Neer more

Another summer drink recipe and my last one for this year- Neer more. Neer more roughly translates to 'watered buttermilk' in English but some may also call it spiced Buttermilk.I would say,without doubt, Neer more is the King of all Summer drinks.My earliest memories of Neer more are associated with the thanneer panthals that pop up in late April during our Mariamman Kovil ther festival. 

Neer more is very easy to prepare. Churn the curd to get buttermilk.Remove the floating butter for later use on a toast or you can just discard it. Finely cut chilies,mango,ginger,coriander and curry leaves (all are a must for a best experience) and add it to the buttermilk and add in salt as per your taste. You can chill it or drink as is- but I bet you can't stop with just one glass of Neer more. Going seconds is almost a ritual in our household. We do not make tempered Neer more but you can easily do it by adding a tadka of mustard and urad dhal.

Summer afternoons and a glass of homemade Neer more - Perfect combination

I personally like Neer more that is prepared from slightly sour curd.This gives a slightly tangy flavour to Neer more and in my  opinion -is the perfect flavour to go with all the accompaniments added in the buttermilk.

Guava Lime Cooler

This is another bindass cooler that I have recently discovered from a cookery site. I was hesitant at first to try it as I hate pulpy drinks and also until tasting our homegrown ones,hated guavas too. But recently we had (what we could euphoriacally call) a glut in guava production in the garden and we were looking for ideas to use the fruit in other ways than the only way we know-as a sliced fruit.Sliced fruit was alright when we got just one or two fruits from the tree a day but when it started producing more(touchwood) something special was called in for.

I put all my hesitations aside and tried the cooler recipe and OH MY GOD! - what a marvel it was. Guava,lime and that little of teaspoon honey added together,gives a heavenly taste to this cooler and it was not pulpy at all.

It is very easy to make too --
1.Cut the guava fruit into quarters and grind it coursely so that the flesh is ground but not the seeds.Sieve the ground mix with water separating the seeds aside(you can add in water as much as you want;I hate pulpy juices so I added water liberally).
2.Add a whole lemon's juice,a teaspoon of honey, a spoon of sugar(as per your taste) and little pinch of salt and mix thoroughly.
3.Serve.

This is an absolutely delicious drink and if you have not tasted it until now, please do make an effort and try it the next time you have the opportunity to lay your hands on some guava. You will be ever grateful that you tried, just like me :) .

Panagam

It has been a long time since I posted anything food related so I will right that wrong right away :).

It is already very sunny here and it shudders to think how it would be as the days go on. To brave the summer afternoon, our go to remedy is the good old lemon juice. Quick and easy to make and you can make plenty and keep it in a pot and sip often.

Last week being Ram Navami, I decided to make Panagam a lemon based drink-specialty to South Indian cuisine. There are plenty of Panagam recipes online,I looked at few in detail and almost all of them were identical.The ingredient list too is very short.You only need very few things to make this drink (Jaggery,lemon,dry ginger powder,cardamom,pepper and water)and there is only one recipe instruction - mix all of them in the given proportions.I omitted some things like the dry ginger powder that I did not have but still the Panagam tasted awesome.

Do you know I hated Panagam until a year ago? Yes,I ardently hated this drink and those days during our C type ther festival  I would never go near the Panagam stall and beeline only in the buttermilk stalls. I was not able to pinpoint what made me hate the drink but it was almost 20 years after that I tasted it again last year. I liked it instantly and still wonder what made me hate it so much.

Now I like our homemade version still more and sure to make it often. It is very healthy too - said to balance the heat in the body and cool it.Colorful and aromatic too - the jaggery gives a wine like hue to the drink and lemon and cardamom amps up the aroma. It is so easy to make and one that I am sure to make often to quench these hot hot summer days.

A fresh start