "Beat the Heat" with full-blown summer in your side of the world as well. So I decided to do a "Beat the Heat" series to fall back on a collection of chilled desserts and drinks.

Ever tried to take a picture of Jelly? It seems to wobble forever! My kids had fun poking it and watching it wobble. And I am feeling quite good at being successful at my first try at homemade jelly.

Ingredients-

25gms gelatine

3-4tbs rose syrup/cordial

3-4 tbs honey(according to taste)

3cups water

Preparation-

• Heat the water in a dish, add the rose syrup and stir well.
• When the water boils, add honey and the gelatine and stir well. Take off the heat.
• Keep stirring till you can no longer see any gelatine crystals.
• Pour into mould and let it set.
• Once it cools completely, chill.
• Your jelly is ready to serve!

If you havent participated in the giveaway yet, dont forget to check out how you can win this yoghurt maker. Click here.

Pineapple-Barley Squash

Here's one way to keep cool and beat the heat. An adaptation of my Lemon-Barley Squash. My little girl is very fond of fruit juices and drinks, so I prepared this variation to keep her from boredom. Check out Mary Moh's post on How to Cut a Pineapple which will come handy when you have a fresh pineapple waiting to be cut.

Ingredients-

4tbs heaped pearl barley
6 cups of water
1cup pineapple pulp/juice
2tbs ginger juice
1/4 kg sugar
1/2tsp citric acid
2 cardamoms

Preparation-

• Soak pearl barley in hot water for an hour.
• Add water and pressure cook till soft.
• While the barley cooks, extract the juice from pineapple. Peel and crush the cardamom seeds in a pestle.
• Peel and wash the ginger, crush in mortar and sqeeze out the juice.
• Once the barley is cooked drain the water and reserve.
• When the barley is cool, pulp it in a blender.
• Add the reserve and mix well.
• Strain through a sieve.
• Add the pineapple pulp/juice, ginger juice, sugar, citric acid and cardamom powder to the barley.
• Bring this mixture to a boil. You will know its done when a residue begins to form on the sides. The mixture will have a syrup consistency.
• Cool and store in a sterilized bottle.
• To serve add chilled water and dilute according to taste. No sugar is required to be added.

 Enjoy and keep cool!

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Lemon-Barley Squash

Lemon-Barley Squash

Barley is a cereal grain derived from annual grass. Intake of barley helps to maintain overall health in the long term. All forms of barley are rich in protein, vitamins, minerals amino acids and fibre. It is one of the richest sources of both soluble and insoluble fibre. It is also rich in antioxidants, thus lessen the risk of contracting heart disease and cholestrol problems.

Squash drink (also commonly known as cordial in Australia) is a sweetened or unsweetened fruit-based concentrate which is mixed mostly with water before drinking.

Lemon-Barley Squash is one of the earliest recipes in my files passed on to me by a childhood friend (I have tweaked it with the cardamoms). I have been preparing this squash regularly over the years when lemons are relatively cheap. It is not only refreshing, but a healthy drink for kids and adults alike.

Do you prepare squash?

Ingredients-

4tbs heaped pearl barley
6 cups of water
5 lemons
1/4 kg sugar
1/2tsp citric acid
2 cardamoms

Preparation-

• Soak pearl barley in hot water for an hour.
• Add water and pressure cook till soft.
• While the barley cooks, extract the juice from lemons. Peel and crush the cardamom seeds in a pestle.
• Once the barley is cooked drain the water and reserve.
• When the barley is cool, pulp it in a mixer.
• Add the reserve and mix well.
• Strain through a sieve.
• Add the lemon juice, sugar, citric acid and cardamom powder to the barley.
• Bring this mixture to a boil.
• Cool and store in a sterilized bottle.
• To serve add chilled water and dilute according to taste. No sugar is required to be added.
• Enjoy!

You might also like-
Pineapple-Barley Squash
Homemade Jelly
Falooda