A Hint of Spice

A few days back I was talking to my friend about Summer Vacations,kide being at home,mom's getting annoyed,kids getting bored....... and I started remininsing about the summer vacations I had as a kid.Spending time with my cousins at my grandpa's (my mom's parents) where we were involved in every kind of mischief you can think of.I miss those hot days where you are cooped in the home whole day as it's boiling hot outside.I miss eating kulfi's (a icecream) from the thela.I miss drinking homemade lemonade,Mango lassi,Sweet and Spicy Lassi, and Panha (I do homemade....but here homemade refers to everything made my mom or aunts and we enjoying it).

                 Well the Panha I wrote about above is a drink made from raw mangoes.It is a sweet-spicy-sour drink.The original recipes wanted us to boil the raw mangoes(called kairi),cooling them and taking the pulp off these raw mangoes.Then making a solution of sugar,water,salt and black pepper.Trust me it's heavenly.I miss it staying here in US as I don't get raw mangoes.Then a friend of mine -Priti from IHM( a forum ) mentioned a recipe of Panha using applesauce.Ohhhh thank you so much Priti.It turned out to be as good as the one my mom used to make with kairi.The recipe she mentioned was of a fellow blogger "The Cooker".

Ingredients
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup water
6 tblsp lemon juice (less it you don't like tart Panha)
4 tsp sugar (more if you like it sweeter)
pinch of elaichi powder
pinch of salt
pinch of black pepper
Saffron strands(optional)

Directions
1.Heat the applesauce at low heat till it changes color.
2.Turn the heat off and add the sugar,salt,black pepper,lemon juice,saffron strands and water.
3.Mix well
4.Serve the Panha chilled.
'njoy!!!