Watermelon Slush

Ingredients:
4 cups - chopped watermelon, deseeded
1/4 tsp - vanilla essence
1 glass - water
14 to 15 - crushed ice cubes
1/2 tsp - salt

Method:
Blend watermelon, sugar, salt into pulp.
Chill the pulp till half set.
Just before serving - in a blender add pulp, essence and water.
Add 5-6 crushed ice-cubes.
Blend very lightly till slushy.
Fill 1/2 the glasses with the remaining crushed ice.
Pour the slushy mixture in the glasses.
Stir it.
Use wide straw for serving

Plum Squash

Ingredients:
1 litre - plum juice
¾ kg - sugar
750 ml - water
2 tbsp - lemon juice
1 tsp - plum essence
few drops - red colour
few - fresh mint leaves (to garnish)

Method:
Wash the plums and cook in a pressure cooker till 2 whistles.
Peel off the skin and deseed.
Extract the juice and measure it.
Keep the juice in the fridge.
Accordingly make a sugar syrup by mixing the sugar and water.
Boil in a heavybottomed steel vessel.
After a boil add 2 tbsp lemon juice and continue boiling till 2 more boils.
Remove from gas and cool completely.
Strain the syrup and add the plum juice, essence and colour.
Mix well.
Store in dry sterilised bottles and keep it in the fridge.

To Serve:

In a tall glass pour 3-4 tbsp plum squash and add sufficient water and crushed ice.
Garnish with finely chopped mint leaves and serve chilled.

Orange Sharbat

Ingredients:
1 litre - juice of oranges (app 3 dozen small oranges)
1 litre - water
11/2 - sugar
2 tsp - orange essence
juice of 4 lemons
juice of 2 lemons (to spoon off the dirt)

Method:
Remove the orange juice, strain and keep in an airtight container in the fridge.
Boil the water along with the sugar.
Boil till the sugar dissolves completely.
Add juice of 2 lemons and mix well. Give 2 to 3 boils.
Remove from gas and cool completely. Strain.
Add the kept aside orange juice, orange essence and juice of 4 lemons. Mix well.
Store in dry airtight sterilised bottles.

Lemony Salad

Ingredients:
2 cups chicken pieces
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tomato, chopped
2 capsicum, chopped
1/4 cup grated cheese
1 cup bread croutons
1/2 cup Caesar salad dressing
1/2 cup whip cream
2 cups shredded lettuce leaves
1 cup chopped spring onion

Method:

Marinate chicken pieces with lemon, pepper and salt

Refrigerate for 1 hour

Saute in a pan till cooked, cool

Mix dressing and whipped cream, till smooth

In a salad bowl, mix all the remaining ingredients

Add chicken pieces

Pour dressing

Toss it well

Serve

Pineapple Salad

Ingredients:
1 medium firm pineapple, grated coarsely
5 small spring onions with greens
5-6 tender french beans chopped 1" long pieces
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup raw peanuts coarsely pound or crushed
2 flakes garlic peeled, crushed
1 stalk lemon grass finely chopped
2 fresh red chillies, finely chopped
1 tomato, inner seeds removed, thinly slivered
1 tbsp. soya sauce
1 tsp. sugar
salt to taste

Method:

Parboil beans till slightly tender, but not overcooked.
Chop spring onion greens finely, and scallions to thin slivers
Mix all ingredients, tossing with a wooden spatula, to blend well.
Keep covered and refrigerated for 15-20 minutes, before serving.
Serve as a crisp fresh salad, garnish with chilli or onion flowers.

Green Grapes Salad

Ingredients:
200 gms - seedless green grapes
200 gms - sour cream
100 gms - chopped pecans
2 tbsp - brown sugar
1 packet - cream cheese
1/2 cup - white sugar
1 tsp - vanilla extract

Method:
Wash and dry grapes.
In a large bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla.
Add grapes and mix until evenly incorporated.
Sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans, mix again and refrigerate until serving.

Ambrosia Fruit Salad

Ingredients:
Orange - 2 large
Bananas - 2 large
Pineapple slices - 4-5
Mangoes* - 2
Tender coconut - 1
Walnuts - 4 tbsp
Honey - 2 tbsp
Fresh curds - 2 cups
Sweetened condensed milk - 1/2 cup

Method:
Grate the orange rind and the segments. Slice the bananas. Cut pineapple and mangoes into pieces. Chop tender coconut pulp.

Mix all the fruits and coconut together .Toss with honey. Keep in the refrigerator.

Drain the curds through a thin cloth till it is reduced to ½ cup. Mix it with condensed milk and orange rind. Place in the refrigerator.

Just before serving, mix the fruits with condensed milk mixture and sprinkle walnuts on top.

Apple Bananna Salad

Ingredients:
One Apple
Two Bananas
Two Red Chillies
25 gm Grated Coconut
2 tea spoons chopped Corriander leaves
Half a teaspoon Sugar and Salt to taste.

Method:
Wash and deskin the apple and grate it.

Chop the bananas into small pieces.

Take a 'Kadai' (or a frying pan) and add 2 teaspoons of cooking oil, few mustard seeds & Cumin seeds (Jeera) and wait untill they splutter. Add the two red chillies and fry till brown.

Cool the mixture in the frying pan. Add in grated apples, chopped bananas, coconut, corriander leaves, sugar and salt.

Watermelon Sorbet

Ingredients:
1-1/4 cup pure watermelon pulp
1 tsp lemon juice
1-1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar

Method:

Put sugar in a heavy vessel.

Add water, and heat, without stirring on medium low heat.

Once sugar dissolves, and water starts boiling, stir a little.

Simmer for 5 minutes. Keep aside to cool.

To prepare pulp, take 3-1/2 to 4 cups watermelon pieces.

Remove all seeds, run in a mixie till smooth.

Make sure there are no seeds in the pulp.

Do not add water while preparing pulp.

Add lemon juice, mix well.

Add cooled sugar syrup, mix with spoon.

Set mixture in lidded container in freezer, till softly set.

Remove from freezer, beat till smooth, but do not allow to melt.

Return to container, refreeze.

Beat again, and return to freezer, till well set.

Serve in scoops accompanied with segments of oranges, kiwi, a sprig of mint leaves,etc.

Molded Watermelon Salad

Ingredients:
2 cups - watermelon, cubed
½ cup - carrot, grated
¼ cup - green grapes (seed less), halved
¼ cup - back grapes (seed less), halved
2 tbsp - celery stalks, chopped
3 tsp - gelatin
3 tbsp - water
1 tsp - green chilies, minced and crushed
1 tsp - ginger, minced and crushed
2 tbsp - mint leaves, chopped
1 tsp - chaat masala or to taste
1 tsp - dry mango powder
lettuce, tomato and cucumber to garnish
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Blend watermelon pieces in mixer. (do not strain)
Soak gelatin in water for 10 minutes.
Stir it over a low flame till completely dissolved.
Add to the watermelon.
Add rest of the ingredients and place the mixture in a bowl, in a tray filled with ice cubes.
Stir the mixture till it thickens and begins to set.
Pour in a ring mold and keep in refrigerator to set.
Just before serving, turn it out on a serving plate and decorate with lettuce, tomato and cucumber slices

Panna (Raw Mango Juice)

Ingredients:
1 raw mango
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp saffron strands
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1 tiny bit nutmeg

Method:
Peel and chop mango into chunks.

In a pan, put mango, sugar and nutmeg.

Boil till the mango is soft. Cool.

Blend in mixie till smooth. Sieve.

Add cardamom, saffron and bring to boil, stirring continuously.

Take off heat. Cool.

As and when required add a tbsp or more to a glass of chilled water and mix with an egg-beater, to froth.

The pulp may be stored in the freezer for over a month.

Healthy Fruit Juice

Ingredients:
1 cup grapes
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 orange
1 tbsp honey
1/8 tsp grated ginger
1/2 cup chilled water
Salt as per taste


Method:
Clean the grapes
Peel and deseed the orange
Mix all the ingredients except honey
In a blender, blend together all ingredients
Strain with a not-too-fine strainer
Pout into glass, and mix honey
Stir it well
Serve chilled