Raspberry Lemon Sparklers

The flavour of raspberries has been a favourite for as long as I can remember. These red berries aren't easily available in India so I hadn't actually eaten a raspberry but one way we always got to enjoy the flavour of this fruit was in the Raspberry Duet ice cream bar of Joy Ice creams. A Vanilla ice cream bar with a raspberry coating...slurp!

With the temperatures slowly climbing and the heat kicking in, Summer is finally here. What better way to cool off than with a cold refreshing drink. I decided to make something with my favourite flavour....no points for guessing which flavour :-D

Raspberry Lemon Sparklers:

You will need:

1 ½ Cup Raspberries (fresh/frozen)
1/2 Sugar
1 tbsp Lemon juice
Ice
Plain Soda or Sprite
Mint Sprigs for garnish

In a medium bowl, mash the raspberries with the sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in 3/4 cup water, then strain into a jug, pressing with the back of a spoon to extract all of the liquid. Stir in the lemon juice and add 2 cups more water.

Fill glasses halfway with ice, pour the extracted juice over the ice and top off with little bit of the soda. Garnish with mint sprigs and a few fresh raspberries (if you are using fresh).

Raspberry Lemon Sparklers is my entry to AFAM: Raspberry hosted by Dee of Ammalu's Kitchen. Thanks Dee for the lovely pick :)

CLICK and AFAM

This month’s fruit is Papaya and when Nags announced this I was wondering what I could make with Papaya because I enjoy the fruit as is and have never bothered making something out of it. I bought a large raw papaya that same weekend thinking that a raw one would give me sufficient time to come up with something. It has been sitting on my table since then, and in a wink has ripened too!! I realized it was high time I made something before it went bad on me. Mom had mentioned a tropical salad long ago and that required papaya, but I wasn’t too sure if a ripe one would do good. I went ahead and made it anyways and it was great.

Exotic Super Salad

You will need:

½ cup Papaya cubed
½ Cucumber cubed
½ cup Pineapple cubed
½ cup Orange segments
2 tsp Mint chutney (recipe here)
2 tsp Olive oil
½ tsp Black pepper powder
½ tsp Salt
½ cup Green gram sprouted (Whole Moong dal) – optional

In a medium bowl place the cubed fruit and cucumber. In another bowl, blend the olive oil, minty chutney, salt and pepper. Pour this over the cubed fruit and toss. Garnish with a fresh sprig of mint. Serve immediately.

I left out the green gram sprouts because I don’t like the taste of the raw sprouts.

I am not a salad person at all but was not too hestitant in making this one because it has fruit in it. I must say I was pleasantly surprised at how well the fruits and the cucumber came together. The mint chuntey made it refreshing and tasty. I think this is one salad I will make again.

This is headed to Nags at For the Cook in Me who is hosting AFAM – Papaya this month.

CLICK -- Liquid Comfort

It is the heart of winter now and other than soups nothing else could be more comforting. But I’ve made a lot of soups this winter and want to stop making them for a while. So I chose to click our favourite liquid comfort in the blazing summer heat. I know summer’s a good many months away, but no harm in gulping down some now as well. Our drink is Minty Ginger Ale with lots of ice, a dash of lime and mint leaves.

I added a mint leaf to each ice cube mold and let it freeze, not only did it make the ice cubes look good with the mint leaves in it, but it also adds to the minty flavour of the drink as it melts.

This picture is my entry to this month's CLICK - "Liquid Comfort" over at Jugalbandi.

Festive Chocolate Fruit and Nut Squares

For the first time ever, I think I'm really into the festive season with all the baking and cooking. Anywhere you go its all 'Christmassy' ...lights, colours, decorations, gifts and not to forget the various holiday 'sale's. Even all the channels on tv are decked up for the season. Hard to avoid all the cheer!

Well whatever the reason, I just a need an excuse to cook or bake and share it with friends.

After the cookies I decided to make these Festive Chocolate Fruit and Nut Squares. Sweet and dark chocolate with dried fruits and toasted nuts, a feast to the palette.


You will need:

9 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup whole or split roasted, salted cashews
1 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup chopped dried plums
1 tsp Orange zest plus more for garnish

Melt the 2 chocolates in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.

Meanwhile, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a ruler and a pencil, draw a 9 by 10-inch rectangle on the paper. Turn the paper face down on the baking sheet.

Pour the melted chocolate over the paper and spread to form a rectangle, using the outline. Sprinkle the cashews, apricots and plums over the chocolate. Also sprinkle the orange zest on top.

Set aside for 2 hours until firm. Cut the chocolate into squares and serve at room temperature.

Stacked up!

You can use any dried fruits you have on hand..cranberries, pineapples...your choice.

Festive Chocolate Fruit & Nut Squares is my entry to the event "AFAM - Dry Fruits" hosted by Latha of The Yum blog.

Also, the picture below is my entry to Bee & Jai's "CLICK - Show us Your Nuts"


Happy Holidays everyone!! :)

Update:

This is also an entry to Bindiya's event "These are a few of my favourite things -- Chocolate".

AFAM & Fresh Produce of the Month :Grapes all the way!

This month’s Fruit is the juicy Grapes…fresh or dried its hard to resist grabbing a handful. I love grapes and always have some at home when its in season.

Green Goddess

Nah I’m not talking about any goddess, that's the name of my drink..don't ask me why :)

You will need

1 ½ cups Green grapes (seedless)
½ cup Milk
1 ½ tbsp sugar
½ tsp Cardamom powder

Place all of the above in a blender and give a good whizz. The grapes should be blended well and you should be left with a semi-thick mixture. Pour into glasses, chill and serve.

When my granny first made this she had us guessing what was in it. We’ve all tasted Black grapes juice, which is very common, but this was the first with green grapes. It tastes just as delicious and a great treat on a hot day!

Grape Chaat

Not all grapes are sweet and the sour ones just make me pucker. I really am not for tart stuff so when I come across sour grapes, I have a good way to eat them.

You will need:

1 cup Grapes (Black and Green)
1/4 tsp Red chilli powder
1/4 tsp Chaat Masala powder
1/4 tsp Salt

Half the grapes, toss them with a salt ,red chilli powder and Chaat Masala you have some great tasting Grape chaat, and the sourness…all gone!

The salt actually helps cut the sourness and you won’t have to fret on not having sweet grapes. This salad can be made with sweet grapes too, the grapes just get better!

Raisins (Onadrakshi) Gojju

In one of my previous posts I had mentioned Pineapple Gojju. Following the same recipe you can substitute Pineapples with soaked boiled Dry grapes (Raisins) and you have Raisins Gojju, a popular dish served at almost every wedding in South Karnataka..

I’m posting the recipe here again.

You will need

1 cup raisins
8-10 Byadagi dry red chillies
2 tbsps Corriander seeds
½ tsp Fenugreek seeds
1 tsp Mustard seeds
¼ tsp Hing
1 tbsp Urad dhal
1 tbsp Chana dhal (kadlebele)
4 tbsps dry coconut gratings
Salt to taste
Oil and ghee
100 gms Jaggery
100 gms Tamarind (soak in water and extract the juice)

Soak the raisins and boil them in hot water.Keep aside. Roast the red chillies, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, urad and chana dhal, and coconut gratings each separately in little ghee till fragrant. Grind the roasted ingredients with water, tamarind juice and jaggery to form a rough paste. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and hing. Now add the boiled pineapple chunks. Add the ground paste, salt, tamarind juice and jaggery, bring to a boil. Add water if required to make a gravy like consistency. Serve with hot steamed white rice and ghee.

These are my entries to "Fresh Produce of the Month:Grapes" at Martha's and A Fruit A Month (AFAM) hosted by Swapna of Swad