Almond saffron milk is a festive drink; this can be served hot or cold. Milk with blend of nuts and flavored with saffron. Saffron gives a beautiful orange-yellow color and distinctive flavor and aroma.

Recipe will serve 2-3.

Ingredients:

• 20 Oz milk
• 10 almonds
• 10 pistachios
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar adjust to taste
• few strands of saffron

 For Garnishing

• 1 teaspoon thinly sliced pistachios

 Method

1. Soak the almonds and pistachios for about 10 minutes in hot water. Blanched the almonds and pistachio.
2. Grind the almonds and pistachios using 2-3 tablespoons of milk until smooth.
3. Boil the milk in a heavy bottom pan over medium high heat stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
4. Add the almond paste, sugar, cardamom and saffron strands. Lower the heat to low and let it simmer for 4-5minutes stirring often.
5. Turn of the heat, serve warm or chilled.
6. Garnish the milk before serving with pistachios.

Enjoy!

To help beat the heat and these hot summer days there’s nothing like a tall glass of cold coffee.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 8 oz milk
• 1 tablespoon dark roasted instant coffee
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 cups of ice

Method

1. Blend the coffee, sugar and milk together for about 30 seconds until the sugar and coffee are mixed well with milk. Add ice and blend at a high speed for a minute until coffee becomes frothy.
2. Serve in tall glasses and sprinkle with dry coffee powder.

Notes

Serve the cold coffee with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and shaved chocolate turning the cold coffee into the dessert.

Mango Lassi is a delicious combination of mangoes and yogurt that is cool and soothing.  It is wonderful on hot summer days or as a compliment to spicy meals.  Mango Lassi has become popular in Indian restaurants.

Serves 3 to 4.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups ripe mangoes peeled and chopped
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons sugar (Adjust to taste)
• 1/8 teaspoon cardamom powder
• 1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves (Optional)
• 3 cups crushed ice or ice cubes, use as needed

Method

1. Blend the mangoes, yogurt, milk and 2 tablespoons of sugar.  Adjust sugar according to taste.  Sugar amount will depend on the sweetness or sourness of the mango and yogurt
2. Add ice and cardamom powder and blend again.  Add water to adjust consistency to your liking as the best Lassi is slush-like.
3. Pour in tall glass and garnish with mint leaf.

Tips

1. Use ripe mangoes that have the least amount of fiber.
2. My personal favorite Lassi is slush-like in consistency, almost like an Icee!

Mint lemonade is the perfect beverage for a hot summer day and is a must-have for picnics.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 8 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black salt optional
• 1/2 teaspoon grounded black pepper
• 32 oz cold water
• 1/8 teaspoon roasted ground cumin powder to garnish
• Mint leaves to garnish
• Ice cubes

Method

• Blend the mint leaves.
• Add lemon juice, sugar, salt, black salt, and black pepper.
• Blend together.
• Mix the mixture with water and pour the lemonade over ice.
• Garnish with mint leaves and cumin powder.

Tips

Every ingredient in this recipe can be adjusted to your taste.

Variations

Replace water with soda water. Add 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger juice.

Panna is a mango drink, also known as amras or amjhora. This is made with green cooking mangoes. Panna is a very popular drink for hot summer days. Raw mango pulp with black salt, sugar, and mint has a very cooling effect against hot and dry wind.

Recipe will serve 8.

Ingredients

• 1 raw green cooking mango or 3 cups peeled and sliced
• About 1 cup sugar adjust to taste
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 11/2 teaspoon black salt
• 1 teaspoon dry roasted cumin seed powder
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

For Serving

• Some fresh mint leaves
• Ice cubes or crushed ice

Method

1. Peel the mango and slice them in large pieces and remove the seed.
2. Boil the mango slices in about 2 cups of water till the mango slices are cooked well. It should take about 15 minutes.
3. After mango cools off, mix all the ingredients with the mango. Add sugar and salt slowly by adjusting to the taste.
4. Blend the mango mix and make a puree.
5. Strain the mango puree and add about 5 glasses of 8 oz cups of water. Panna should be consistence of orange juice.
6. Serve over the ice and put the fresh mint leave to garnish.
7. Enjoy it!

Tips

1. Depends on the mango you may have to adjust the sugar and salt.
2. Before adding the water can be refrigerated for a week.

Serving suggestion

Panna also can be served as a punch.

Thandai is a very refreshing spicy cold drink with aromatic flavors; main ingredients are almond, milk, sugar and some spices. Traditionally thandai is served during the Indian holiday “Holi”. Holi is a celebration of the harvest season.

Recipe will serve 4.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup almonds (badam)
• 1 1/2 cup Milk
• 4 tablespoons Sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon whole black pepper (kali mirch)
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds (saunf)
• 2 tablespoon poppy seeds (khuskhus)
• 4 green cardamom (ilatchi)
• 2 tablespoons rosewater
• 2 cup water, adjust as needed

Method:

1. Soak almonds in water for at least 6 hours. Peel off the almond’s skin.
2. Grind black pepper, fennel seeds, poppy seeds, and cardamom.
3. Using a blender, blend the almonds into a paste. Add just enough water to let the almond blend into a paste.
4. In the same blender add the grinded spices and about ½ cup of water with almond paste. Blend until creamy.
5. Add 1 cup of water and sugar blend until sugar dissolve.
6. Strain the mix through the fine strainer or cheesecloth.
7. Return the left over ground paste to the blender with rest of the water.
8. Blend again and extract the liquid once more.
9. Discard remaining ground mash.
10. Mix the almond liquid, milk, and rose water.
11. Thandai is ready serve over the crush ice.
12. Garnish with rose peddle!