After a brief spell of nail biting cold, it is high time we prepare ourselves from the Summer season which is just at the doorstep. March and April are the transition months when we are always in a dilemma as to what we should wear? The mercury shoots up by a few degrees while at night, mercury rests a little lower. Nonetheless this temperature difference won’t last long. During the Summer season, we need to take extreme caution as far as food is concerned. The kids are easy prey to the scorching heat as they get summer vacations for two months and no matter how much you stop them from playing in the Summer heat, they pay less heed to your caution. After all, these are the formative years when they need to play and have fun. To beat the heat, there are various drinks one can prepare at home to keep heat stroke at bay. Drink lots of fluids such as buttermilk, Mango shake, chilled Rose milk, Water-Melon slush and so on. Summer season also brings with it lots of juicy fruits such as Mango, Litchi, Cherry, Water Melon, Pineapple. Give your children lots of fruits to eat even if your child refuses to eat and behaves a bit fussy. Just stay calm and remember, "It is the Summer Loo that kills one’s appetite”.
In this blog, I am going to write about a Summer cooler drink straight from the Middle East. During my tenure at Bangalore, I had this drink for the first time at a small cafe, Hot n Cool near our office in Electronic City Phase-2 and since then I am a fan of this amazing drink. It is made from Black grapes. The recipe is quite simple with a one step as most arduous. Step by Step procedure to make this drink is as follows:
Ingredients you need:
Seedless Black grapes - 400 gms
Sugar / Jaggery Powder - 100 gms
Water - 800 ml
Steps to follow:
Wash the grapes thoroughly with water.
Peel off the skin of grapes.
Take a vessel and put all the peeled grapes and peeled skin in it. Add 500 ml of water.
Place the vessel on the gas burner and switch on the burner.
Add sugar as per your taste. I prefer Jaggery powder as Jaggery is healthier as compared to sugar. (Remember to add sugar/jaggery powder just enough to give a slight sweeter taste such that it should change the original taste of grapes).
Bring the water to boil and then switch to low flame. Let it boil for another 15 minutes.
You will see the color of water turn pink.
Filter the solution using a strainer.
Separate out the grapes from the skin.
Cut the peeled grapes in half.
Add the grapes in the solution collected in another bowl.
The leftover skin can be used as a compost in the kitchen garden.
Refrigerate the drink for 2-5 hours (depends on the cooling capacity of your refrigerator)
The drink is supposed to give it the best taste when served chilled. You can also add ice cubes (optional).
If you wish you can also add crushed Mint leaves as Mint is a natural cooler in Summer.
Try it once and do share your feedback if you like it. As I always say, ”No recipe is perfect. Chef is free to make modifications as per his/her experience”.
