Aam Panna -Cooling Indian Raw Mango Drink

As I had mentioned in several previous posts, I am not a great fan of ripe juicy mangoes.Of course I use them, but has not great affection for the supposed king of fruits. Instead it is the tangy or sour raw mango that excites me. You can have them as such,use in gravies, dals, pickles etc .There are several varieties of mango and several ways of using it. One way of enjoying the raw mango is making a cooling summer drink out of it. You cook the mango -roast it,steam it,boil in water,squeeze out the pulp and add required amount of sweetner or spices and liquid. A simple cooling, sweet-sour drink  called Aam Panna is ready.

Aam panna/panha or kairi panna is a cooling summer drink popular in Northern and Central parts of India like Maharashtra,Gujarat, UP etc."Aam" stands for mangoes and "panna" or "panha" or the South Indian "Panaka" stands for Drink. There are also regional variations of making the drink. Some add cardamom to it and dish out a sweet drink whereas others prefer it tangy and spicy. Growing up in the Southern most part of India,this drink was unknown in my childhood,but after tasting it I have made it a regular in my kitchen.Given below is my version of Aam panna .

Ingredients:
Raw Green Mangoes: atleast 1 big whole
Cumin :1/4 tsp + roasted and powdered
Black Peppercorn: freshly grated/crushed as needed
Black Salt: as needed
Asafetida/Hing: a pinch
Sugar: 1/4 cup +/- as per taste

Water: as needed

Garnish: Ice Cubes,Mint Leaves (optional)

Preparation:

Wash and boil mango in enough water till it is soft.This takes about 10-15 minutes. Cool,peel ,squeeze out the soft flesh.An easier way to do this is peel the mango,remove the stone,chop into small pieces and grind/pulp it in the mixer.Normally,you have to squeeze out the juice from the soft mango,but the mixer makes it easier.Also instead of cooking the whole mango,you can peel,chop and then cook it though traditionally it is the whole mango that is cooked and then pulped.

Add the roasted cumin powder,pepper,black salt,hing and sugar and mix well till sugar is absorbed.Do the taste test and adjust the seasonings.

Our Aam panna concentrate is ready.

For serving,add 2-4 tbsp of concentrate in a serving glass,add enough water,stir well and serve with ice cubes.Garnish with mint leaves.

The concentrate can be spiced and sweetened according to your taste.You can also go for a sweeter version by adding just sugar,powdered cardamom and saffron and removing spices and black salt.I prefer the salty-spicy version given above.Another version also adds ground mint leaves to the the already refreshing drink.

Aam panna is known for its heat resistant properties and is effective remedy for gastro- intestinal disorders thanks to the presence of pectin in green/raw which is a soluble fibre and a stabilizing agent. It is also high in Vitamin C and increases body resistance against TB,cholera,dysentery etc or typical summer diseases.Black Salt in the drink also acts as a coolant spice.Cumin also aids in digestion.

Enjoy the refreshing drink and beat the heat.

Strawberry Short(Cup)Cakes with Paneer-Almond Cream

A Shortcake is a crumbly biscuit made with baking soda or baking powder which is then halved and filled with whipped cream and sweetened fruit like strawberries,peach, blue berries etc. Strawberry shortcake is a popular one.Scones or corn  muffins can also be used as the base of the shortcake. I  presume the idea is to have a base strong enough to hold the cream and fruit and not turn soggy. Usually a shortcake will use chilled cubed butter which is mixed with other dry ingredients till it resembles coarse sand.

Anyway I saw shortcake being turned into shortcupcakes here in a non traditional way and adapted this. I had quartered the recipe to suit me and since I did not have cream, I made fake cream using almond and paneer and it was delicious.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes :Gives around 8 crumbly cupcakes

Butter: 1/4 cup room temperature
Sugar: 6 tbsp
Baking Powder: 3/4 tsp
Salt: pinch

Egg: 1 or Ener G egg: 1 (1.5 packed tsp mixed with 2 tbsp water)
Milk: 1/4 cup
Vanilla : 1 tsp

All Purpose Flour: 10 tbsp + 2 tsp

Strawberries: Hulled and sliced and mixed with enough sugar: as needed

Paneer Almond Cream

Paneer: 1 cup

Almond powdered coarsely: 4 tbsp

Powdered Sugar: 4 tbsp or as per taste

Milk/SoyMilk: 3 tbsp or more as needed

Almond Extract: 1/4 tsp

Preparation:

Cupcakes:

Beat butter,sugar,baking powder and salt till well blended. Beat in the egg and add in the milk and vanilla. The mixture will look curdled.Add in flour and beat at  low speed till just combined, Pour into muffin tins lined and greased till 2/3 full.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for about 20-25 minutes or more until the tester comes out clean.Keep an eye on the oven 18th minute onwards.

Take out, cool in the muffin tin for about 5 minutes, after which invert onto the wire rack and let it cool completely.

Meanwhile wash and hull the strawberries and slice them thinly. Mix with little or enough sugar and let them sit for an hour or so.

Prepare the paneer almond cream by blending together all the ingredients.

Assembling the Short(Cup)Cake:

Slice the cupcake horizontally into 2 equal parts.On one half,spoon 1-2 tbsp of cream on the cut side and top with sweet strawberry slices along with little juice that has come out. Cover with the other half cut side down.Top with more cream and /or sweet berry slices.

A delish dessert or snack with the queen of berries. The paneer almond cream was much better than expected and I did not miss the traditional whipped cream at all. The cupcake were crumbly and few were cracked on top. I was scared to slit them  as I thought they may be torn. Thankfully they behaved nicely and I could give a nice farewell to the pink berries (Sighs).There goes my last strawberry post.