Spicy Mango Drink

Gently spicy, subtly sweet, trickily tangy, clear soup consistency and a divine drink! You just can’t miss making this uber cool recipe that saves you, every time you are going through trying times, say when guests appear from nowhere taking you by shock n surprise, putting your culinary skills to test! Assured…you can rest, for, what better way to greet them than with this health drink!

Excellent source of Vitamin C and also in Vitamin B, raw mango, in dried powdered form (also known as Amchur), is helpful for treating scurvy. Raw Mango Soup is an ideal summer drink to combat negative effects of excessive heat. It prevents excessive loss of sodium chloride and iron that happens due to sweating. It is also known to cure blood disorders, increase body resistance etc. Eating raw mango with salt prevents dehydration.

Dish Type:  South Indian Soup Variety

Time taken:  15 min approx.

Serves:  2

Ingredients

For boiling:

Raw mango grated     3 tbsps

Salt to taste                1 tsp approx.

Jaggery                      2 tbsps

Turmeric pwd            A pinch

Water                        200 ml approx.

For grinding:

Pepper corns              6 nos.

Cumin seeds               ½ tsp

Coriander seeds         1 tsp               

For seasoning:

Oil                              1 tsp

Mustard seeds            ½  tsp

Red chillies                2 nos.

Curry leaves               3 or 4 nos.

Asafoetida                  A pinch

For garnishing:

Coriander leaves        1 tsp

Directions:

Wash raw mango thoroughly in water. Peel the skin. Grate and transfer to a vessel. Add salt, jaggery, turmeric powder and 100 ml. water to this and boil them together for about 5 min. till mango gets cooked properly. Let it cool. Store the boiled water that is settled on top to a vessel for later use.

Dry fry pepper corns, cumin seeds and coriander seeds in a small skillet. Let it cool. Powder it in a mixie. To this add boiled and cooked raw mango. Grind them so as to blend the spices and mango. Transfer this ground mixture to the stored boiled water. Add more water (say 100 ml.) if required depending on the desired consistency. Boil once again for 3 to 4 min. Switch off the flame. Now is the time for seasoning.

Heat oil in the same skillet. Add mustard seeds. When it crackles, add red chillies and curry leaves. Switch off the flame and immediately add asafoetida.

Garnish with fresh, thoroughly washed and finely chopped coriander leaves.

Spicy Mango Drink is now ready. Serve it hot or warm or cool. Any which way is fine. 

CHOCOATS PORRIDGE WITH RAGI MALT

Good Morning People. What an easy way to make our every morning good with a delicious dish such as…..just a min…..

“Do not judge a book by its cover” so goes a saying. May I tinily tweak this to say “Do not judge a recipe by its name”!? For how many amongst us do not pan away this Richie Rich Porridge  even when it is so caringly served with this frequent prashne, especially when we fall sick “Ganji kudithiya? (a kaamen kannada kueschanu) meaning “Will you drink some porridge?”….now I continue…..

Delicious dish such as Porridge that gives us strength and vigour to resume the day. Porridge, also known as ”Hasty Pudding” is called so, since it looks like a ‘Pudding’ and ‘Hasty’ since time required to cook is much lesser compared to a pudding. Faster cooking time is the reason why its texture is not as smooth as that of a pudding. It is a highly nutritious health drink, easy to digest and suits all ages. This multi cereal porridge combines the benefits of various cereals renowned for individual health benefits since ages. It is especially good for children, athletes and the aged.

Dish type: Health Drink

Time required: 20 min

Yield: 2 glasses

Ingredients

For boiling:

Water                                      300 ml

 Ragi Malt Powder                   2 tspns

Oats                                         4 tspns

Pure Cocoa Powder                ½ tsp (optional)

Vanilla extract                        ½ tsp

Flax seeds                                2 tsps

Jaggery                                    3 tsps (adjust quantity to suit your taste)

Wheat germ powder                 1 tsp

Barley powder                        ¼ tsp (optional)

Arrowroot powder                 ¼ tsp (optional)

Milk                                       200 ml

Directions:

Dry mix Ragi Malt Powder, Oats, Pure cocoa powder and vanilla extract in any thick bottomed vessel or induction cooker. Now add water and mix contents well to a smooth uniform consistency. By doing so, the entire mix will blend well and there will be no lumps. Place the vessel on a gas stove. Switch on the flame. Low heat preferred. Make sure to adjust the flame such that it doesn’t get burnt at the bottom of the vessel. Bring them to boil. Keep stirring gently and continuously at medium pace upto the bottom of the vessel till it thickens. Switch off the flame when it thickens. Now add raw flax seeds, jaggery powder and wheat germ powder. Mix well. To this, add warm/cold milk. Mix well.

ChocOats porridge is now ready. Serve it with khushi.

Tete a Tete

Honey can be used instead of jaggery. But add it just before consuming. Honey loses its nutritive value when heated.

A multitude of flavours can be chosen from to make the dish more interesting and varying every day.

Flax seeds are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, a must have for those on vegan diet.

Wheat germ powder is a rich source of Vitamin E.

A multitude of flavours can be choosen from to make the dish more interesting and varying everyday adding to the nutritive value

Important:

To use a thick bottomed vessel

To stir continuously

To use a spoon or ladle of sufficient length since the mixture may spurt as it thickens

To add flax seeds only after taking the vessel off the stove so that it just softens and is easily palatable

Not to cook flax seeds

Let's include a new word to our Cuisine Vocab - Tsampurado: A sweet chocolate rice porridge in Philippine cuisine

Recipe contributor: Ms. Sreeja M

Also view:
Red Rice Laddoos
Bun Gulkand Sandwich
Black Grapes Gojju
Gulpaavate
Akki Thari Upma and many other Indian Vegetarian Recipes
Recipes viewed here are a part of  "Mangala's Potluck" section in this blog 

RAGI MALT POWDER

Recipe for an Ultimate Health Drink

Humble cereal; brownish maroon coloured; can easily be mistaken for mustard seeds by newbies in the culinary kingdom; rich in calcium and fibre; low in fat and hence best for calorie curbing; most favoured flour for baby’s bone development; diehard fan of diabetics; that’s Ragi (Finger Millet) for us. Ragi is most commonly used in flour form. So get ready to prepare this flour and... what to do with it? Well….Ragi Malt, Ragi Lassi, Ragi juice, Ragi laddus, Ragi soup. One flour, multiple uses. Can’t imagine cooking getting simpler than this! Utterly simple dishes from a staple cereal….all of these helping us grow richer in health and nutrition.

While Ragi Or Finger Millet is the core ingredient in this recipe, many others are added to supplement, enhance and balance the nutrition value. 

Ingredients:

Ragi                  1000 gms (sprouted and dried in shade)

Wheat                200 gms (sprouted and dried in shade)

Mung Bean        200 gms (sprouted and dried in shade)

Rice                   200 gms  (unpolished red rice, sprouting optional)

Foxtail Millet      100 gms

Barnyard Millet  100 gms

Pearl Millet        100 gms

Little Millet        100 gms

Peanuts              50 gms (optional)

Cashewnuts      100 gms

Almonds           100 gms

Pista                 100 gms

Dried dates        50 gms

Nutmeg               2 pcs 

Cardamom      4 to 6 nos. (optional, I don’t use since flexibility of using the powder for non-sweet preparations is lost)

Directions:

Dry fry all the above ingredients individually, in a skillet on low flame. Transfer each of them to a plate. Let it cool thoroughly and completely. Else lumps will form while grinding. Grind them preferably in a flour mill to a fine powder. While grinding, first grind hard ingredients like dried dates and nutmeg, followed by almonds, cashewnuts, pista and peanuts and then add rest of the ingredients. Do the grinding at intervals with short breaks in between so that heat generated by the appliance doesn’t get transferred to the contents. Even so, when the powder is completely done, it would have warmed up. Hence, immediately spread the powder in thin layer form on a clean thick paper or on an absolutely clean and dry cotton cloth laid over a dry table kept in a cool, dry place. Let it stand till it is completely cool. Transfer it to an air tight container. Yield: 2 kgs approx.

Recipe for Ragi Malt using Ragi Malt Powder (RMP) 

Put 1 tbsp. of jaggery powder or liquid jaggery or sugar (I don’t use sugar) and 1 tbsp. of RMP in a glass or tumbler. Put 1 or 2 tbspns. of room temparature water and mix them. By doing this way, jaggery and RMP get blended well without any lumps. Now add hot boiled milk to fill the glass. Stir well. Ragi Malt is now ready. Drink it hot and stay energized rest of the day!

Tete a tete:

Sprout Ragi, Wheat and Mung Bean a day before you plan to prepare this powder. Make sure they are dried thoroughly  in shade before dry frying them.

Sprouted (and dried in shade) Jowar and Channa dal (brown) may also be included.

The list of ingredients mentioned in the recipe is close to ultimate! While we recommend using all of them, don’t feel exhausted by the list. Give or take a few of them. It will still be tasty!
Mixing of millets done after hearing from experts in the field. However, I am told it is not advisable to mix them "while cooking".

*Time required for me is approx. 3 weeks since I don’t do it at one go. Moreover, soaking, sprouting and drying of some ingredients takes time. Soaking: 6 to 8 hrs Sprouting: 24 hrs Drying in shade: 1 to 2 days depending on the weather. 

A word more to share since I care…

Dry frying requires regular stirring and careful monitoring. The process calls for loads of patience, proper attention and complete concentration. Nonetheless it is extremely enjoyable, turning you into a meditative mood and totally worth the effort. Do it just for the sheer joy of it and enjoy the experience!

Recipes viewed here are a part of  "Mangala's Potluck" section in this blog