Black Grape Sorbet

Something quick and yummy.. And so pleasing for the last summer days.. European weather has started showing its true colors and last 3-4 days have been really bad.. The weekend is predicted to be sunny and probably the "last" sunny weekend this year.. Thats possibly why I am taking some extra efforts to post today as I didnt wanna miss to post something that I prepared just for blog events.. Black Grape sorbet, a lovely sweet n sour combi with a oh so inviting color, for Swapna's AFAM-Grapes and Marta's FPM#4-Grapes..

Before I share the recipe, I would like to share some pics of grape yards in Luxembourg and Germany which we visited this year.. We own grape yards back in India and love to visit such places here..

The pic below is from Remerschen, Luxembourg, a lovely city in South Luxembourg from where we could see Germany to the left and France to the right from our hotel balcony.. That was sometime in April when the season of grapes hadnt started and we could just see the bare farms and support system of grape wines.. But we did not miss the cruise across the wone route and even visited a winery for wine testing :D

The snaps below are from Bensheim, Germany which we visited in July.. We were lucky to find grapes in their youth ;) Now is the best time to visit this place.. In the first week f September, the local farmers get together and organise an event dedicated to wine processing and is a treat for wine lovers!

Isnt it lovely to be so close to nature? I prefer to visit such places rather that castles, bridges and towers :D No more blah blah.. Let me get back to the main point!

Black Grape Sorbet

Preparation Time:

1 hour

What you need:

A bunch of Black Grapes
1/3 cup Sugar(approx)
Juice of 1/2 Lemon

How to proceed:

1) Cut the grapes(remove sedds if any) and defreeze for 30-40 mins
2) Add them to blender with sugar and lemon juice and blend well
3) Place again in refridgerator for 15-20 mins
4) Remove, scoop and take snaps/serve immmediately!

Lychee Grape Drink

Lychee on its own has a lovely taste... But when it comes to Lychee Juice, its just a few drops from a single Lychee fruit... I decided to mix grape juice to it, to make a lovely drink.. The end result was awesome.. Both tastes preserved and a refreshing drink ready!


This is my second entry for AFAM-Lychee, hosted this month by Sig.

Lychee Grape Drink

Preparation Time:

5 mins

Makes:

1 drink

What you need:

4-5 Lychees, peeled and deseeded
A bunch of seedless Grapes
(Juice of Lychee and Grape should be in 1:3 proportion)
A pinch of Black Salt
Few drops of Lemon

How to proceed:

1) Blend Lychees and Grapes in a Blender
2) Sieve the juice and add black salt and lemon juice to it
3) Refridgerate for some time and serve cold!

Thai Lychee Banana Dessert

With so many events coming up(and me not wanting to miss any), I hardly get any time to post other recipes... So I make it a point to try and cook something new for these events.. Thats how I learn and post something new and different (not always :D)

When Sig anounced Lychee as Fruit for AFAM this month, I had no idea what I would be preparing for this event.. Then some googling and I came upon a Thai dessert.. Decided to try it but had to wait long to find fresh lychees.. Frozen/canned foods are avoided as much as possible at my place.. Finally last weel I found these lovely fruits at a fruit mart and the long wait came to an end.. Greedily, I brought a big pack(later realising it cost me a lot!!! :( ) and ultimately I have one more recipe to try other than this one..

Thai Lychee Banana Dessert is my first entry for AFAM-Lychee.. Apart from Indian cuisine, I love Thai food.. Thai cuisine is mostly associated with use of coconut milk.. Not just in the curries, but also in desserts.. Coconut milk in Thai Desserts is as milk in Indian Desserts.. This is a simple Thai dessert, which can be prepared in no more than 5 mins.. I am not a big fan of cocunut milk, and hence didnt like the dessert a lot.. I prefer shikran(bananas in sweetened milk) to this.. But not a disaster either.. My husband didnt mind finishing off my share as well :D So overall, good for a change!

Thai Lychee Banana Dessert

Makes:

2 servings

Preparation Time:

5 mins

What you need:

7-8 ripe Lychees
1 Banana
200 ml Coconut Milk (Lite)
2-3 tsp Sugar

How to proceed:

1) Peel and deseed the Lychees and cut into halves
2) Cut the banana lengthwise and then make 1 inch pieces
3) Place the lychees and bananas in a bowl
4) Heat cocunut milk for a min and add sugar to it (Do *not* boil)
5) Pour the milk over the fruits
6) Let it cool and place in the fridge to cool for sometime
7) Serve cold.


I had to use a spoon to forcibly lift the lychees for a snap :D

Watermelon Popsicles

Jai and Bee have chosen a lovely fruit for this month’s AFAM-Watermelon. Due to its high water content (95%), summers are incomplete without watermelons…Atleast for me :) I can have watermelon for breakfast, lunch as well as for dinner in summers… I am one person who doesn’t drink much water regularly (just 2-3 glasses), but eat loads of watermelon n cucumbers in summer.. That’s the reason I can bear the summers. :D I was planning for another watermelon drink or snack, but then thought of some way which would be pleasant and inviting.. Here are lovely watermelon popsicles for AFAM Watermelon!

Watermelon Popsicles

Makes:

6 popsicles (of size of Kulfi/Ice-Candies)

What you need:

1 cup Watermelon Juice
¼ cup Sugar
¼ cup Water
1 tsp Lemon Juice
2 tsp Chaat Masala (Optional)
A pinch of Salt

How to proceed:

1) Deseed watermelon and run through blender to make juice
2) Mix sugar and water. Heat for 2-3 mins
3) Remove from heat and add the remaining ingredients to it
4) Add to kulfi moulds/ ice trays and make popsicles of desired shape n size
5) Freeze for 3-4 hrs!

* Addition of chaat masala gives it a tangy flavour.. Reminded me of the “barf ka gola” sold in India :)

Orange Burfi

Sharmi of Naivedyam is hosting AFAM this month. I was thinking of going for some cool summer drinks when Orange was announced for AFAM this month.. But then I didnt want to disturb the sweet n sour taste of orange by mixing it wit some other fruit for beverages.. Hence I decided to go for Orange Burfi. The Maharashtrian cit of Nagpur is famous for its Orange cultivation.. The "Santra Burfi/Orange Fudge" from Nagpur is very famous. We used to be lucky everytime two of my Nagpuri team mates went back home :) Orange Barfi was "default" sweet that they had to bring along! I made these burfis a bit less sweet coz I found sweet oranges here. I also tried some laddus with this mixture (from the disformed mixture left out after separarting good-looking n in-shape barfis!) Enjoy the yummilicious sweet! :)

Orange Burfi

What you need:

2 Oranges
1 cup Plain Flour(Maida)
1+1/4 cup Sugar
1 cup Milk
1/2 cup Ghee
4-5 saffron strands
Fried dry fruits (optional)

How to proceed:

1) Heat ghee in a pan and add plain flour to it
2) Fry till golden brown, stirring at intervals.. Now take off from gas and keep aside.
3) Peel oranges, remove seeds and transparent skin from each slice to get just the orange pulp
4) Heat milk, add sugar and orange pulp to it.
5) Keep stirring continuously till the mixture becomes sticky.. this might take 15-20 mins.
6) Now add the plain flour mixture to it and mix well
7) Add saffron and dry fruits if desired.
8) Cook till ghee separates from the mixture
9) Now place the mixture in a greased vessel and let cool
10) Cut into desired shapes and enjoy yummy orange burfi!

This was the first time I made something decorative/creative.. Flowers using the Orange skin/peel.. So just coundnt control myself from taking more snaps :)

I also made some laddus from the mixture that was left after making barfis!

Refreshing Kairi Panha

Kairi Panha(Green Mango Drink) is my second entry for AFAM Mango hosted by Deepa.

Panha is a drink made from raw mango. It was possibly the first mango preparation every summer at my place. Since this is my first year away from India, I am a bit late in trying out this drink! When I noticed some raw mangoes at the Indian store here in the start of May, I just brought some, called up Mom for her Panha recipe and then enjoyed sipping it in the noon after coming back tired from shopping.. Well, it refreshed me in no time.. And hence the name. :) This will also be my entry for Nupur’s “R of Indian Vegetables”

This drink is prepared using raw mangoes mixed with sugar or jaggery. The addition of fennel seeds and cardamom powder enhances the taste of this drink. A must must must try in summer time!

Kairi Panha

What you need:

1 big Raw Mango
1/4 cup Sugar – powdered
Few strands of Saffron – powdered
1 tsp Fennel Seeds – roasted and crushed
1 tsp ground Cardamon
2 cups water
A pinch of salt

How to proceed:

1) Cook the mango in a pressure cooker until soft (3-4 whistles)
2) When done, peel the mango, discard the seed and separate the pulp/flesh.
3) Remove strands if any from the pulp
4) Place the pulp in a blender; add fennel, saffron, cardamom and salt.
5) Blend well and add water
6) Add sugar and stir till it dissolves completely.
7) Adjust amount of water to have panha of desired consistency.
8) Sieve using strainer and serve cold with crushed ice.

* Sugar can be substituted by jaggery. This will make the Panha thicker.

Takku

Takku is chutney prepared from raw mango. I am a bit confused about its Maharashtrian or Gujarati roots. Now this confusion is pretty obvious since I am a Matthu and my best friend is a Gujju :) I am not sure if I have this at my place or her place.. Hence this confusion. But I am sure about one thing.. This chutney is quick n easy to prepare, tasty and can serve as an accompaniment to rotis, dosas, parathas ans bread. A must try in Kairi(raw mango) season!

This is my entry for Deepa’s AFAM Mango

Takku

What you need:

1 medium sized Kairi/Raw Mango
1 medium sized Onion
2 tsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
Pinch of Asafoetida
½ tsp Turmeric
2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tsp Sugar
Salt to taste

How to proceed:

1)Grate the raw mango and keep aside
2)Peel and grate onion and mix with grated raw mango
3)Add sugar and salt to this mixture
4)Heat oil in a skillet and add mustard seeds
5)When the mustard seeds start spluttering, add asafoetida, turmeric and red chilli powder to it
6)Take the skillet off heat and add the tadka to the grated mango onion mixture
7)Mix well and serve with rotis or parathas