Aam Panna Recipe | Indian Raw Mango Cooler

Learn how to make Aam ka Panna ~ Sweet and sour Indian raw mango cooler flavoured with spices, black salt and mint

It’s officially summer in my neck of woods and for the last two weeks the heatwaves have swept across the nation. I am not very active on social media these days as it will be considered sin to spend time within the four walls. The windows and doors are wide open, and I spend most of my time pottering around the garden, laying on grass and snoozing under the perfect blue skies. My morning walks have become longer as I enjoy the company of mother nature and her children like tweeting birds and wild life, walking in the woodlands under the protective canopy of giant trees. The kitchen is the last place on my mind as simple salads, quick coconut-yogurt based curries and ice creams have officially become our meals and washing them with gallons of water to quench the thirst and to keep the body cool.

It's time like this when I sift through my handwritten recipe diary in search of recipes that has been tried and tested for centuries. The recipes for scorching summer months to keep the body cool due to excess hear from the sun. One such recipe is a very popular raw mango recipe from the northern part of India called Aam Panna, a very refreshing raw mango cooler flavoured with spices and good helping of fresh mint. It is this Aam ka Panna, with its sweet tangy flavor makes it extremely rejuvenating and its health benefits make it a go to drink and a must try recipes for the summers when the mighty mango season arrives. Aam Panna is consumed in the summers as it acts as a coolant, rehydrates body and provides the essential electrolytes lost during the hot weather. A glass of this drink in a summer afternoon can combat fatigue and energize a person.

Rama Navami Panakam Recipe | Jaggery Limeade ~ Healthy & Refreshing Summer Drink

How to make Panakam or Panagam ~ Jaggery Limeade flavoured with crushed cardamoms, peppercorns and dry ginger, a refreshing and healthy summer drink

Today is the ninth and last day of Chaitra Navaratri as per Hindu calendar. Today is also Ram Navami, a festival that celebrates the arrival of Vishnu’s 7th avatar, Lord Rama. Growing up in South India, it meant eating kosambari (cucumber and moong bean salad) while guzzling down tall glass of Panakam (sweet and summery health drink of jaggery and lime flavoured with crushed green cardamom, peppercorns and dry ginger), listening to the tales of Ramayana.

I am not a religious person, but that doesn’t stop me from cooking and eating festive foods. As with any other Hindu festival, Ram Navami is also celebrated with special food offered to the deity called neivedyam. Once the food is offered to the god, it is distributed among people as prasad or prasadam, a blessed food. Panakam is one such food that is made during Ram Navami along with other neivedyams such as kosambari, and majjige neeru (spiced butter milk). They are simple and quite refreshing summer recipes, showcasing the wisdom and scientific reason with great health benefits behind every festival food designed by our ancestors. The word Panakam in Sanskrit means ‘sweet drink’ and as the name suggests, it’s a sweet drink of jaggery and lime flavoured with crushed green cardamoms, peppercorns and dry ginger.

Fresh Turmeric and Ginger Pickle Recipe | Kachchi Haldi Aur Adrak Ka Achar

Learn how to make Fresh Turmeric and Ginger Pickle or Kachchi Haldi Aur Adrak Ka Achar ~ Pickled fresh turmeric and ginger in salt and lime juice

There's something soul satisfying about working with fresh ingredients which takes you down the memory lane and warms your heart with nostalgia! Especially when it something that’s difficult to source when you are thousands of miles away from home, like this fresh turmeric roots. After making a unique winter dish of Rajasthani Raw Turmeric Curry (do check this recipe and cook some if you haven’t already), I decided to make another favourite recipe that takes me back home, to the carefree days which coloured my hands and heart with sunshine yellow hues... I am talking about a very simple and easy to make Kachchi Haldi aur Adrak Ka Achar or Raw Turmeric and Ginger Pickle.

The word ‘pickle’ comes from the Dutch pekel or German pókel, meaning salt or brine, two very important components in the pickling process. Throughout history pickling was a necessity, as it was the best way to preserve food for a long period of time before canning came into picture. Pickles are created by immersing fresh fruits or vegetables in an acidic liquid or saltwater brine until they are no longer considered raw or vulnerable to spoilage, hence extending their shelf life to months and some for years. Pickles have been around for thousands of years, dating as far back as 2030 BC in India. It is believed that pickles originated in India and the cucumbers were the first to be pickled in the Tigris Valley. As one of the earliest mobile foods, pickles filled the stomachs of hungry sailors and travelers, while also providing families with a source of food during harsh cold winter months when fresh produce were hard to grow or source. (Source: History in a jar)

Lime and Fresh Green Peppercorn Pickle Recipe | Pickled Green Peppercorns and Limes in Brine

Learn how to make Lime and Fresh Green Peppercorn Pickle ~ Pickled Indian limes and fresh green peppercorns in brine

‘Sacred’ is a very special word that I use for pickles. Pickles, a heart and soul of Indian cuisine is the most precious condiments without which our meals are unimaginable and well, incomplete. The word pickle is an emotion and it screams ‘home’. Whichever part of India and Indian subcontinents we might come from, a smudge of pickle on a plate has the capacity to make even the simple meal of dal and rice seem more appetising. For Indians, pickles are not mere a condiment, but an integral part of the meal and a tasty accompaniment which keeps us connected to our roots even when we are thousands of miles away from our home and homeland.

As a child, my first food memories revolves around pickle. Come summer and my ancestral home would transform into a buzzing pickle factory. Pickle making was a family effort and everyone in our large joint family had a role to play in this most exciting process. There were special mango trees cultivated in our family estate specially reserved for pickling. These pickling mangoes had right amount of acidity, texture and crunch for making the perfect and most delicious pickles. It was my grandfather’s role to make sure that the farm workers plucked the mangoes at the right time before they matured, taking care not to drop them on the grounds as they reduced the shelf life. Most mangoes were pickled before they developed hard stones and some were left on the trees to mature for other varieties of mango pickles. As a child, I remember watching the workers expertly climb a century old mango trees and pick the mango bunches and carefully stock them in a wicker baskets hanging next to them in a long rope. Once the basket was filled to the brim, it was carefully lowered to the ground where it was emptied into huge wicker baskets lined with gunny bags. Thousands and thousands of tender mangoes were then carried back home where the ladies of the house eagerly waited.

Mint and Coconut Rice Recipe | Simple and Quick Mint Rice Recipes

Learn how to make Mint and Coconut Rice ~ South Indian rice recipe of fresh coconut, mint and lime juice flavoured with generous tempering of crunchy cashew nuts, juicy raisins and aromatic spices

I am not the only one for whom many of life's most intimate details come flooding back at the sight, smell and taste of particular foods. It is not really a big surprise that, while I struggle to remember my mobile phone number or sometimes, rake my brain helplessly to recall my best friends' names, the merest sniff of certain food can bring back memories from the days of my early childhood with frightening clarity and make me walk down the memory lanes with rose-tinted nostalgia. One such dish that is stored safely in my food memory treasure chest is the simple and unassuming Mint and Coconut Rice from my school days drenched in monsoon rains and Amma’s love.

It was the first Monday of June, probably the most dreaded day for any kids in India. It was the day when schools would reopen after two months of fun filled adventurous summer holidays. Dressed in new uniform with shiny new black shoes and socks and cart load of new text books and notes on our bags, we kids would drag ourselves to school half-heartedly wishing it was just a bad dream and anytime the bubble would go pop as soon as we opened our eyes. Unfortunately, it was not the case! The thought of no more sleeping late at night and getting late in the morning, no more picnic lunches in the mango orchards and climbing the mango trees, no more sling shots and biting into raw or juicy stolen mangoes was enough to dampen our spirits. To top it all, on every first day to school it would rain like it never rained before, dampening our uniforms and spirits.

BaLekai Sippe Palya Recipe | Learn How to Make Vegan Raw Banana Peel Stir Fry

Learn how to make BaLekai Sippe/Raw Banana Peel Palya ~ Vegan hot and sour raw banana skin stir fry with South Indian spices

Last one year has been a crazy year for us, with many twists and turns which made us gasp and halt before we gingerly stepped forward. It was not an easy year for us, but at the same time it turned out to be a very special and most memorable one.

When I wrote this post a year ago about starting a new chapter of our life in India, I had no idea that we will be back in Britain exactly in a year! It’s funny how we think that we have sorted out everything, smoothed the little wrinkly problems, prepared for every challenges that life throws at us and feel that we have planned even the minute thing to last detail, there will still be a little glitch that will pop up somewhere on the way of our near-perfect and well planned life! Well, it didn’t take long to learn even the best laid plans can fail sometimes. Life has taught me many things, and the recent lesson made me realise how important it is to live in a moment and not moan over things when they fail to meet our expectations. In everybody’s life there is a point of no return, a point where we can’t go forward anymore. And when we reach that point in our life, all we can do is quietly accept the fact and face reality. Well that the thing about lessons, you always learn them when you don’t or least expect them!

BaLekai Sippe/Raw Banana Peel Palya served with Kerala matta rice and banana crisps

Bimbli Mosaru Gujju Recipe | Simple and Easy Bimbli Recipe

Learn how to make sweet and sour Bimbli Mosaru Gojju ~ Bimbli in sweet and spicy yogurt sauce

Year 2014 came and went by in the blink of an eye. A lot of things happened in 2014; many exciting things, many stressful events, and a whole new beginning. 2014 was the year where many life changing events happened in our lives. We uprooted our lives from a place that had become our home and moved to a place which we hope to make a home that we all love. It’s not been an easy year to say the least, but we never settled for anything less adventurous.

Bimbli or Bilimbi or Bimpuli

Happy New Year dear readers who still patiently wait to read my rants! With my blog posts becoming so sporadic, I am not surprised to see dwindling readership to this almost abandoned blog. With my life getting maddeningly busy with things that are out of my control, the blog has to take a back seat. As much as I want to replenish my recipe repertoire and breath some life into this blog, the lack of motivation and writer’s block, which seems to have made a comfortable permanent home in my so-called creative side of the brain, are enough reasons to almost abandon this much loved part of my life! On top of that, the never ending personal task list and unrealistic deadline I have set for personal commitments in real life is keeping me away from virtual world.

Harive Soppu Bendi Recipe | How to Make Vegan Amaranth-Coconut Curry

Learn how to make Vegan Harive Soppu Bendi /Amaranth-Coconut Curry ~ Vegan green amaranth cooked in mild coconut gravy

Life in India is like living in food heaven for someone who loves fresh and local farm produce. One of the best things about living in India is availability of local and seasonal vegetables and greens in abundance without the need to travel for hundred of miles to Asian speciality stores! For someone who loves cooking and eating local produce, the early morning call from the vegetable vendors delivering the fresh vegetables and greens plucked with dew drops along with the mud and sand stuck on their skin and roots is enough to make my heart skip a beat!

Organic Tender Green Amaranth Leaves ~ Fresh from farm

Mild Amaranth-Coconut Curry

But what makes my heart sing is the fresh produce straight from our estate or from the farms of our extended families. There is no better gift than a fresh home grown, organic produce gifted by loved ones. Last time when I visited my Doddamma’s home, they sent us back with car boot full of home grown produce from their farm and backyard vegetable garden. One such produce was these tender amaranth leaves plucked straight from backyard vegetable garden. I didn’t waste time in making good use of it and made this simple coconut based curry from my native Udupi-Mangalore.

Spicy Dhania/Coriander Chutney Recipe | Simple and Easy Coriander Chutney Recipe

Learn how to make Spicy Dhania Chutney ~ Simple and easy spicy coriander chutney with aromatic spices

I have neglected this blog for a long time now. For some reason or the other, the joy of sharing recipes and need to document tidbits of my life have abandoned me. I have withdrawn into my thick, secretive shell, and the urge to remain there is keeping me away from the space which is an extension of my own life.

Ingredients for Spicy Coriander Chutney

I guess would have continued to hibernate if not for some of you who gently kicked me from my deep slumber. I am wondering if I should be thankful or just ignore and duck under the thick blanket of anonymity! :) Decisions, decisions… Thankfully it’s not a difficult one to make.

Kashaya or Kashayam Recipe | A Herbal or Ayurvedic Drink from South India

Learn how to make Kashaya or Kashayam ~ Sweet and spicy herbal drink made using selected aromatic spices based on the ancient Indian health science of Ayurveda

I grew up in a joint family for the first 6 years of my life. When I was born, my first cousin was in his mid twenties while the youngest one was in his late teens. So it was not difficult for a chubby baby girl with jet black hair and cheeks that resembled a generous sized Idli to make every other person in our family to dance just by shaking my little fingers. I was pampered and a spoilt brat who had many people falling on my chubby feet for the first 22 months of my life. And then my exclusive control on everyone’s attention and being centre of everyone’s universe came to sudden halt!

Doddapatre Tambli: From Ajji's Kitchen

Doddapatre Tambli

How many of you have given that sulky look, twisted your nose in distaste and then turned your back whenever your mother lovingly cooked and served real healthy food packed with all the goodness that nature had to offer? I, for one have to admit that there were times (many times than I care to count!) when I just turned my back to such food cooked by my Amma. The more she talked about its health benefits, the sulkier I became. The more she tried to feed me, the more I tried to duck under the table. And the more she tried to bribe me, the more I cunningly dropped it into either our pet’s plate or plant pots without Amma’s knowledge.

Haagalakai/Bitter Gourd Palya: Bitter is Better...

Haagalakai/Bitter Gourd Palya

… Said smiling grandmother to her little grand daughter who, as usual, was perched on kitchen counter as she watched her Ajji chop bitter gourds for that day’s meal. ‘Bitter’ isn’t something that little girls liked and her feelings were painted clearly on her face when she twitched her nose in distaste and deep frown was formed between her dark brows. “Think of it, it isn’t for bitter you would never have appreciated the sweetness of one’s life”, said grandmother with knowing look on her serene face.

Recipes from Ajji’s Kitchen-Brahmi Tambli

So many things we never got to do
So many conversations we never got through
I feel lost and empty now
Every day I ask, how?
I could feel nothing when you died
I felt I wanted to run and hide
Run and hide cause I felt blind
Peace and and clarity I couldn't find
They say when you die your soul just flies away
I wanted to chase your soul, so for another day you could just come and stay
You were my Grams, you taught me how to stand on my own
Now that you’re gone, I feel as though I can’t do it alone
I've tried so hard to see things through and become the person you wanted me to be
Sometimes it’s just so hard being me
I'd give anything if I could just talk to you once more
To see you walk through the door
and tell me that everything was going to be alright for sure
When I look into the sky I picture you staring down
Which is why I have no reason to frown
All the things you taught me, all the songs we use to sing
Now you’re gliding under God’s precious wings
I hope He’s taking good care of you because now you’re in His place
I hope all your worries and all your fears have left your face
I never got so say goodbye that was the worst part
But I know that when you left secretly you said goodbye to my heart
So when I lay myself into bed tonight
I know you'll always be there to hold me tight.
- Jonathan P. Lanier

It seems like August is the cruellest month after all. At one moment the sun was smiling at me, and next moment he went behind the dark cloud leaving me in complete darkness… Losing a loved one is tough enough and losing two in two week’s time seems like some kind of cosmic joke. Little did I know I will lose my Doddappa and only two weeks later I was to suffer another loss… My maternal grandmother passed away this weekend leaving behind wonderful memories and pain of not being able to say my last goodbye to her.
Last year soon after my wedding she was diagnosed with Cancer which slowly drained all her energy and strength. All of us felt scared, helpless and angry and it was impossible to imagine our own life without her. With all sort of advancement in technology and medicine, I still wonder why there is no cure for cancer. Perhaps someday there will be an inoculation for cancer. For a person who has not spent even single day of her life lying on bed after sunrise, last few months had been too painful for her. When you see your loved one failing, looking ill, having no appetite, unable to walk steadily, losing weight and you are told that treatment isn't working, you can get a pretty clear picture of what is going to happen. Even then letting go is not easy. We Hindus believe in life after death and we will see our loved ones again on the other side. But death seems so final when it is a loved one and you are emotional. Ajji left this world on a very auspicious day surrounded by her family. Realising how much pain and suffering she had endured, we gave her permission to leave us. I know deep in my heart that she is at peace now and she will continue to be with us from where ever she is.
I am dedicating new series ‘Recipes from Ajji’s Kitchen’ where I’ll be sharing the recipes which are passed from one generation to next. These are the recipes which I learnt directly from Ajji and from my Amma and aunts who in turn learnt it from my Grandma. Simple recipes cooked using few ingredients which not only tastes good but also has many health benefits. One such recipe is Tambli/Tambuli is a coconut and yogurt based curry often served in summer. There is no cooking involved when making Tambli and is usually served as cold curry with hot rice. This cooling Tambli is very popular dish back at home during peak Indian Summers which always worked its magic. Different ingredients like gooseberry, kokum, onion, garlic, ginger etc are used depending on one’s taste.
One of my favorite Tambli is Brahmi Tambli. Brahmi, Thyme Leaved Gratiola, has been used since ancient time as a tonic for improving memory. In the gurukuls of ancient India there was the practice to regularly administer Brahmi to young students to help them learn sacred hymns.

Brahmi

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Brahmi Tambli
Prep Time: 10-15 mins
Cooking Time: -
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:

One small bunch of Brahmi Leaves
¼ cup Coconut, fresh/frozen
1½-2 cups Yogurt
1 Green Chilli
1 tsp Ginger
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds (Optional)
Salt to taste

For Tempering:
½ tsp Mustard
1 Dry Red Chilli
Few Curry Leaves
1 tsp Oil

Brahmi Tambli

Method:
Grind brahmi leaves, coconut, green chilli, ginger, salt to taste and jeera to smooth paste in a food processor using little yogurt at a time. Add little water if needed.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard, broken red chilli and curry leaves. When mustard starts to pop and sputter transfer it to Tambli and mix well.
Keep Tambli refrigerated till needed and serve it cold with rice and pickle.

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Did You Know?
Bitter and astringent in taste and light and slightly hot in effect, Brahmi is a pacifier of all the three doshas - mainly kapha and vata. Although people in India, especially ayurvedic physicians, knew about Brahmi’s benefits thousands of years ago, modern research on it was conducted recently by the central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow. The trails have resulted in establishing that this long treasured herb, besides possessing antioxidant properties, also has the amazing ability to facilitate learning and enhance memory and concentration.
Ayurvedic tests describe Brahmi as medhya, a medicine that braces the mind to carry cognitive functions and intellectual pursuits. But ancient authors seem to believe that the healing effects of Brahmi extend far beyond mind and brain. Brahmi is not only a memory-booster and intellect-promoting herb; it is also a tranquilliser, a muscle relaxant, an anti-convulsant, a blood purifier, and an anti-pyretic, carminative and digestive agent.
Though Brahmi is beneficial for maintaining the tridoshic balance, ayurvedic physicians believe it to be the drug of choice for counteracting the vitiated vata dosha — the factor which governs the nervous system,
Brahmi is known for its salutary effect in anxiety, depression, hypertension, sleeplessness, mental retardation, insanity and hysteria. Acharya Chakradutta has written that Brahmi is beneficial in all types of epilepsy. Ancient texts describe the use of Brahmi in a number of other disorders like biliousness, ulcers, splenomegaly, asthma, skin diseases and in general and senile debility.
Brahmi enhances the mind’s ability to learn and concentrate. As it simultaneously calms and invigorates the mind, it is a very good medicine for reducing the effects of stress and nervous anxiety. It also helps maintain the clarity of thought and has proved effective in treating ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) in hyperactive children, and age-related mental disorders in old persons.

(Source: www.ayurvediccure.com)

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Brahmi Tambli served with Rosematta Rice, Mago Pickle and Majjige Menasu