Juice it up

Summer is here and it’s time to beat the heat with some traditional summer drinks. These drinks not only help beat the heat but also aids in controlling and preventing health related issues.

During the season, juices and cold liquids with or without alcohol give you great pleasure as it not only provides you an initial cooling effect but also makes a healthy meal consideration especially when you are looking for quenching your thirst.

Apart from some common and conventional variety of drinks, you can also get some innovative drinks made from some healthy fruits. Most of the people usually love to drink fruit juice than to get rid from fiber. But it’s recommended to have juice with fiber. Mentioned below are the top picks from Mayura, the in-house chef of Vinod Cookware.

Lychee and Dill Juice

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 1 person

Ingredients:
1. 1. 250 gm lychees
2. 1 lime, juiced
3. A few sprigs of dill
4. 4-5 ice cubes

Method:
1. Peel and deseed the lychees. Place them in a blender along with the remaining ingredients and blend for a few seconds.
2. Strain into a glass, top up with ice cubes and garnish with a sprig of dill.

Strawberry Souffle

Preparation Time: 40 minutes + time to set
Serves: 3 people

Ingredients:
1. 1 1/4 cup (1/4 liter) cream-chilled
2. 1 cup pureed strawberries
3. 1 Tbsp gelatine
4. 2 Tbsp lemon juice
5. 1 cup sugar
6. 1/2 cup water at room temperature
7. 3 eggs-separated
8. A double boiler, or a smaller sauce-pan that fits into a larger one containing water

Method:
1. Separate the eggs. Put the yolks into the double boiler and the whites into very clean, grease less bowl.
2. Sprinkle the gelatine in the 1/2 cup water and let it soak. Add the sugar to the yolks and beat till light and creamy.
3. Place the double boiler or the container with the water over low heat and place the strawberry puree and yolk mixture in it, stirring all the time. This is the custard for the souffle.
4. When the custard is warm, add the soaked gelatine and continue stirring till it reaches a coating consistency.
5. Remove from heat; add the lemon juice and leave to cool till partially set.
6. Beat the egg whites to a state of stiff peaks. Beat cream to a thick consistency.
7. Reserving a little cream for decorating, mix in the rest into the custard, in folding motions, and then `fold' in the egg whites too, till no lumps are left.
8. Pour this into the bowl, decorate with the cream and leave it to set in the refrigerator and not the freezer.

Mango Milkshake:

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 2 people

Ingredients:
1. 2 large ripe mangoes (approx. 2 cups chopped mango)
2. 1 ½ cup milk
3. 1 ½ tablespoons of sugar (according to your taste buds)
4. 2-3 ice cubes (optional)

Directions:
1. Wash, peel and chop mangoes into small pieces, discard stone. Transfer them to blend jar.
2. Add milk, sugar (to taste or according to sweetness of mango) and ice- cubes.
3. Blend until smooth and creamy and there are no mango chunks in it. Pour prepared shake into serving glasses, garnish with almonds and scoop of ice cream and serve.

Tips and Variations:
1. For thick shake, keep chopped mango pieces in freezer for 20 minutes and don’t add ice cubes.
2. Add less milk for thick shake and add more milk for thin shake.
3. Top it up with 1 large scoop of vanilla ice cream and few cashew nuts for mango shake with ice cream experience.
4. Use top quality mango which has lot of flavor and less fibers for smoother shake. Recommended using Alphonso for best experience.

Taste: Sweet & Smooth

Orange and Basil Juice

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 1 person

Ingredients:
1. 2 oranges
2. 6 Basil fresh leaves
3. Honey (optional)
4. 4-5 ice cubes