Traditional summer drinks

Hi friends,

Summer is here. Summer never goes away in Chennai. It is always hot. We feel thirsty all the time. Instead of drinking aerated drinks or bottled drinks, we can make many drinks at home. It is healthy too.

First is the fruit juice. We can make juice out of any fruit with or without sugar. Since it is made at home we will be able to control sweetness as well as its chillness.

Second is our own more/ buttermilk. What better in the summer than drinking neer more.

• I add 2 cups of water to 1 cup of thick curd to make buttermilk.
• Add salt and hing.
• In the mixie add a small ginger piece ,1 green chilly, few curry leaves, few coriander leaves.
• Grind everything well.
• For neer more, we can temper mustard seeds also.
• If you don't like leaves while drinking you can also strain it and drink.
• Chill and serve.
• You can also add kala namak and chaat masala to it.

Next is Panagam. A sweet and a healthy summer drink.

• Add 3 tbsp of grated jaggery in 1 cup of water.
• Mix it well till jaggery dissolves.
• Add half a lemon's juice to it.
• Crush 4 cardamoms .
• Add the powder to the mixture along with 1 tsp of sukku powder.
• Panagam is ready .
• It can be served at room temperature or chilled.

Aam panna is my favourite. I love mangoes. This is made with raw mango and some spices. It is not too sweet.

• Cut small pieces of 1 raw mango and boil it with salt in water.
• Once mango is cooked, add sugar ½ cup to 1 cup in it and cook for sometime till sugar dissolves.
• Blend it into a pulp with ½ tsp pepper powder, ½ tsp roasted jeera powder, ½ tsp kala namak.
• You can also add brown sugar or jaggery to it.

While making the juice, take 2 tbsp of the pulp and mix it with cold water. Add 5 -10 leaves of mint to it. Serve it immediately. 

These are some of the traditional ones that I like to make during summer. Please try these.