94 replies to this topic

[Gareth]

Somebody please help me out by posting a recipe on a chilled cucumber soup.

Gareth (sweats profusely)

[Suresh Hinduja]

Here you go Gareth,

Chilled Cucumber soup

1/2 cup yoghurt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped cucumber deseeded
A few sprigs of mint leaves.
juice of half a lime
salt to taste

Puree the whole lot in a blender/food processor saving some mint for garnish. That's it, cool off !

[Sneha]

I remembered having seen this post and decided to make it yesterday and added ice in the blender.
CooooL!

[Suresh Hinduja]

of tadgolas cooled in bowls for evening repasts on the roof of their house in Calcutta, along with malas of belli/mogra, gundumalli/Jasminum sambac left to open in dishes of dark schist.

Gautamda,
It must be true that you have ESP faculties because I bought some mogra flowers with the tadgolas to make:

Sandalwood and Mogra sharbat (will post a picture soon)

This is another favourite summer cooler, I was introduced to it by a Kolkata Marwari friend.
Bael sharbat(picture is from Lucknow)


So what other Summer coolers do you all know of.

[Gautam]

Sureshbhai,

From a tiny corner of Bengal:

A. A general base of limeade, of GREEN, not ripe, limes or kagji [aromatic oblong] nebu:
Salt and sugar. Chill.

1. Add whipped plain yoghurt: Bengali lassi, called ghol, as in mixed or turbid.
2. Add ripe bael, bilva [Aegle marmelos] fruit that has been soaked to soften and pulped: bael-er panha
3. Add julienne of muskmelon, to float on top: pleasing aroma and textural contrast

B. Phalsa and black jamun, separately lightly salted, not libation, but I can see them lightly crushed, served over crushed ice, as astringentent semi-sorbet, as palate cleanser. Between courses or at beginning of meal. Or after grease rich meal, no dessert, whatever. Maybe even semi-freddo???

C. Green Mango ombol: please see Bengal Foodways thread: excellent starter in small glasses by itself or as chilled soup, with the mango shredded in, even some rice floated in, or shirataki added in, cendol added in, multi-hued, taking cues from Malaysian cendol serving. Add snippets of hibiscus or float a rose petal. The light green mango decoction with black mustard seeds floating is itself very pretty and refreshing to sip, before a meal, instead of the traditional after. Maybe serve with a roasted papad? Jyotida? What do you say?

[Suresh Hinduja]

Sandalwood and Mogra sharbat. Added some Marigolds for colour and chew.

[Sekhar]

Sandalwood and Mogra sharbat. Added some Marigolds for colour and chew.

Great picture and technique!

We get the worst in the world raw mangoes here, but has enyone tried a raw mango sharbat? The mango (has to be the quite khatta variety) is first boiled and then the pulp mixed with sugar.

Also, Phalsa sharbat is now another remote memory.

[phodni]

On the Marathi side of things, Panha (mango) and Kokam sharbat come to mind...

of tadgolas cooled in bowls for evening repasts on the roof of their house in Calcutta, along with malas of belli/mogra, gundumalli/Jasminum sambac left to open in dishes of dark schist.

Gautamda,
It must be true that you have ESP faculties because I bought some mogra flowers with the tadgolas to make:

Sandalwood and Mogra sharbat (will post a picture soon)

This is another favourite summer cooler, I was introduced to it by a Kolkata Marwari friend.
Bael sharbat(picture is from Lucknow)


So what other Summer coolers do you all know of.

[Gautam]

Sekhar,

That same very sour green mango, from trees that are "wild" and know not to produce sweet ripe fruit and therefore treasured for their sour green fruit harvested for pickles and chutneys [the unripe fruit of the swevarieties sem more "starchy" and less sour somehow, less of that wild fragrance, and also cannot be picked for anything as each one fallen or missing counts as a net loss! Too much attrition between blossom numbers and ripe fruit as it is] is placed on te dying embers and ashes of the wood stove after lunch is done and left to roast and imbibe a slight smoky flavor. Then, after 4p.m. it is retrieved from he old ash and he pulp extracted. This sharbat is just in time for the Shital Bhog, in Bengal a cooling libation customarily offered to the Deity, a tname imples, Shital, just as the English have their custom of afternoon tea! Jst o give you an idea of how seriously the role of Cooling Libation has sunk into the social consciousness, ad the need for a light drink at his hour in the hot climate.

Rock candy always was the prferred source of sweetener in these libations, re-crystallized [for maxmum purity] from date or cane sugar refined from date/cane gurs.

In Calcutta, a strange derivtve of this tradition emerged in the early 20th century 2 famous shops devoted exclusively to cold drinks. They wee located opposite the square fronting Calcutta University. One was named Paradise, and the other Paragon or some such. Jyotida will remember. They may tried to fill a role analogous to that of soda fountains I the USA of that time. Anyway, one libation which made both famous, was their Geereeni [pronounced thus!] Mango drink. Each tasted different from the competition, and neither was anything like the natural product!

Another drink popular within the Eurasian community was the Mango Fool, ripe mangoes whirled with a quantity of milk or light cream, chilled.

Edited by Gautam, 12 April 2008 - 09:20 PM.

[Suresh Hinduja]

From today's Times of India (Sunday)

Sindhis such as food designer Suresh Hinduja of gourmetindia.com may churn up a super-fragrant drink with soaked jasmine petals and sugar-water boiled sandalwood chips. “Add one veni of closed jasmine (mogra) buds to almost a bottle of water, but only after putting off the flame,’’ directs Hinduja. (We haven’t tried this one)...

Soaked almonds, for one, are an ingredient in the good old thandais. Hinduja fine-grinds almonds, saffron, fennel, black pepper, melon seeds and rose petals with sugar. The paste is buttressed with milk and the final concoction served chilled. Yes, on the rocks.

Read the rest of the article here:
Don’t sweat it, just shake, stir and sip it

[Gautam]

Suresh,

I have read of a drink called limoncello, where the Italians extract the flavors and oils contained in lemon zest into smooth vodka for smooth drinking [not rough high proof alcohol, e.g. 86% Everclear] at room temperaure for a number of days, perhaps 21 plus, depending on rate of visible change. Then the extract is chilled and drunk with sugar on ice. Same with orange zest.

Many of the essential oils, e.g. the -terpenes, in flowers and sandalwood, are preferentially soluble in alcohol. If you try an experiment and extract into a smooth vodka, say a Scandinavian one, or whatever is found cheaply, perhaps the extract may be quite concentrated. Therefore, a drink may be made from it could be very light on the alcohol, on final dilution with other liquids, nuts milks, etc. say 2% or far less, a responsible grown-up libation, enjoyment without excess.

Edited by Gautam, 13 April 2008 - 11:54 AM.

[Suresh Hinduja]

This has turned out so delicious and refreshing that I regret making it.
Semi raw Mango, Gandharaj Lime leaves, salt and sugar.
Gautam, would this qualify as an Ombol?


Gandharaj Aam Cooler

[Gautam]

Suresh,

Ombol is derived from the Sanskrit 'amla' [short a all] meaning sour or acid, so ambal/ombol actually is the bengali pronunciation of amla. Strictly speaking, in the bengali culinary code, an ombol is a cooked sweet sour stewed dish. Your invention is a limeade, more in keeping with the uncooked drinks i mentioned upthread, and could be more properly described as a panha/pana or shorbot, pana being the pre-Islamic term. Bael-er pana, pora-aamer pana [burnt mango pana, so why not Suresh's kancha-mitha aamer pana? Kaancha-mitha is a Bengali mango variety that is sweet and sour when unripe and highly prized for this piquant balance of flavors. Your half cooked mango seems to do something with texture, aroma and sweet-sour balance, also color, plus pulling in the gandharaj as the citrusade element, [the poor plant must be regretting your newly recovered enthusiasm for its foliage! Suresh, I have a twin sibling somewhere, remember? it seems to be saying to you]

In addition to the mango, you may wish to introduce to the upper level more humble fruit in similar dressed up ways: it could add value to farmers help preserve biodeversity; e.g. extraordinary elite tamarind trees. So fresh, very tender green tamarind with its unique flavor; the 2 varieties of hog plums, Spondias, if available in Bangalore; the dfferent types of Flacourtia and bilimbi. You would find Fruits of the Warm Climates by Julia F. Morton a fascinating read. Many of the tropical fruit are sparingly available in Kerala and the deep south and are worth asking for by name. YThere is often a small silent trade trade going on that becomes apparent only on demand, much like that in wild game. But this is far more benign, because it is small in quantity and esoteric in nature. Take breadfruit for example. How many in Bangalore buy it? Many more than one might suppose at first. So while it is not all that common, neither is it unavailable. B readfruit is not a succulent fruit, but something like Artocarpus lakoocha is. This is a minor fruit with a narrow trade channel, but well worth seeking out for its wonderful sweet sour flavor/aroma. It is a relative of both the jackfruit and breadfruit and known as chempedak in malaysia. I am sure the West coastal plain and kerala must be suppling bangalore with a quantity. Use this in a drink or crush and logon ko tajjub banaa dijiye.

Edited by Gautam, 13 April 2008 - 03:29 PM.

[usha]

To me, nothing is more refreshing in the baking hot weather than a chilled watermelon juice drink with diced watermelon in it and flavoured with a dash of rose syrup. Ohhh! the way the fruit juice seller in the street clinks the ice in the rich red drink, and the condensation on the glass reveals the coldness of the watermelon juice, it is all one can do to keep from grabbing.

And falooda, the must-have on a visit to Crawford Market, is also a dream come true in the sweltering summers of Bombay. The glass of colourful layers of deep red at the base, then the soaked jellied basil seeds, the delicate noodles, and then the white milk, crushed ice, topped off with a scoop of luscious icecream, beckons all shoppers for a mile around Crawford Market. And Badshah, home of the falooda, also sells fruit squashes and rose syrups, white and red, cool and fragrant.

We used also to get it at Jai Hind at Nana's Chowk, home of sweet dahi, icecreams, layered coloured jellies, and sundaes.

On Jamshedji Navroze falooda is served to all guests with big welcoming smiles by the Parsis, with the Haft Seen of nuts and dry fruits, mirror, sweets, fruit, flowers, wheat sprouts- like the seven-seed sprouts grown at Durga Navratri -etc. on the beautifuly laid table.

Once on a visit to Thailand, I encountered jellied basil seeds served with fragrant lavender-coloured icecream in the shape of a heart, decorated with a purple orchid. But it bore no comparison to falooda!

Edited by usha, 14 April 2008 - 11:22 AM.

[Sekhar]

Once on a visit to Thailand, I encountered jellied basil seeds served with fragrant lavender-coloured icecream in the shape of a heart, decorated with a purple orchid. But it bore no comparison to falooda!

Ushaji, I've seen a bottled milk version of this in Asian store coolers in Atlanta, in 3 or 4 flavors.

A few of the Chinese restaurants on Buford Highway have(ATL's toned down version of China Town) Bubble Tea which I understand is tapioca pearls. Which we did taste and it found OK.

Flavors: http://www.bubbletea...avorguide.shtml

Our resident Thai expert (or should we say Thai resident expert ) Saucy ji could give us more info on the ice cream version you tasted.

[Suresh Hinduja]

I want one right now!

Badshah's Kesar Falooda

[bague25]

Suresh

What's the temperature in B'lore?

OK It's 6°C here but I'm going to make falooda (I have sandalwood sherbet so that should be ok - with vanilla essence!)

[Suresh Hinduja]

32 deg - 21 deg
I'm taking several showers a day and a few in the night to cool down. This is like Bombay!

[bague25]

Suresh

What's the temperature in B'lore?

OK It's 6°C here but I'm going to make falooda (I have sandalwood sherbet so that should be ok - with vanilla essence!)

Done!

Sandalwood sherbet falooda - I uploaded the wrong photo on picassa so you cannot see the full glass...

Attached Images

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[Gautam]

Re: Watermelons, they really are the best, but here is a question: will Indian audiences be beguiled by artful combinations of watermelons of various colors:

there are noticeable differences in flavor and texture, besides sweetness. Can you imagine the surprise of a cold soup poured in a ying-yang design with white and orange watermelons, or white and white strawberries, white watermelons, yellow strawberries, yellow Aunt Gertie's Gold tomato juice w/some pulp and something else white or pink, similarly Orange Heirloom tomato juice with ....., Green tomato [very spicy & sweet, several varieties, juice with abit of pulp] teamed up with ?????

Cream of Saskatchewan, as its name implies, and similar ones are creamy, and this particular variety is extremely

Orange

Yellows

Pinks

Deep reds of varying textures, as Ushaji mentions, some for the juice, some for the cubes: the various parts of the melon have themselves varying textures

Cambodians make a cold soup with watermelons, their juice, avocado [for Shekhar!] sliced red round radishes, sliced button mushrooms [raw], orange juice, lime juice [Sureshbhai, here's another chance to torment your hapless little plant!! You know the rules for blood donors shouldn't there be a rule for (involuntay) leaf donation too?]

S here, we are broaening the term "libation" in the same vein as bubble drinks and faloodas, exploring textures and mixtures.