Drinks | Healthy cooking with Mitha

We don’t buy carbonated drinks since many years now. During summer months, we prefer our age old drink Paanak or Jaggery Lemonade and other fruit juices. My husband loves mix matching fruits while making juices and I love his combinations.

This juice and the name too is my husband’s idea. Instead of making mango milkshake always, he suggested I add orange juice to mangoes. I was like what are you thinking?? He then compelled me to try it once and hence Mango Tangy was invented.

The citrusy flavour of oranges takes the sweetness of mangoes to another level altogether. I love how this juice needs no refined sugar at all.

Hope you all love it too. Happy and healthy cooking!

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

1 Cup Mango pieces

1/2 Cup freshly squeezed Orange juice

Step by step recipe:

1. Take Mango pieces in a jar or blender.

2. Add orange juice in the jar or blender.

3. Blend till smooth without adding water. I used my hand blender. You can use the regular mixer or juicer.

4. Chill and drink or drink as it is. We enjoy it freshly blended.

Notes:

* The ratio of mango to orange is as per taste. I usually do it 1 : 0.5 cups of mango : orange. It tastes delicious with the tangy flavours of Orange enhancing the sweetness of mango.

* This recipe is specially useful when the mango is not as sweet as you would like it and the easiest way to use it up would be to make this juice.

* I don’t add water at all while making this juice. Orange juice thins it down very well.

* I don’t add sugar too. Since the orange juice enhances the sweetness of mango, the juice is sweet enough for us.

Click on the image to save the recipe on Pinterest.

Paanak is a drink made at temples and homes on the occasion of Ram Navami celebrating the birth of Lord Rama. I remember how I used to wait for this drink when they distributed at our local temple at Katapadi and the flavour is still afresh in my memories. That flavour is difficult to recreate at home just like all temple foods as they are filled with divinity.

At my house, I make Paanak for Ram Navami and along with that, it’s a regular during the summer months here in Qatar. We don’t drink carbonated drinks and this is a healthy replacement. When my husband comes back tired after work, Paanak makes him refreshed.

Hope you all try this drink too!

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

1 large block or 2 small blocks of Jaggery (about a cup of powdered jaggery)

1 large Lemon or to taste

1/2 inch Ginger, grated

1/4 tsp Pepper powder

1/4 tsp Cardamom powder (optional)

A few leaves of Tulsi / holy basil leaves

Step by step recipe:

1. Melt jaggery with little water in a vessel. (Just melt, don’t make it into a syrup.)

2. Strain to remove any impurities. Now let it cool down.

3. After cooling down, add lemon juice, grated ginger, pepper powder, cardamom powder. Also add little more water to dilute the juice as per your taste.