Flavours Of India

Are you looking for some cool, refreshing, healthy as well as exotic experience? Here are some summer coolers for you, which are very part of Indian cuisines and can be supplemented with any Indian meal. Try them for yourself and others.

Plum passion

Ingredients: 600 gm fresh plums;10-15 gm rock salt;140 gm of sugar;700 ml icy water;250 gm trodden ice;4 lemon segments;

Method: Boil fresh plums in the water, then add half amount of sugar along with 5 gm of rock salt and allow it to cook for few more minutes, now squeeze out pulp while straining and discarding the seeds as well as skin(this strained pulp can be stored and used later for the drink in the fridge). Now blend the pulp till it turns into a fine paste in the blender while adding water, lastly season it with salt, lemon slices and sugar. Serve it by adding refrigerated water and packed down ice..

Guava guzzler

Ingredients: 300gm guava seedless;500 ml of guava juice;10-12 gm rock salt;60 gm of sugar;200 ml icy chilled water;100 gm trodden ice;4 lemon slices;10-15 freshly picked mint leaves

Method: Mix fresh guava with juice, ice water and mint to make a fine puree while straining discard the leftover. Spice up the juice with rock salt, along with lemon juice and sugar. Alter the evenness of the juice with the usage of iced water , crushed ice. Serve ice cold

White gazpacho

Ingredients: 4 slices bread (crust removed);150 gm almonds, blanched and skinned;3 garlic clove;60 ml extra virgin olive oil;50 ml white wine vinegar;2 tsp salt; 150 gm white grapes, halved and seeded

Method: Soak the bread in water until it gets soft, for about 15 minutes. Combine the almonds and garlic in a food processor or blender and process until almonds are finely ground. Now squeeze out the water from the bread and add it to the same food processor. Blend to a smooth paste. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a slow stream. Now adjust the consistency of juice by adding water, and season to taste by adding salt and vinegar to it. Serve immediately or chill the gazpacho. Stir before serving in bowls and garnish with grapes.

Scorching summer, sweaty weather has again made its existence felt, in its every possible way. Now what is your strategy to fight back or to give it up? In case you opt for latter one, here’s how . All the seasons bring with them definite do's along with don’ts. So does this sweltering and blazing summer, especially Indian summers.

Avoid oily food

Eating excess of fried food causes lethargy. So go for grilled stuff, steamed, boiled and roasted eatables instead. Such food not only keeps you healthy but also makes

Reduce ingestion of beverages

Consuming excess of tea and coffee increases your urination period, leading to more water loss. You can always go for required amount of such drinks, but as they dehydrate your body fluids, so keep a proper check on their intake level.

Avoid eating stale foodstuffs (fruits and vegetable)

Do not cut Fruit and vegetables much earlier since it leads to water loss thereby causing degradation of their nutritional content that is why it is always recommended to consume only freshly peeled and chopped fruit and veggies. Make sure you avoid stale food because such a Food might be breeding floor for various bacteria.

Avoid excessive smoking and alcohol intake

Avoid both drinking alcohol and smoking cigars and cigarettes, as they dehydrate the contents of our body taking away the required oxygen substance from the blood vessels thereby causing suffocation in our lungs.

Avoid drinks rich in acidic contents

Try to Avoid such soft drinks since they produce gases in our body which leads to digestion problems like gastrointestinal distresses like stomach aches, diarrhea, vomiting etc. so, instead of feeding yourself with such processed carbonated drinks you can consume lemonade, lassi, jaljeera and home-made drinks like mango panna. These drinks help in maintaining the electrolyte balance of the body. Also, yoghurt if consumed with sugar reduces the acid that gets produced in the body because of former carbonated drinks.

Eat in less quantity

Over eating in any season is bad. Make sure your Chew your food bites properly and leave the habit of eating in hurry. In such sweltering summer, go for light meals, particularly at night. Otherwise you may go through indigestion, loose motions or vomiting. Avoid long gaps between meals too. Eat three times a day, interspersed with frequent snacks like salads, sprouts and fruits.