Sunday, May 25, 2008

Beat the Heat with Aam Panna - Refreshing Mango Drink


Summers are here with a vengeance ......the days are hot and sultry and the fans are churning hot air ..giving no relief. Singapore summers have started reminding me of the Indian summers and I am truly convinced that it was not this hot last year .Call me paranoid....... but every hot and sweat filled day makes me feel surer that Global warming is a present reality and not some distant phenomenon which you see the weathermen and scientists discuss on Discovery channel. I have always been very pro -recycling and having lived in areas where regular water supply was a dream .....I try to be very careful about the amount of water that I use ..... I am sure that each one of us is trying to do our bit for the environment ...but now its the time to join hands and do something more ....make more people realise what is going on and convince them to make changes in their habits ............ I know its easier said than done ...but Please do try ..and let me know what are your ways of trying to save our precious planet.
Well coming back to the heat and the means of beating it .....my mother always used to make jugfuls of this delicious drink ...needless to say it was happily consumed throughout the day and it kept all of us safe from the dreaded heat strokes even when the temperatures neared 50 degree Celsius.
As the name suggests the main ingredient is Raw mango..... traditionally these deliciously sour unripe mangoes are used as an antidote for heat and heat strokes ( the pulp of grilled or roasted raw mangoes is applied on the forehead , palms and soles of people suffering from heat stroke to bring down the body temperature ). The other ingredients mint ( another herb used to prevent body heat) , green chillies , salt, sugar all help in replenishing the lost body salts and restore the energy levels .


The recipe is as follows -

Raw mangoes - 2 medium sized
green chili - 3 -4
Mint - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 4 tb sp.
Salt - as per taste
Black salt - 1/4 t sp.
Water - 4-5 glasses
Ice cubes - lots

Roast or boil the mangoes with their peels on . Once cooked remove the peel and remove all the pulp .

Grind the mint and green chillies to a fine paste . Add this paste to the mango pulp , add the sugar and salt . Mash everything well , then add water ( about 2 glasses ). Mix the contents in a blender . If you want you can strain it through a strainer to remove any fibres . You can store this liquid for 2-3 days in the fridge .This concentrate should be sweet - sour , with salty taste and a little tinge of heat from the chillies . The sweet and salt should be more as this is later going to be diluted with plain water.

As an when required , mix this concentrate with cold water and add ice cubes . Serve !!
This is my first entry for the event SWC- Uttar Pradesh which has been started by my dear friend LG of tasteofmysore and is being hosted my yours truly.

10 comments:

FH said...

Sounds good to have on a hot and sunny day!:)

ST said...

Hi ,visiting ur blog for the first time,nice and lovely blog.
I love Aam panna very much.
Its really a refreshing drink in hot summers....
Would love to see u on my blog.

Purnima said...

Hi..First time here! U hv a lovely writeup! Thks for sharing!

Hetal said...

his aam panna is a perfect recipe to beat the heat in summer...thanx!!

notyet100 said...

thanks for sharing the recipe ,..u right about singapore s,..ummer,..last yr itwas not this hot,..will try ur panna soon..

bha said...

Panha, is the only form of mango I can eat/drink....good for the summers

Sangeeth said...

sounds refreshing..its becoming very hot now a days and posts like this does help :)

Lakshmi said...

aaahh..don't mention about the temp outside. We are getting bbqued without the need of charcoal. Today's rain has brought back some relief..uff. Panna is great to have on hot days.

Neha said...

love this drink. I have an award waiting for u in my blog.Check it out.

Shubha Ravikoti said...

Hey nupur... U have a nice blog here... I am here for the first time.....I love aam panna... and I am missing it here in US... as i cudnt find nice raw kairi... hmmm...:P

Do visit my blog. would love to see u there..... nice meeting u..