A Hint of Spice

This Mango salsa serves great with all types of grilled seafood and meats.You can also use Pineapples and peaches instaed of mango.

Ingredients
4 ripe mangoes
1 medium red onion,peeled and minced
1 tsp ground cumin
Juice of 2 limes(about 6 tblsp)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Directions
1.Dice the mangoes into 1/4 inch pieces.
2.Add the remaining ingredients .Toss gently to mix,and let sit for few minutes.

Lassi's are popular yogurt drink in India.The sweet variety is made with different fresh fruit purees,and the savory drinks may be flavored with different spices.Lassis provide a refreshing complement to spicy Indian dishes,as they cool the body.

Ingredients
1 pound ripe mango flesh(about 2 mangoes),skin and pit removed
9 ounces whole-milk plain yogurt
3/4 cup milk
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions
1.Cut the mango into 1/2 inch pieces and blend until smooth in a blender.
2.Pour the yogurt into the blender with the mango and blend until smooth,about 1 1/2 minutes.Pour in the milk,sugar and lemon juice and blend for another minute.
3.Taste for seasoning,adjusting if necessary.Pour into glasses and serve.
'njoy!!!

Are you Confused with the Title.....thinking what is A-O? Well why worry when I am here.A-O is a abbreviation for Anti Oxidants and what are berries full of if not Anti Oxidants? Therefore the title is so apt-A glass full of antioxidants which is Delighful.
This is such a simple beverage to make and it gives you an instant kick of freshness and energy with a lot of flavor.

Ingredients
3-4 servings
1/2 cup Blueberries
1 cup Strawberries
1 Banana
1 and 1/2 cups Milk
1/2 cup Vanilla or Strawberry Yogurt
1 tblsp Vanilla or Strawberry Icecream(optional...if you wan't the smoothie more richer and creamier)
Few Ice cubes (to make the smoothie more frosty and thicker)

Directions
1.Chop all the fruits roughly and with 1/2 cup of milk blend it to a paste.
2.Once you get the fruit puree ,add the rest of the ingredients including the ice cubes and give it a swirl.
'njoy!!!

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!!!

10 ice cubes
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup white sugar(optional)
1/8 teaspoon salt

                        Although its not officialy summer yet,its really hot here in Charlotte.Some people may say the heat is nothing compared to Indian Summers ,but believe me you really need something to cool yourself.We prefer Shakes,Smoothies and Lemonade any day over carbonated drinks.You have so many options for Shakes etc......that if you have all the ingredients,you don't have to repeat any for a week(unless you have a favorite).
     The Banana Milkshake is such a simple recipe,but really yummy and you can have so many variations.This is one way to sneak milk and fruits at the same time into kids.If you have a young(or old) picky eater,believe me you can sneak so many calories in these shakes and no one is wiser.If you are watching calories,again you have variations you can follow.
3 tsps sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
Blender
Tall Glasses

DIRECTIONS
1.Place the Banana pieces,2-3 tblsp of milk,sugar and Vanilla essence in the blender.Cover and blend the shake until smooth and there are no banana pieces left.
2.Add the remaining milk and ice cubes and blend it once more for a minute,till the Shake has uniform consistency and is smooth.
3.Pour the Shake into glasses and serve.
'njoy!!!

With Ice Cream

INGREDIENTS
1 Banana
1 Cup Milk
3 Scoops Vanilla Icecream
1 Tsp Sugar
4-5 ice cubes
Blender
Tall Glasses

DIRECTIONS
1.Place the Banana Pieces,1-2 tblsp Milk,Sugar and Ice cream in the Blender.(You can increase or decrease the amount of Icecream to change the consistency of Shake and according to your Taste.)
2.Blend for 45 seconds until the shake is smooth.
3.Add the ice cubes and remaining milk and blend till it has uniform consistency.
4.Serve Chilled.
'njoy!!

VARIATIONS
1.For a Picky Eater or an Underweight Person:-Along with Icecream,you can add 1 tblsp of whipping cream for every glass of milkshake.Also instead of sugar you can add 1 tblsp of honey.There are times when dietician's suggest protein powder or whey powder being added to our meals.This is the best way to mask the taste of these powders.One more way to make it a fattening milkshake is to use Whole milk instead of 2% milk or 1% Milk.All these tips ,I am giving from personal experience.My son was underweight and his dietician had given me all these tips for him to gain weight.
2.Plain Yogurt and Lemon Juice add an extra tang to the Milkshake.For this variation,replace 1/4 cup of milk with 2-3 tblsp of plain yogurt.
3.Instead of Plain yogurt you can also add Vanilla Yogurt.
4.Give the shake tropical twist with Pineapple,Mangoes and Coconut.Just add the fruit pieces with Banana pieces and for coconut you can add 1-1 1/2 tblsp coconut cream.Add the coconut cream at last and then just blend for 30-40 seconds.It's important not to blend the coconut cream for more time otherwise,the coconut cream will start leaving oil.That's ickky taste.
5.You can also add strawberries to give it a classical strawberry-banana taste.             

Jasmine Heiler said "Strawberries are the angels of the earth, innocent and sweet with green leafy wings reaching heavenward."  and I could not agree more.This fruit is the very first to blossom in the spring, and are so juicy and succulent .


1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 cup pureed or mashed strawberries
Red food coloring (if desired)
2 cup whipping cream, whipped (do not use non-dairy whipped topping)
2 tblsp blueberries(optional)

DIRECTIONS
1.In large bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract.
2.Stir in strawberries and red food coloring (if desired).
3.Fold in whipped cream.
4.If you like variety ,add 2 tblsp chopped blueberries.
5.Pour into a 2 quart Air tight container.
6.Freeze 6 hours or until firm.
'njoy!!!

Tips:-
1.To store opened ice cream, first place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface and smooth it down lightly with your fingers. Then close the lid securely (use a rubber band if you have to) and return to the depths of your freezer.

2.Scooping ice cream: A variation on a theme. Try this! Have a large Pyrex measuring cup or other heat proof container filled with just boiling water standing by. Dip the metal scoop into the hot water, let it heat up for a moment, and then DRY the scoop on a towel. Quickly drag the hot scoop across the ice cream creating tight rolls of the divine stuff. Do not smash the ice cream with the scoop. Think ribbons, not chunks. Repeat the process for each serving.

3.Serve ice cream in chilled bowls, preferably glass. Not only is the frosted bowl refreshing to look at, but the ice cream will retain its shape longer.
Sending this to Akheela from Torview for her Supercool Cold Desserts Event.

1.ADDING NUTS TO BATTER-Dust the nuts with some flour before adding. If your batter is too thin; you should add the nuts half way through the baking

2.COOKING APPLES-If you want to cook fresh apples, remember you will be left with only half the amount you started out with. I kilo of raw apples = 1/2 kilo cooked apples.
3.BLACK FRUITS -Add lemon juice after cutting fruits like apples and bananas-It will prevent them from turning blackish immediately.
4.UNSTALE YOUR NUTS -For stale nuts, place in a 250 oven for 5- 10 minutes. The heat will freshen them right up.
5.CUT FRUIT-While cutting fruit ahead of time, add some lemon juice to the pieces so that they will not darken.
6.REFRESH RAISINS -If you have stored raisins in the refrigerator for long, they tend to become hard. Put them in a pan with cold water, bring the water to a boil, and then remove pan from heat as soon as the water boils. Let it stand for 5 minutes and then drain.
7.BUYING CITRUS FRUITS -While buying citrus fruits, keep in mind that the heavier the fruit, the better. Do not buy any with the skin wrinkled.
8.CHOP DRY FRUIT -Place dried fruit that needs to be chopped in the freezer for an hour. It will chop more easily.
9.BLANCHED ALMONDS-To get blanched almonds, place them in a saucepan, add just enough water to cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as the water reaches a boil, drain the almonds. Then cool them by pouring cold water on them. To peel, just pinch them they will pop right out of their skins.
10.RIPE FRUITS -To test if a melon or papaya is ripe, press gently with the thumb at stalk end. If it gives in slightly, it is ripe; if it remains firm, it is not.
11.GRAPES-To seed grapes, sterilize a new hair pin by pouring boiling water over it, and push the loop end of the pin into the grape from the stalk end, and pull out the speed.
12.ALMONDS -If almonds tend to break while shredding, soak them in hot water for about half an hour.
13.For maximum flavor and the best results when nuts are called for in a recipe, toast them before incorporating them into the batter or mixture.