AAM PANNA GRANITA REFRESHER

Aam Panna...it is a tangy sweet and refreshing summer drink, made with raw mangoes, black salt, sugar, roasted cumin powder and mint. It’s a traditional drink in India, and it’s a great pick-me-up in those hot summer months!

The temperatures in India during summer months of May- June is scorching hot and this drink is especially made during those months to beat the heat and keep the bodies cooler and immune it to this scorching heat.

I twisted this drink to a different avatar, made the granita and preserved it in the freezer to make this utter refreshing drink anytime during these summer months. Spike it with the Caribbean Coconut rum Malibu and a good splash of soda and yippee you are all set to get those accolades of praises from your guests this summer. Addition of Malibu took it to totally another level with the concoction of Indian and Caribbean flavours.

Granita is an Italian semi-frozen dessert that is agitated and scraped as it freezes. The ice crystals that result afterwards are deceptively flavourful, and in this case with the fresh and summery ingredients, they quench your thirst too.

If you’re looking for an easy way to unwind after a full on day ...this is it!

Go ahead and try it out !!!

PREP TIME: 30 minutes

MAKE TIME: 10 minutes

SERVES: 8

INGREDIENTS

• 1 kg Raw mangoes, medium sized

• 750ml water

• 250g white sugar

• 3 tsp black salt

• 1 1/2 tsp cumin powder

• 1/4 cup mint leaves

METHOD

1. Wash and place the mangoes in a pressure cooker, add water to cover the mangoes. Pressure cook until just one whistle of the pressure cooker comes.

2. Release pressure from the cooker keeping it under the running water tap. Once pressure is released, open the cooker and dish out the mangoes from the water and let them cool.

3. Peel the mangoes, scrape out all the pulp.

4. In a large cooking pot, add the mango pulp, water and sugar. Bring it to boil, add salt and cumin powder. Remove from fire.

5. Using a hand blender, blitz until it becomes smooth. Cool completely. Refrigerate until chilled, 2-3 hours.

6. Pour the mango drink in a mixer jug, add mint and blitz. Add ice if you want it more chilled.

For Making Granita

1. Transfer the aam panna to a loaf tin and freeze for 2-3 hours. Once little set, scrape down with the fork. Keep scrapping with fork after every two hours for 3-4 times.

For Making Caribbean Aam Panna refresher

1. Take two scoops of aam panna granita in wine goblets or tall glasses, add 25 ml Caribbean Malibu. Pour 120 ml soda on top, give it a quick stir. Garnish it with a sprig of mint.

COOK'S NOTES

• I used pressure cooker to speed up the process but if you do not have the pressure cooker, you can boil them in a cooking pot.

• I prepare the drink in advance and keep it under refrigeration and add mint only just before serving as the mint oxidise if it stays in the drink too long. It doesn’t give that fresh pale green colour which comes when freshly blended.

• I also sometimes like to add soda water and spike it with vodka or caribou to make it an interesting cocktail.

• Mango panna can be kept in refrigerator for maximum 2-3 days.

• Mango granita can be kept in freezer for upto 3 months, covered with double foil and a cling wrap.
  

MANGO CHUTNEY

Although summer is awfully hot in Oman, I still love it because grocers are full of mangoes!! It’s the season of the king of fruits, and I wanted to celebrate by making this delicious and nostalgic Mango Chutney, which is my mum’s recipe. The recipe is really simple, but what makes it a delight is that playful balance of flavours like the heat from the red chilli, subtle flavours of the spices, like cloves, cinnamon and cardamom, and the sweet tanginess of the mango. Addition of nigella seeds brings that oomph and makes it uber delicious.

Made it yesterday and served it with a traditional Sindhi roti called Koki Roti, which I tried for the first time and it was such a perfect combination!! The sweet and spicy chutney really uplifted the crispy indulgence of the roti, and it’s definitely a pair you should try for your next breakfast or brunch feast!

Chutney is so versatile I like layering it in my meat burgers…my wraps and even in a chicken curry.

I urge you to give this tangy-sweet delicious goodness a try and I'm sure you will be in love with it.

PREP TIME: 20 minutes

COOK TIME: 30 minutes

MAKES: 1 kilo jar

INGREDIENTS

• 4 large mangoes, ripe but firm (mine weighed about 325g each)

• 2 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 2 tsp ginger, finely chopped

• 1-2 fresh red chilli, finely chopped (can remove seeds to reduce heat)

• 1/4 tsp clove powder

• 2 tsp coriander powder

• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder

• 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder

• 1/4 tsp green cardamom powder

• 1/2 tsp cumin powder

• 2 tsp nigella seeds

• 1/2 tsp rock salt

• 1/2 tsp regular white iodized salt

• 1 cup white vinegar

• 2 cups white sugar

• 1 tbsp sunflower oil

METHOD

1. Peel and dice the mangoes roughly into 1 inch x 1.5 cm pieces.

2. In a large heavy bottom skillet, warm oil. Add garlic, ginger, red chillies and sauté

for few seconds.

1. Keeping the heat on low add turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, and clove powder, stir for few seconds. Add the diced mangoes, stir for a minute

2. Add the sugar and vinegar to the mangoes and let it come to a rapid boil. Add salt, cinnamon, cardamom powder and nigella seeds, stir to mix. Reduce the flame to medium high and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the vinegar and sugar is reduced to a thicker consistency and mangoes look translucent and pulpy, turn the heat off. If desired, mash few pieces with back of the spoon to make it bit gooey in consistency.

3. Store in a sterilized sealed jar for upto 2 months in refrigerator.

COOK'S NOTES

• Use the mangoes which are ripe but are still firm for this recipe. I used the Indian mango variety called Tota Pari for this particular recipe, which are sweet and tangy in taste. If you are using mangoes which doesn't have much sweetness, you might have to adjust the quantity of the sugar. Vice-versa, if the mango you are using are much sweeter, then reduce the sugar content accordingly.

• I like my chutney slightly hot, hence I used about 1 1/2 chilli but again, if you like less heat, remove the seeds and membrane of the chillies before chopping.

• For the long term storage, canning can also be done for this mango chutney. Pour the hot chutney directly into sterilized jars, seal and place them in hot bath and keep them undisturbed for upto 24 hours. Sealed chutney jars can be stored on pantry shelf for upto a year.

• Sweet tangy flavours of the chutney goes really well with lamb mince patty burgers.