Beverages – The Secret Ingredient

Ayurvedic Recipes

Kaanji | Black Carrot Kanji | Fermented Black Carrot and Mustard Drink

By anshu January 26, 2018

Winters are retreating, still there is nip in the air. The winter bounty is in plenty and ever since I am at my parents place I am enjoying them to the fullest. I am having all the possible delicacies my mother cooks like Swanjhaney ke Phool ki Sabji, Gobhi Ke Danthal and Kali Gajar ki Kaanji. A lot of people are unaware as to what is kaanji. It is a fermented drink which has probiotic properties made with black carrots which appear in the market in winters. It has a strong pungent, tangy taste which I love it. It takes couple of days for the drink to become ready. The process is fairly simple and uses a very few ingredients.

You can call this drink as the Indian Kombucha. But these Blackcarrots are not available every where, if you are one of those who doesnt have access to those black carrots you can use red carrots also along with beetroots for that colour. I personally dont like the taste of beetroot in kaanji but again I would say its an acquired taste. My father in law loves it but my husband and mother in law just dont like it. I’ll still say you must try it once, you never know if you might fall in love with its taste.

Directions:

1. Wash the black carrots and drain the water.

2. Wear gloves and peel the skin of carrots.

3. Cut them into slices.

4. In a large container add water and add coarsely ground rai or red mustard.

5. Also add the sliced pieces of black carrot and see the water change its colour.

6. Add Black Salt, cumin powder and red chilli powder. Stir with a ladle and cover with a lid. Let it sit for couple of days in the sun for the drink to ferment and develop its taste. Dont forget to stir atleast once a day.

7. When the taste has developed it will become a little pungent and the colour will become like wine. You can sieve the drink through a colander and discard the carrots after another 2 days. Transfer the drink in a glass jar with a lid and store at room temperature. Serve at room temperature and enjoy the bounty of winters along with nutrition.

[whohit]Kaanji[/whohit]

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Beverage & Drinks

Fresh Orange and Blueberries Smoothie | Healthy Orange Juice and Blueberry Smoothie

By anshu April 25, 2017

I am returning after a very long gap. My father was hospitalised and it was a very tough time for my family. With God’s grace he is alright now and recovering very well. I have been away from my kitchen for almost 2 months. I have been cooking but havnt been developing any recipes for the blog. This has made me very restless. I feel my expressions are lost. I am soon getting back into the groove. Thank You for your patience and your support while I was gone.

Not only I have been away from baking and cooking but by exercise regime has also been compromised. Although there hasn’t been much of a weight increase still I feel I need to start working out again and feel better. Since I have returned I have been eating a lot of salads and drinking a lot of smoothies. I love smoothies and like to try new variants to make life more fun and delicious. This time I came up with this Orange Blueberry Smoothie. The pastel pink purple colour says it all.. It was fresh, refreshing and oh so delicious! Oh well with same flavours you can even make Orange Blueberry Pound Cake.

Directions:
1. In a blender add some orange juice. I have used freshly squeezed juice you can use from the box.

2. Add blueberries fresh or frozen. I had frozen on hand. Also add plain yogurt. You can use greek yogurt also.

3. Add honey or maple syrup for sweetening it.

4. Blend and serve. You can also add ice cubes if you like.

5. Serve in a tall glass with a slice of Fresh Orange and make your day beautiful.

Other Smoothies and Beverages you can try are: Plum Smoothie, Raw Mango Drink with Mint and Roasted Cumin, Ginger Papaya Mint Smoothie, Central Himalayan Wild Bayberry Syrup, Litchi Lemonade, Mango Chamomile-Mint Tea Lemonade, Kiwi Chia Pudding, Peach Lemonade, Spiced Mango Lassi, Melon Cucumber and Mint Smoothie.

[whohit]OrangeBlueberrySmoothie[/whohit]

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Beverage & Drinks

Peach Lemonade | Fresh Peaches & Lime Drink

By anshu July 1, 2016

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A few weeks back I had posted the recipe of Peach Cobbler and it got tremendous response from you all. I was asked if we could use peaches in any other ways and the best way I knew was to make this refreshing lemonade with these juicy delicious peaches. This lemonade brings out the real taste of peaches and makes it a fabulous quencher for thirst specially in sultry summer weather.

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When I made this lemonade last week my friends were here and they insisted I make another batch for it was one of its kind and made from fresh fruits. You must try this for your family I am sure your kids will love it. You can make this drink ahead of time and will be ideal for your barbeque parties.

Directions:

1. Thoroughly wash fresh peaches cut them into slices. No need to remove its skin. Place these slices in a sauce pan.

2. Add water and sugar and bring it to a boil.

3. Simmer it for 10 minutes till the peaches have become slightly tender.

4. Let it cool down a bit and put them in a blender along with the water and blitz it into a smooth puree.

5. Add lemon juice to the puree.

6. Add cold water and Ice cubes and dilute the concoction to your taste. Serve with a slice of Lemon.

Other Summer Drinks you can try : Mango Green Tea Lemonade. Plum Smoothie, Aam Ka Panna, Ginger Papaya Mint Smoothie, Litchi Lemonade, Musk Melon & Cucumber Smoothie with Mint, Spiced Mango Lassi, Kafal Ka Sharbat .

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[whohit]PeachLemonade[/whohit]

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Beverage & Drinks

Spiced Mango Lassi | Mango Smoothie Spiced with Cardamom & Saffron

By anshu May 10, 2016

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Mango is known as the king of fruits for its deliciousness and taste. In India we get a lot of varities of Mangoes which have a unique taste and texture. So the entire summers we are literally under the spell of mangoes. You can eat mangoes just like that or add it to your food, drink it like a beverage, make a pickle with it and even satisfy your sweet craving by making desserts with it.

In the recent past I have added a lot of mango recipes to my blog which fortunately covers all the aspects of this versatile fruit. But then there was something which was missing, it was Mango Lassi. Strangely, it is something I haven’t had ever in my entire life. But my friends outside India keep talking about it. Its funny how a drink associated with Indian food is popular outside India and we Indians are pretty much not acquainted with it.

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So I decided to give it a try. It was so delicious that I began to feel why I never got to try it before 😉 If you are one of those who hasn’t tried mango lassi before, I think its high time you do that before the entire world knows how delicious it is and you are the only one left 😉

Directions:

1. Cut the mango in slices and scoop out the pulp with a spoon. Put all the pulp in a blender.

2. Add green Cardamom Powder.

3. Add Honey.

4. Add Plain Yogurt or curd.

5. Add ice cubes to the blender and blitz everything together. If you feel the consistency is too thick you can liquefy it by adding little milk.

6. Transfer to serving glasses and garnish with Saffron strands.

Other Refreshing drinks you can try are: Plum Mango Punch, Raw Mango Drink with Mint and Roasted Cumin, Ginger Papaya Mint Smoothie, Litchi Lemonade, Musk Melon & Cucumber Smoothie with Mint.

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[whohit]MangoLassi[/whohit]

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Beverage & Drinks

Aam Ka Panna | Raw Mango Drink with Mint and Roasted Cumin

By anshu June 20, 2015

Indian summers are scorching and can take a toll on you. So it is very important to keep your self hydrated and take all necessary steps to fight against the intense Indian Summer heat. One such way is to drink Aam Panna, it is a healthy drink made from the pulp of raw green mangoes, sugar and assortment of spices.

Aam Panna not only quenches your thirst but also helps prevent excessive loss of sodium chloride and iron in the body resulting due to heavy sweating. Its my favourite drink since childhood. You can make a concentrate of Aam Panna and keep it refrigerated. Simply add cold water to it and enjoy this refreshing summer drink with the goodness of Mango.

Directions:

1. Wash and peel raw mangoes and cut them into small pieces discarding the inside seed. I have used slightly ripe mangoes but they were still quite tangy. You can even directly boil the mangoes with the peel and later separate the peel and pulp. But it gets messy so I prefer to simply boil the pulp.

2. Transfer the chopped mango pieces in a vessel.

3. Add water and let it come to a boil.

4. Put the lid on and let it simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes or until the mangoes have become soft. I inserted a knife to check its doneness. Turn the flame off and let it come to room temperature.

5. Transfer the cooked mango pulp with its water into a blender. Add sugar and roasted Cumin Powder.

6. Also add washed mint leaves and Black Himalayan Salt , also known as Kala Namak.

7. Blend Together to make a smooth liquid Concentrate. Pour a small portion of it in tall glasses and add chilled water as per your taste. Store rest of the concentrate in a container and keep it refrigerated.

You can try other Raw Mango recipes on The Secret Ingredient: Raw Mango Pickle South Indian Style, Raw Mango Sweet and Sour Chutney and Raw Mango Chutney with Mint and Coriander.

Other refreshing things you can try to beat the heat are: Mango Coconut Milk Pudding, Musk Melon Cucumber and Mint Smoothie and Quick Pista Badam Kulfi.

[whohit]AamPanna[/whohit]

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