Brazilian lemonade

Serves 4

Whole limes- 2, properly washed and cut into wedges with skin intact (remove the hard white pith which makes it bitter)

Cold water- 2 cups

Condensed milk- 1/2 a tin

Ice cubes- to serve

Into a blender add all the ingredients except ice cubes.

Blend for about 10 to 12 seconds, not more.

Strain into glasses, add a few ice cubes and serve cold.

Notes: Make sure you dont blend it for too long, or else the lemonade will end up tasting bitter.

Some of the lime wedges may not get fully blended and thats fine, just strain and use.

Adjust the condensed milk as per taste. It is a little on the sweeter side but thats how i like it.

Stays fine in the refrigerator for a day. The mix will separate, but just give it a good mix and it will be absolutely fine.

Pea, mint and feta dip & a Bloody Martini

 

I have been busy, very busy, but good busy. Those of you on my Facebook page would already know that Chaiparty has pretty much taken over our lives. Read all about it here. Its a lot of work, but absolutely rewarding at the same time. We are also doing themed lunches in the next coming months and cant wait to get started on the next big chaiparty in September. We also just got back from a holiday in Spain, which was eventful to say the least and I have also been busy attending a lot of fun food events around London, not to mention thoroughly enjoying summer, or what's left of it.

A couple of weeks back I was invited to the Putting on the Ritz event where we were treated to some gorgeous cocktails and dips, all paired with the new Ritz thins. Ritz teamed up with supper club expert Alice Levine and the very popular mixologist Richard Woods (of Duck & Waffle) to come up with a series of tips, recipes and ideas to Ritz-Up socialising this summer. It was held at a stunning penthouse apartment in East London with amazing views over the city. 

The 4 new flavours of oven-baked potato crisps from Ritz- Cream Cheese & Onion, Sea Salt & Vinegar, Sweet Red Chilli and Sea Salt & Black Pepper- are delicious. They were paired with equally delicious dips, with the pea, mint and feta and the smoked paprika topping my list. Of course, the glamour side was intact with 4 very unique cocktails that were paired with the crisps. The weather was great, the company was good and we all had a nice time 'Putting on the Ritz.'

I had to make the pea, mint and feta dip at home, especially after bragging about it to the husband. It turned out great and was wiped clean in a matter of hours while watching a movie. Of the cocktails that were served on the day, the Mates Martini, a (very) complicated version of the Bloody Mary was my favourite. Trust the cocktail expert Richard Woods to make things easy ;). Since i like complicated i decided to make it at home. It took me 2 days and a lot of patience to make the drink, but it was totally worth it. Yes, I do go out of my way for that perfect cocktail. I am however trying to figure out an easy way to do this mix, because you know, the urge to have a bloody Mary doesn't quite last for 2 days.

Pea, mint and feta dip (Recipe adapted from Alice Levine who prepared this dip at Ritz event)

Frozen peas- 250 gms, thawed

Feta- 50 gms, crumbled

Fresh mint- 3 tbsp, roughly chopped

Garlic- 1 clove, chopped

Green chilli- 1/2 of a small one, chopped (optional)

Extra virgin olive oil- 2tbsp

Lemon juice- 1 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Pepper- to taste

Blend together all the ingredients in a food processor and season to taste.

Add a splash of water if you would prefer it a bit loose.

Transfer to a serving bowl, drizzle some olive oil on top, garnish with some mint leaves and serve as a dip with the Ritz Sea Salt and Vinegar.

Bloody Martini (Makes a little more than 2 drinks. Recipe adapted from Richard Woods who prepared the drink at the Ritz event)

Vodka- 100ml

Basil- 15gms

Bloody Marry Consommé- 100ml (recipe below)

Ice cubes- 4

Bloody Marry Consommé

Ground black pepper- 2 gms

Sea salt- 1.5 gms

celery salt- 1 gm

Tabasco original- 5 dashes

Tabasco green- 8 dashes

Lemon juice- 1/2 tbsp

Worcestershire sauce- 8 dashes

Tomato juice- 300ml

Infuse the vodka with the basil leaves for about 24hrs. Make sure you don't infuse it longer or else it would turn bitter.

Strain and use as required.

The consommé also needs to be made a day before.

Into a freezer safe container with lid, pour in the tomato juice and all the other ingredients and stir well.

Leave to infuse for about an hour and then put on the lid and place in the freezer.

The following morning, remove the frozen tomato mix from freezer and do a drip thaw, which essentially means you create a filter through which the block thaws naturally.

I used a muslin cloth and my sieve to do this.

This takes an entire day so patience is much advised.

You can make this in bulk, and it will keep for 7 days in the fridge.

To make the Martini, chill the martini glasses prior to serving.

Stir together the vodka and consommé along with the ice cubes until well chilled.

Strain into chilled glass, garnish with a floating basil leaf and serve.

With thanks to Ritz UK for inviting me to the event and for all the delicious crisps.

Vanilla and matcha green tea latte

 

Well I guess i jinxed my wow of silence too soon. I decided to be proactive and plan and schedule a post for when I'm MIA. I thought I was going to be super busy with packing and such but I kind of am done with 90 percent of it. Ro has been fab and did a lot of it and now I'm just left with my humongous prop shelf which I have to start on. One good thing that has come out of this move is the fact that I've done one big massive spring cleaning. Gave a lot of clothes, bags and shoes to charity, cleaned out the fridge--waaay too many chutnies and sauces that i don't like/ use- threw out all those expired packs of gulab kamun and jelebi mixes and it feels great. 

So i decided to put my time to good use and taste test the teapigs kit that was sent to me a couple of days back. Teapigs is a brand I'm quite familiar with. They have a fab variety of tea's which catch my attention every time i go to a nice cafe. I am quite a big fan of their fruit teas and if i do find any at a cafe then that's what i go for. Teapigs have been around for the past 8 years and they indeed produce a range of very best quality teas. Their everyday brew which i taste tested is rather string and is a good option if you want to add some milk in, but still maintain the strength. Teapigs also gives you more bang for your buck by incorporating more tea into their tea temples than most other teas (precisely 14% more than PG tips) so you get more out of you cuppa. Now who'd not want that??

Coming to matcha..I'm a matcha virgin and so was kind of looking forward to what the matcha hype was all about. I had a vague idea how it would taste and must say I wasn't wrong. I'm still making up my mind about whether I like it or not. It took me about a year to like green tea, so I'm pretty sure I'll be a convert soon. This latte on the other hand was bearable, in the sense, its got vanilla in it and that makes anything taste fab. I am more excited about the Aerolatte frother that came with the kit and i love love love it, Yup, all that froth you see is with that beautiful thing. Matcha is something I'd like to experiment with a bit more, especially in baking and see the results. I shouldn't judge it already.

Makes 2 small cups (recipe from here)

Matcha green tea powder- 1 tsp (I used teapigs matcha powder)

Hot water- 1/3 cup

Granulated sugar- 2 tsp (adjust to taste)

Vanilla extract- 1/4 tsp

Milk- 1/2 cup

Into two cups add 1/2 a tsp each green tea powder.

Top with 1 tbsp each hot water and mix well to dissolve the tea powder. Make sure there are no lumps, and mix it in well. You can use a frother to make this job easier.

Pour in the remaining hot water and stir to combine.

Add the sugar and vanilla extract, mix well till the sugar dissolves.

Warm up the milk to a simmering point or warm it up in the microwave for about 30 seconds, making sure you don't bring it to boiling point.

Using the frother, froth the milk. Don't over do it to the point where the milk gets too thick, or else you'll have trouble mixing it with the tea.

Slowly pour the froth over the tea and dust with some matcha powder.

Mix well before you drink.

Notes: Next time id reduce the green tea powder to 1/2 and use that between two cups. The tea is very strong and a lesser dosage would have tasted much nicer.

You can replace the vanilla with almond extract to give it a twist.

If you don't have a frother, use a French press, like i have explained in this post

With thanks to the PR agency for the teapigs kit.

Macarons for grown ups- Cosmopolitan and Mojito macarons

OK! I'm super duper excited about these macaron flavours and even more about the photographs, that turned out exactly the way i imagined. It was a crazy week of baking for us at Bobo Macarons. More than 1000 macarons baked, printed, filled and packed for a wedding and I was beyond exhausted. I did not want to do any baking for a really long time, or so I thought, until this fabulous idea for flavours developed in my head. I HAD to make it immediately. And so I did.

I decided to go with two of my favourite cocktails- Mojito and Cosmopolitan. I make these at home quite often and I'm soooo in love with the flavours, it HAD to work in a macaron. I must admit though, it wasn't easy. I wasn't sure how to make the flavours pop and if adding liquid to the filling was a good idea, but I had to give it a go to see if it was feasible...and well, here they are...spot on with the cocktail flavours. Next on the list is margarita and sangria and maybe even a pink champagne one ;)

I have a basic macaron recipe that I fall back on and it fetches me perfect results. I halved the batter and added hot pink to one set and kiwi green to the other. I got 12 macarons in each colour. For the mojito macarons, I grated some lime zest and sprinkled over the shells about 10 minutes after I piped them out. This totally made a difference.

Mojito Macarons

The mojito ones- lime, mint and rum being the main ingredients, were easy to put together. I mean I decided to do a white chocolate ganache filling and incorporate these flavours into it, keeping the base simple. I would however increase the alcohol a bit more the next time, as the lime was overpowering (in a good way, of course) with this batch. I'm so kicked about how the styling for this came through and its one of my favourite shoots till date.

Double cream- 45ml + 1/4 to 1/3rd cup to whip

White chocolate- 2 oz, roughly chopped

White rum- 1 tbsp

Lime juice- 3 tbsp

Lime zest- of one lime

Mint leaves- 2 to 3, finely chopped

Gently heat the double cream, either in a sauce pan, or in the microwave and pour over the chopped up white chocolate. Keep aside for a couple of minutes.

Gently stir, without incorporating air into it, till you get a smooth mix. Keep aside to cool.

Add the rum, lime juice, lime zest and chopped up mint leaves and mix it in well.

Keep refrigerated till ready to use.

When ready to pipe, whip the ganache with 1/4 to 1/3rd cup of double cream with a hand held blender or in a free standing mixes with whisk attachment, till stiff peaks form. Make sure you don't over do this, or you'll end up with split cream.

Transfer into piping bags and pipe on to macarons and sandwich them.

Keep refrigerated in an air tight container till ready to use.

Cosmopolitan Macarons

These - taste wise- were spot on but I did have a bit of trouble getting the right consistency. I used a butter cream filling for the macs and the amount of liquid that went into it, made it a lot difficult. I know that vodka is an important component in a cosmo, but i shied away from it because of the Cointreau and cran juice that was already making it quite fluid. I had to keep adding icing sugar to reach the desired consistency, which meant, the filling was a bit too sweet for my liking. I will find a way to work around that, but for now here's the recipe. 

Unsalted butter- 55 gms, at room temperature

Icing sugar- 6 tbsp

Cointreau- 1 tbsp

Cranberry juice- 1 tbsp

Orange zest- 1/4 tsp (optional)

Beat together the butter and icing sugar till light and fluffy.

Add all the liquid ingredients plus zest and continue beating till they all come together.

If the mix looks like its curdled, add some more icing sugar to bring it back to desired consistency.

Beaten coffee (Indian Cappuccino- without a fancy machine)

I love my morning cup of coffee. Or rather used to. Now I just drink that pathetic coffee from a cafetiere, that too sometimes after about an hour or so after its made. I remember being fussy about my morning coffee and I also remember having to let go of that fuss just because making a decent South Indian style filter coffee was just too much work, first thing in the morning. This way, Ro makes us both coffee in the morning and I just gulp down that watery concoction without any complaint. Well I did complain about my lack of a decent coffee once in a while, and my request for one of those fancy Nespresso, cappuccino makers fell on deaf ears. Instead, me and my girl pals go and indulge in an expensive cup of coffee at one of those artisan coffee shops once in a while. No its doesn't solve anything, rather it just makes things worse because you'd know what a good coffee actually tastes like.

I get this coffee fetish from my mom i suppose. She makes the best coffee and I kind of miss that now, especially because I got to enjoy it almost every morning last month. She likes it super duper strong with loads of sugar, and what do you know..i like it exactly that way too. This coffee drink, very similar to a cappuccino in taste, was made quite regularly this time. If decoction coffee was not available (since it takes a while to make), this was the coffee of choice. I learnt how to make it, for those evenings you crave a good cup of coffee and of course, to remember home where everything was just perfect.

The trick is to froth up the mixture and the quantity of milk makes that happen. Keep adding a few drops to start with and slowly increase, if you feel its needed to get the mix going. It loosens up after a few stirs and so add only after you do so. There is no particular recipe for this coffee, its more like a do-as-per-your-taste kind of a thing, but just for keepsake, here's an outline of what goes into it. Really, try this out and you wont ever need a fancy machine at home.

PS: A special thanks to my good friend Rashida for sourcing that gorgeous chai carrier from a chai wallah. I know she went through quite a bit of trouble to get the authentic one and I am so glad I have friends like these who absolutely understand my prop obsession. 

A big hug to Manjiri who brought me tea glasses from Mumbai to complete the whole look. Thanks darl.

And lastly, a group hug to my mum, my aunts and my neighbours back home who I harassed non stop for those thin cut glasses (the one you see in the foreground) that are extinct in Kerala (apparently), and to the old uncle who let me raid his shelf to find 2 that fit my imagination perfectly well. :)

Makes 2 (strong) cups

Instant coffee powder/granules- 2 tbsp (reduce it if you don't like your coffee too strong)

Sugar- 4 to 5 tsp (adjust according to taste)

Milk- 1 1/2 cups (at least 4 % fat)

Water- 1/2 cup

Tip in the coffee powder, sugar and 1 tsp cold milk into a cup large enough to handle 2 cups of liquid. I used my measuring cup for this.

Using a spoon, vigorously mix it all up, like it stirring motions. The mix would be dark, almost blackish in colour when you start off and as you keep mixing, the colour would lighten and slowly start getting creamy and frothy.

Keep stirring (vigorously being the key word) till the mix turns to a light brown colour.. I wish i could explain this better, but you'll understand when you see it. It would be significantly different from what you started with.

Keep this mix aside.

Bring the milk and water to a boil a saucepan. 

Give the coffee mix one last proper stir and into it pour the boiled milk..slowly.

Mix gently, do a taste test for sugar , pour into individual mugs and enjoy.

Notes: As you can see from the picture, my coffee was really strong which invariably means I need more sugar. You know how much sugar and coffee you need so add accordingly. The only thing to remember is the milk. Add just a few drops, enough to get the mix moist. If there's a lot of liquid then it doesn't foam up too much.

A milk frother should be able to make the stirring a bit easier. Haven't tried it, so don't take my word for it.

You can do the same with cocoa, sugar and milk too

I've said at least 4% fat is a must. But if you are using low fat milk, then make that 2 cups and omit the water.

Sponsored review: Twinings Moroccan mint tea mojito

 

Both Ro and I enjoy a good cuppa tea every once in a while. Mostly weekends, we try making all these different types of tea and enjoy it with some biscuits and such. I particularly love experimenting with it..like making a macaron flavour with it, different flavours of iced tea's with it, the occasional masala chai and our favourite the mint tea.

I received a couple of boxes of Twinings tea to review and after enjoying some with our biscuits and cakes, I decided to try something new. I had never made a cocktail with tea, and my love for everything cocktail made me try this Moroccan inspired mojito. Its such a cool recipe..i mean it combines my favourite mint tea with rum and really, what's not to like about that?

 

I also absolutely love the whole Afternoon Tea idea. I find it incredibly romantic, to dress up and go to a fancy hotel for some tea. I have been wanting to throw a tea party at mine for a long time, but haven't had the time to do it. But I did whip up some macarons for an afternoon tea-ish session with friends beginning of summer. I served them with Twinings Earl Grey (my favourite), English Breakfast and Assam tea- all great tea's. The English breakfast makes a mean mint tea as well. But be careful to not let it steep too much, or else your mint tea is gonna taste bitter. I have wasted waaay too much tea with that mistake.

Recipe adapted from here (Makes 2 to 3 glasses)

 

Twinings English Breakfast- 2 bags
Boiling water- 1 1/2 cups
Cardamom pods- 20, crushed
Sugar- 3 tbsp (adjust accordingly)
Mint leaves- 10 to 15
Lemon juice- 3 tbsp
White rum- 3 oz
Ice

 

Into a measuring cup put in the tea bags and bruised cardamom pods.
Pour enough boiling water to make 1 1/2 cups of liquid in total.
Seep for about 2 to 3 minutes, remove the tea bags, but not the cardamom and store in the refrigerator till ready to use.
Meanwhile, muddle the mint and sugar together in a cocktail shaker and keep aside.
When ready to serve, add the tea mix to the cocktail shaker, followed by lemon juice, rum and some ice cubes.
Shake away and then pour into individual glasses, top with a sprig of mint, a lime wedge and some ice and you are good to go.

 

Notes: The drink was not sweet at all, so the second batch i made, I used sugar syrup (1/4 cup) instead of sugar and added it to the tea mix when it was still warm. The mint leaves were muddled on its own.
Add more rum if you want it super boozy :)

With thanks to Twinings for the samples

Blackberry bramble

Finally summer is here (to stay I hope). Days are warm with highs of 20C and evenings are cool. Pleasant enough to sit out on the balcony and enjoy a beer. The pub near our house is almost always full and its impossible to get a seat outside. My flip-flops and skirts have come out of hibernation, but I'm not yet brave enough to venture out in shorts as the crazy winds are still around, reminding us that summer is not completely here.

I have been bugging Ro to take me on one of those countryside walks...through the gorgeous yellow rapeseed fields. I hope I have one more weekend with loads of sunshine and high temperature to venture out, before they are harvested. On one Sunday afternoon when all of London was out enjoying the sun, we went into Greenwich town to check out Jamie Oliver's new restaurant "Jamie's Italian' and I had a blackberry bramble which was just amazing. I HAD to recreate it at home and that's exactly what I did on a Friday when the temperatures hit a high of 26C. Its not the authentic bramble which has Creme De Mure, the blackberry liqueur, in it, but I made it work with whatever was at home. Apologies for hijacking the name for something not even remotely related to the original. I thought it would be fun to do individual servings in small milk bottles. No one questioned me, because they all know better than to argue with a crazy prop-obsessed food blogger :)

I'd been lusting behind these really cute school milk bottles from the dotcomgiftshop website and as luck would have it, they sent me a set to review. They have a lot of cool stuff on their website, especially for food bloggers who are prop obsessed. There are 6 bottles in a crate and they are oh-so-adorable. They are great to serve individual drinks in and can double up as a decorative item at home- like mini flower vases. The only problem is that the bottles are tiny, and can take only about 1/2 a cup of liquid each. May not be that great for adults- especially when you give them an awesome drink and they finish it off in a gulp- but they just look too pretty and I love them. I can see myself using them as prop ever so often.

Recipe adapted from here (serves 3)

Gin- 4 oz

Blackberries- 10 to 12 (plus enough to garnish)

Lime cordial- 3 oz

Simple syrup- 3 oz (recipe follows)

Ice cubes- a hand full + enough to top

Tonic water- 300 ml

Make simple syrup by boiling together equal parts of sugar and water. Stir till the sugar dissolves. Keep aside to cool and use as required. Of course I'm lazy, so I just mix water and sugar in a glass and chuck into the microwave for a couple of minutes. Take the glass out, stir to dissolve the sugar and chick it into the freezer for a couple of minutes.

Combine the gin, blackberries, lime cordial and simple syrup together in a cocktail shaker.

Add a hand full of ice cubes and shake away.

Strain into glasses, add more ice and top with tonic water.

For the glass bottles, I strained the drink into a measuring jug, topped with the tonic water, gave a gentle stir and then poured it out into the bottles.

With thanks to dotcomgiftshop for sending me the milk bottles to review.

Baked chicken taquitos and guava margarita

I love love love Mexican food. Sadly though London doesn't have that many Mexican restaurants and I think its worked to Ro's advantage because, given a choice, I would only pick a Mexican restaurant when we dine out. So when I'm left wanting Mexican food, I have these Mexican themed days at home where its all margaritas and quesadillas and stuff.

Last week I went into one of those "moods" and instead of doing the usual quesadillas (which I also did make) and tortilla wraps, I decided to try some new dishes. On the menu was the 7-layer dip which Id been eyeing ever since my cousin sent me a pic of her version but last minute movie plans were obviously more important than the dip and so I ditched that idea. Instead I made taquitos which, if you have the filling and everything ready a day before, is such a breeze to put together. They can be made days in advance and frozen and baked just before serving. 

 

The original taquitos are deep fried, but that was definitely not an option for me. So I had to look for a baked version and these didn't disappoint. They are quite versatile and can be filled with anything you want, maybe even something sweet. 

No Mexican meal is complete without some margaritas and that's exactly what I paired these with. You get these massive margarita bottles in Costco and its become my absolute favourite. I keep trying different flavours with that as the base and all of it have turned out great. This time i made guava margaritas and added some jalapeños to it for that extra kick. I also rimmed the glass with smoked maldon sea salt which strangely tasted great with the spicy margarita.

Baked chicken taquitos (recipe adapted from here, makes 12)

Chicken- 2 cups, cooked and shredded

Cream cheese- 3oz, softened

Salsa- 1/4 cup

Lime juice- 1 /2 tbsp

Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Onion granules- 1/2 tsp (can use powder as well)

Garlic- 3 cloves, finely chopped

Coriander leaves- 2 tbsp

Spring onions- 2, finely chopped

Mexican spicy cheddar cheese- 1 cup (replace with cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack cheese)

Flour tortillas- 12, small

Salt- to sprinkle

Oil- to brush

Pre heat the oven to 220C and line a large baking tray with baking paper.

In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients except the tortillas, salt and oil. 

Warm the tortillas for about 20 seconds, 3 at a time, in the microwave and keep ready.

Spoon in 2 table spoons of the filling on to one end of the tortilla and roll it up as tightly as possible. Don't over fill the tortillas or they will ooze out once in the oven.

Place on the baking tray, seam side down. and without touching each other.

Repeat till all the filling is used up.

Brush the tops of the rolled up taquitos with cooking oil and sprinkle salt on them.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or till the taquitos are crisp and golden brown.

Notes: I cooked chicken breast with salt and pepper in a saucepan and then shredded them using a fork

Original recipe called for parsley. I cant stand the herb so I used coriander leaves instead.

The cheese I used was spicy so my filling was a bit spicy (which we loved).

Guava margarita (makes 4)

Lime juice- 1/2 cup

Tequila- 1 cup

Triple sec- 3 tbsp

Simple syrup- 4 tbsp (boil equal parts of sugar and water in a saucepan till you get a syrup)

Guava juice- 1 cup (I used Rubecon brand)

Ice cubes- as required
Pickled jalapenos- 2 to 3 rounds

Lime wedge- for rimming the glass

Maldon sea salt- for glass (optional)

Get a plate with the sea salt ready.

Rub the lime wedge around the rim of the margarita glasses and dip them into the salt. Chuck them into the refrigerator while you get the drink ready.
In a cocktail shaker or blender combine the remaining ingredients.
Pour into the prepared glasses and serve cold.

 

Notes: Like I mentioned I have pre made margarita and to 1 cup of this mix I add about 3/4 cups of guava juice, stir well and add to the glass with a couple of ice cubes. 
I don't like the crushed ice cubes, so I just add cubes directly to the glass and pour the marg over it.
Replace the guava juice with any fruit juice of choice.
Adjust sugar as per choice. I like mine a tad sweeter.
Its a bit spicy because of the jalapeños, avoid if not a fan

Blueberry-lavender gin and tonic

For the past couple of months a whole bunch of us (Nupur, Suchi, Preeti and I) have been busy planning Bloggers' Buzz- a food blogger meet, and its been pretty overwhelming thinking that the big day is in 2 days time. We have managed to rope in 25 bloggers and food enthusiasts and a good number of generous sponsors for the event. We will just have to wait with fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong on the day and the event is deemed a success.

There is a competition up and running for the event and its being judged by Jeanne of Cooksister, who is a well established blogger and photographer. In between all the BB work and some deadlines on the work front I couldn't whip up anything spectacular or innovative for the event, but the thought of winning a Hotel Chocolat gift hamper made me post something anyway.

I am not a big blueberry fan except if its in a muffin. So I was pleasantly surprised when the combination of lavender and blueberry in this drink made it to my top 5 (yes i have a top 5 in my mind). Lavender is quite over powering in this drink, but its such a nice and fragrant herb that I love using it in cakes, cookies and drinks. Here are two ways you can use up lavender l

Makes 6 servings

Water- 1/4 cup

Sugar- 1/4 cup

Dried lavender- 1/2 tsp

Blueberries- 2 cups

Gin- 1/2 cup

Tonic- 200ml (2 small cans)

Ice cubes- as required

 

Make a sugar syrup by boiling together the water sugar and dried lavender..

Boil, stirring occasionally, till the sugar is completely melted.

Close with a lid and let it steep for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Once the times up transfer the syrup into a glass and cool in the refrigerator till ready to use.

Meanwhile, wash the blueberries and tip into a saucepan with 2 tbsp of the sugar syrup and 2 tbsp of water.

Cook on medium heat till the blueberries break down and gets slightly cooked. It doesn't need to be that pulpy, just break them all down with a wooden spoon.

Cool and strain into a large bowl, diluting it with water if you find the juice is not falling through.

Add the gin and give a good stir. 

Do a taste test and if you need more sugar add the remaining sugar syrup.

Add ice cubes to the glasses and pour in the drink about half full..top with the tonic and enjoy :)

Notes: Add lemonade instead of tonic water for a change

Ignore the gin for an alcohol free version.

Muddle some mint leaves with the blueberries and I'm sure it would be great.

Sponsored video: Rekorderlig Cider, Where's your Swedish Side?

I was introduced to this amazing drink called cider about 4 years back when we had just relocated to UK and was invited to a friends place for a BBQ. I am not so much of a beer person and so I was a bit apprehensive on trying out cider. But once I did, I knew I had found a favourite drink. So that whole year, we were on a major cider trip, buying cans by the truck loads, trying different brands and even making a visit to a cider farm to see how it was pressed...yes that's how obsessed I was, or rather we were that year.

Then we forgot all about it, discovered other drinks and life went on, Till about a couple of months back when we were at a pub and my cider instincts picked up. I asked for cider and the guy behind the bar read out the various brands available and I picked up the name Rekorderlig since I had not heard of it before. I said I'll have that and then he blurts out the various flavours available.

Now before going further, I must say I am a sucker for anything with flavour options available. The fact that there are options is a total winner for me. So there I was put forth with flavours like wild berries, mango and raspberry (which is my current fav!), strawberry and lime, orange and ginger, apple and blackcurrant and of course the basic flavours- apple and pear. Without showing that I was intimidated by the flavours available, I chose the strawberry and lime and was a happy girl.

Came back home and did my research and here's what I found. Rekorderlig is a Swedish cider from Vimmerby and it translates to being 'dependable' or 'reliable'. Made from pear and apple wine of excellent quality and the purest of spring water, the brand has become a much loved cider of many. Check out the video below, take a sip of this fruity cider and I'm sure you will find your Swedish side. I sure have found mine (over and over again!).

If you want to know more about Rekorderlig cider you can check out their website, and to get updates and such follow them on Facebook, Twitter or even subscribe to their Youtube channel here.

Article sponsored by Rekorderlig

Summer drinks

The weather has been incredibly good the past couple of days and we have resorted to keeping a bottle of chilled water in the refrigerator and taking glugs from it when needed. Ro's hay fever has flared up and he's irritated with it most of the time, but still refuses to stay indoors, and takes the cycle out for a spin to the nearby parks and such whenever possible. As much as I'm enjoying the heat and sunshine, it sometimes gets to me, especially at night when it gets too stuffy and warm, in spite of leaving the windows open. I should probably take off the duvet and use a normal sheet, but we are always jinxed when we do that, because the very next day after we vacuum seal the duvet and stash it away, it becomes cold and unbearable at night, leaving us sleepless and cranky. Same with taking the floor fan out. The day after we assemble it, it would be raining and cold and windy and we'd never have an opportunity to use it. 

Anyway's, coming to today's post, I have been making these gorgeous cold summer drinks whenever the weather is amazing (read HOT) and have been waiting for the right moment to post them. They are not really precise recipes, but more 'add as you like' versions, and so can be adapted in whichever way you prefer. Today I guess temperatures are soaring at 27C and its perhaps the best day to post the recipes for these summery drinks. I am sooo gonna go ahead and make some Pimms later in the day.

Mango Mood (serves 2 to 3) 

 

The moment I saw Finla's mango cocktail recipe, I knew I had to try it. To be honest, Ro and I dont crave for mangoes during the season. I mean we will pick some up if we feel like it, but dont crave it tremendously. I like mango flavoured drinks more than the actual fruit and that's why I had to give this cocktail a go. Its perfect to serve while entertaining guests and of course, you can never go wrong with anything vodka based :)

Mango juice- 250ml

Orange juice- 100 ml

Vodka- 100 ml

Lime juice- 20 ml

Ice cubes- as required.

Caster sugar- to rim the glasses (optional)

Take some caster sugar in a plate, rub a lemon lightly on the rims of 2 cocktail glasses to moisten i,t and then turn it upside down and dip the rims in caster sugar. 

Shake off excess sugar and chuck them in the fridge.

Pour all the other ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake away to glory.

Take the glasses out of the refrigerator and strain the drink into them.

Serve immediately.

Lime mint cooler (serves 4)

 

This brings back fond memories of college days. We used to hang out at this pretty popular juice joint called 'Fruit Shop on Greams Road,' but since we were all living off meagre pocket money, we could only afford the cheapest drink on their menu- the lime mint cooler which was Rs. 10 at that time (I'm sure its gone up like crazy now) and we would sit with that drink for as long as possible. Ah good ol days.

Its not a drink everyone would like as its got a very distinct mint flavour. Ro hates it, but that doesnt stop me from making a couple of glasses for myself. Add some grated ginger for some added punch, or replace sugar with honey for a lighter version.

Lime juice- 1/4 cup

Lemon juice- 1/4 cup

Mint leaves- 1/4 cup

Sugar- 4 to 5 tbsp (depending on taste)

Water- 4 to 4.5 cups

Ice cubes- as required

Lemon zest and mint leaves- to garnish

Blend together all the ingredients, except the garnish items, in a blender till all the sugar is melted and the mint leaves have broken down.

Strain the mix into a large jug, do a taste test. Add more sugar if needed, more water if its too tart and ice cubes if its not cold enough.

Pour into individual glasses and garnish with some zest and mint leaves.

Pimms- the quintessential British fav. (makes one large pitcher)

No summer in England is complete without a pitcher of Pimms and I for one love it. If you have a bottle of Pimms, making variations with different mixers is absolutely easy, and hardly would you have anyone say no to it. This is the basic version and recipe is adapted from here.

Pimms No. 1- 1 cup

Lemonade- 3 cups, chilled

Mint- a few springs

Cucumber- 1/4 cup

Orange- 1, quartered

Strawberries- 1/2 cup, hulled and halved

Ice cubes- as required (optional)

Into a large pitcher pour in the Pimms. 

Top with lemonade. Add ice cubes if required.

Garnish with cucumber, orange and mint and serve chilled.

while pouring it out, you may want to use a spoon to scoop out some of the fruits and add to individual glasses. 

Its best drunk with a straw and eating the alcohol soaked fruits might be a bit tricky, but after a couple of drinks, who cares if you use your hands :)

Sambharam (Spiced buttermilk- serves 2)

 

This drink definitely needs no introduction. It's a staple at every South Indian household, especially during the hot and humid summers. I am ashamed to say this, but I have made sambharam only once since coming to London and I had to click pics and record it for posterity. I remember glugging down packets full of this yummy stuff during my under grad days, from this small shack just outside college. God know what all they used to add in it, but it was the most yummiest, spiciest buttermilk I've ever had. Recipe adapted from here, styling from here

Buttermilk- 300 ml, chilled

Water- 100 ml (if required)

Ginger- 1 inch piece, peeled

Green chillies- 2

Shallots- 2 small (optional)

Cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida- a pinch

Curry leaves- a sprig

Salt- to taste

If the buttermilk is too thick, dilute it with the water. The ones we get here are pretty thick and so i keep adding water bit by bit till i get the slightly loose consistency.

Add enough salt, mix well and keep aside.

Grind/ crush coarsely the ginger, green chillies, shallots, cumin seeds and asafoetida either using a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder.

Crush the curry leaves with your hand and all it to the buttermilk, along with all the crushed mix.

Give a good stir and serve cold.

If you dont like to bite into the spices, then let the buttermilk chill in the refrigerator for a while so the flavours get infused, and then strain before serving.

Bloody Mary (makes 1, double it if required)

 

My recent fav is the Bloody Mary. If made right, it's perhaps one of the yummiest cocktails ever, but if ruined, it could taste like tomato soup with a kick. I used to make this cocktail a lot back in India because vodka and tomato juice is readily available and there is very little or no effort whipping this up for unexpected guests. You can also make a virgin version without the booze. Recipe adapted from here

Vodka- 50 ml

Tomato juice- 125 ml

Celery salt- 1/4 tsp + enough to rim the glass

Black pepper- a dash

Tabasco sauce- a generous dash (less if you dont prefer it spicy)

Worcestershire sauce- a dash

Ice cubes- as required

Take some celery salt in a saucer. Rub a lemon lightly on to the rim of a tall glass to moisten it ,and then turn it upside down and dip the rims into the celery salt. Shake off excess salt, as you dont want it to be too salty. You can use a salt and pepper mix for the rims, if you dont have celery salt. 

Fill the glass with ice.

Pour in the vodka and top it up with tomato juice. You can dilute it with some water if you think the tomato juice is too thick.

Season with the celery salt and black pepper.

Add the Tabasco and Worcestershire sauces, stir it all in and serve.

If you can get hold of celery sticks, use that as a decoration (and a stirrer).

PS: My sister-in-law (brother's wife) is getting into London on Monday and she's with us for about 3 weeks. I am sooo looking forward to some girly time with both my sisters-in-law (Ro's sister is also in London) and so blog posts may not be that regular. 

Passion fruit- two ways

K I admit it, I have a slight obsession for passion fruit going on :)

It all started when I discovered a brand of exotic fruit juices and there was no looking back. Passion fruit and mango are my current favs and once I was done with the mango obsession, I jumped to passion fruit. I'm sure the next is lychee, but till then I'm gonna over do the passion fruit juice a bit. Bear with me

I have been experimenting with a few cocktails and loving the outcome. Made passion fruit mojitos for the ladies when we had some family over last weekend, and it was a hit (If I may say so myself). And then this Indian Mojito which I came up with, after Ro taught me the only way to eat the fruit- slice it in half and onto it add some sliced green chillies, sprinkle loads of salt and using a spoon mix it all in and eat to your hearts content. Believe it or not, while I'm typing this, I'm drooling.

Apparently that's how he used to have it when he was younger..and one whole afternoon we spent eating passion fruits with salt and chillies. The combination is just so awesome, I wondered how it would be as a cocktail. Whipped it up one evening and I wasn't wrong. Its sooo good, I'm thinking I should patent it ;)

Indian Passion (Mojito with an Indian touch)- makes 1

Vodka- 50 ml

Lime wedges- 3

Mint- a few sprigs

Sugar- 3 tsp

Jal jeera mix- 1 tsp

Crushed ice

Passion fruit juice

Soda water

Green chilli- 1, half slit

Passion fruit- one half (optional)

Salt- for the glass rim (optional)

Take some salt in a saucer. Rub a lemon wedge lightly around the rim of a glass to moisten it and then turn it upside down and dip the rim in the salt. Slightly shake it, so all the excess falls off. You don't want it to be too salty.

Then into the glass add vodka, lime wedges, sugar and jal jeera mix along with about 4 or 5 sprigs of mint.

Muddle well to give out the lemon and mint flavours and then top with loads of crushed ice.

Pour enough passion fruit juice to fill about 3/4th of the glass and then top the remaining with soda water.

Using the slit chilli, slightly stir the contents and leave it in or take it out if you don't want it too spicy.

Spoon out the passion fruit pulp and seeds and add it to the drink, sprinkle some more jal jeera mix on top, garnish with mint and drink away.

Notes: Rimming the glass is purely optional. I have tried it both ways and it's really a personal choice.

Crushed ice is available to buy, but you can also make your own by putting some ice cubes in a freezer bag, wrapping it in a towel and then whacking the hell out of it using a mallet or rolling pin. Store it in the bag itself.

I ran out of crushed ice when I made the drink, so used ice cubes, which was absolutely perfect as well

The jal jeera mix also can be avoided if you are not that big a fan. In that case, rimming the glass is a must for that salt kick.

Go ahead and do a non alcoholic version without the vodka, and I'm sure it would be just as nice.

Passion fruit Iced tea

This was the outcome on one of those Saturdays the heat wave took over UK. Ro had somehow managed to sleep in spite of the dreadful heat and I was getting pretty agitated by that, and to keep myself sane, I whipped up this iced tea. It turned out pretty decent and although I may not really have to make them for the next 6 months, here I am adding it to the passion fruit madness.

Makes 3 to 4 tall glasses, recipe from here

Tea bags- 4

Boiling water- 1 litre

Caster sugar- 3 to 4 tbsp (adjust according to taste)

Lemon juice- 1/4 cup

Passion fruit juice- 3/4 cup

Lemon, 1 thinly sliced

Place the tea bags in a pitcher and pour in the boiling water.

Let it steep for about 3 minutes and then remove the tea bags.

Stir in the sugar till dissolved followed by lemon juice and passion fruit juice.

Refrigerate for at least half an hour.

When ready to serve, add the lime slices and pour into a glass filled with ice.

garnish with mint leaves and drink away.

Notes: Add some orange juice as well for more flavour.

I like it pretty sweet so I ended up adding more sugar. You can use honey as well.

Don't keep the tea bags in for long, it could turn out bitter