How to make Mint Lime juice - a cool summer drink

The summer in India is harsh and we need to replenish our bodily fluid and nutrition which is lost through sweat. This minty lime juice is what doctor order for such purpose. Mint is a herb which is used for thousands of years for its medicinal qualities. It aids digestion, reduces depression and fatigue, prevents memory loss and it is good for skin. Moreover it is a detox agent and simulates freshness. You can look at https://www.organicfacts.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/mint-info.jpg to know about its benefits. The lime adds taste and also increase the freshness quotient. Together it creates a yummy and healthy drinks just suited for summer.

This vegan drink or sorbet can be prepared in Indian as well as western ways. The recipe here is more on western line. You can remove the ginger + black pepper from it and add black salt+ roasted Jeera to suite the masala taste Indians love.

Preparation Time: - 10 min

 

Cooking Time: - 10~15 min

 

Servings: - 2 person

 

Ingredients:- 

1. 1 bunch fresh Mint leaves (approx. 2 cup)
   
2. Small lemon 10~12 pieces of Oreo cookies ( I used 8 for main preparation and 2 for garnishing )
3. 1 inch Ginger grated
4. 1 cup water or ½ cup water+ ½ cup soda
5. 10 tbsp Sugar
6. 2 tbsp Honey
7. 3 tsp Black pepper powder
8. Few Ice cubes

Preparation:-

1. Reserve few mint leaves for garnishing and pluck the remaining mint leaves from the stem and rinse thoroughly in water.
2. Drain the excess water in a strainer and keep aside.
   
3. Grate the ginger.
4. Mix the ginger and mint leaves.
   
5. Squeeze the lemons into it.
6. Add Black pepper powder, sugar and honey.
7. Pour the mixture in blender with ½ cup water and grind it into a smooth puree
8. Pour the remaining water or soda in the blender and swirl again for half a minute.
9. You can pour the whole thing in a strainer to remove the pulps if any.

You can chill the juice in refrigerator or add few ice cubes in it. You may even have the juice in room temperature if you have sore throat but it really feels yummy if served chilled. Garnish with lime slice and fresh mint leaves and serve in tall glasses.

As always please feel free to comment, criticize and seek if any help is required. I am all ears.

Bengali Neem Begun - Stir fried Brinjal / Eggplant with Neem - Healthy Vegan summer / spring recipe

Neem in India traditionally considered to be the antidote of a lot of diseases. It is also a good detox agent. The benefits of Neem can be found in https://food.ndtv.com/health/benefits-and-uses-of-neem-a-herb-that-heals-1231051

Bengalis use Neem leaves and eggplant to prepare a healthy side dish for the season of spring and summer. This preparation is supposed to do away all the effects of sudden temperature change from winter to summer. It also restores the appetite and helps digestion during hot and dry weather. Though this dish has a bitter taste but my recipe tries to reduce the bitter taste as well as keeping the balance between being healthy and tasty. BTW, I forgot to mention that this vegan recipe is very easy and takes no time to prepare.

Preparation Time: - 5 min

Cooking Time: - 10~15 min

Servings: - 2~3 persons (varies according to the tolerance of bitter taste)

Ingredients:- 

1. 1 small or ½ medium bunch of Baby neem leaves
2. 1 small or ½ large eggplant. In fact there is no fixed proportion of Neem and Eggplant. You can use more Neem leaves if your taste permits or more eggplant for mild bitter taste
3. 1 tsp Turmeric powder
4. 2 silted Green Chilli
5. Salt to taste
6. 2 tbsp Mustard oil (I prefer mustard oil but you can use Sunflower or Canola oil if you do not like the pungent smell of mustard oil)
   

Preparation:-

1. Wash the neem leaves well and pluck them from the bunch.
2. Dry them on a kitchen napkin, chop them and keep aside.
3. Wash and cut the eggplant into cubes. Place them in a large bowl and fill up the same with water. The idea is to submerge the eggplant pieces in water so that they soak a lot of water. This will reduce the amount of oil needed to fry them.
4. Rub salt to the eggplant cubes and keep aside for few minutes.
5. Take a kadai / frying pan and heat 1 ½ tbsp mustard oil in high heat.
6. Put the eggplant pieces in the frying pan and reduce the heat to medium.
   
7. Add turmeric powder and shallow fry the eggplant till they turn brownish. This should take about 5 minutes. Stir continuously so that they do not get stuck in the bottom.
   
8. Remove the brinjal pieces and keep aside.
9. Add the chopped neem leaves, sprinkle a little salt and fry them in the same oil in low heat. At first a lot of water will emanate from the leaves. Wait till the water evaporates and the leaves turn slightly crispy. Now pour ½ tbsp. oil and continue frying until the leaves turn fully crispy.
   
   
10. Switch off the burner and then add already fried eggplant. Mix well with neem leaves.

Now your healthy spring / summer dish is ready to consume. You can drain the extra oil by putting the dish on kitchen towel. This should be served with hot steamed rice. You can add a bit of Ghee on top of the rice if you like. The side dish should be the first item of your typically Bengali summer lunch.

  

As always please feel free to comment, criticize and seek if any help is required. I am all ears.

Warm wishes for Bengali New Year 1425

সমস্ত বাঙালী reader দের আমার শুভ নববর্ষের প্রীতি ও শুভেছা জানাই 

Happy Bengali New Year to all of you. May you have a happy and fulfilling year

I pray to God that my recipes help everyone in their cooking and keeping their family happy

Oreo Milkshake - A kids favorite but adult's delight too

The summer has come and the demand of our kids for milkshake and drinks have reached a crescendo. To fill up their quench of cool shakes I made this all time favourite shake for them. This is very simple recipe with only 4 ingredients and super quick, tasty one.

Preparation Time: - 5 min

Cooking Time: - 10~15 min

Servings: - 1 person

Ingredients:-

1. 1 cup ( approx. 250 ml.) full cream milk
2. 10~12 pieces of Oreo cookies ( I used 8 for main preparation and 2 for garnishing )
3. 2 scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream
4. Little bit of Chocolate syrup
5. 1 Cherry fruit for garnishing
6. Whipped Cream for garnishing (optional)
7. Few Ice cubes

Preparation:-

1. Boil the full cream milk and cool it.
2. Crush 1~2 Oreo Cookies in blender and keep aside.   
3. Take a Glass and pour some chocolate syrup on the sides.
4. Swirl the glass to make some pattern of syrup if you want. Refrigerate the glass so that the syrup gets sticky to the glass.
5. Take the blender again and pour the milk, vanilla Ice cream and 8 Oreo Cookies. I used 4 Oreo Vanilla Cookies and 4 Oreo Chocolate cookies. You can use any combinations according to your Choco preference.
   
   
   
   
6. Add few Ice cubes and blend for half a minute till semi-smooth and frothy. Do not blend into very smooth mixture as it would become more liquid. A thick mixture will be more liked by your kids.
7. Pour the milk shake in the glass.
8. Garnish with whipped cream or crushed cookies and Cherry fruit. I did not use whipped cream as it is not very healthy I suppose.

Please note that you can remove the cream from inside of the cookies if you do not like it too sweet. I prefer the milkshake to be just sweet – so I discard the inside feeling of the cookies.

  

Serve this as dessert

As always please feel free to comment, criticize and seek if any help is required. I am all ears.