Gola

My summer break has begun, and I would now say that summer is here. This was surely the best time growing up: hot summer days, playing with friends,enjoying mangoes, and having chilled ice drinks and gola. Nimboo pani, kalakhatta, orange, rose, keri, khus, pineapple, mango...the colorful syrups on the gola cart attract not just kids, but everyone! Love the sight of color syrup bottles all lined up on the counter. The manual ice shaver and large blocks of ice wrapped in jute cloth. Do not think abut hygiene level...it just builds immunity. :)

As called in Mumbai, Gola is shaved ice or chuski...shaved ice that is packed tightly around a stick and dunked into flavored syrup. Chilled juice is sucked from the ice and dunked back into the glass to absorb the syrup. I can't explain it...you need to make it to enjoy it!

There is science behind packing shaved ice to form gola... principle of physics: (When pressure increases melting point of ice reduces). To explain it in easy language, when you press ice together it creates heat and melts the pieces to form water. as you release the pressure it turns back to ice resulting into fused shape of the container, and in the case a glass. As liquids take the shape of the container they are put it.

In Mumbai we surely get gola on the stick, but in certain parts of country where the water is hard, it is difficult to form gola shape and chammach gola or shaved ice in a glass is popular. Syrup is poured over shaved ice and a spoon is provided to enjoy syrupy shaved ice.

You can make syrups at home or buy them from Indian store. Below are few recipes:

Click Here for my recipe of making rose syrup. 

Click here for the recipe of making berry (kalakhatta) syrup.

To make orange syrup:

Heat 2 cups sugar and 1 cup water. 

Simmer for 10 minutes. 

Add 1/2 tsp. orange extract/essence.

Mix 1/4 tsp. orange food color.

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

To make pineapple syrup

Heat 2 cups sugar and 1 cup water. 

Simmer for 10 minutes. 

Add 1/2 tsp. pineapple extract/essence.

Mix 1/4 tsp. yellow food color.

1/4 cup freshly squeezed pineapple juice

• To make gola or shaved ice. Use shave ice maker. I have this Hawaiian shaved ice maker and i like it.
• Collect shaved ice in a cup or a glass. Slightly bend a stick from the corner and put into the shaved ice glass. Top with more shaved ice and pack it tightly. Packing the ice tightly and holding it for 5-10 seconds will keep it in shape and prevent it from breaking. 
• In a separate glass, squeeze some lemon juice and add a pinch of rock salt. pour some syrup in the glass and some on top of shaved ice and enjoy immediately.

Click on this link to check the Hawaiian Ice maker

Collect shaved ice in a cup or a glass. Slightly bend a stick from the corner and put into the shaved ice glass. Top with more shaved ice and pack it tightly. Packing the ice tightly and holding it for 5-10 seconds will keep it in shape and prevent it from breaking.

In a separate glass, squeeze some lemon juice and add a pinch of rock salt. pour some syrup in the glass and some on top of shaved ice and enjoy immediately.

My favorite is  Kalakhatta Gola
Use homemade Kalakhatta syrup or Vimto.
Sprinkle rock salt over Gola and then pour syrup in the glass as well as on gola.
Enjoy immediately.

Refreshing Summer Gola!!

Raw Mango & Saffron Moscow Mule

We grew up around copper and brass utensils.  Big copper pots were filled with water everyday and the water from those pots was used for drinking and cooking. Grains and flours were also stored in large copper jars. Everyone then new the benefit or copper. Eventually stainless steal took over. New buys were all stainless steal containers, boxes, plates, bowls. And then came Tupperware....  people started replacing old antique storage for Plastic Tupperware... Almost more than a decade of Tupperware now, people are realizing the importance of natural elements and metals. The new trend  is using all copper: Copper to cook food,  Copper as serve ware, Copper bottles to store water. Everyone knows the benefit of copper. Although there is lot of copper sold in India, colorful plastic boxes still attract people there. 

The West now knows the importance of using copper utensils to cook and to serve. Western markets are selling copper at 10 times more price than back home. All my favorite stores, World Market, Pier1 Imports, Anthropologie, and more have aisle full of copper serve ware, and the fun part is that they are all 'Made in India'.  :) Yes, Go India... and make more export quality products!

This recipe is specially created keeping these copper mule tumblers in mind. Though I bought these from India, Pier1 imports also carries them and they are on Amazon too. I used our family favorite Aam Panna which is made with raw mangoes, and spiced it up with our family secret ingredients like cardamom and saffron to make this mule. Although it is Virgin, you are most welcome to add some Vodka shot to it.

Ingredients (Serves 4)
1 firm raw mango
Pinch of saffron
Pinch of cardamom seeds
2 tbsp. sugar

Vodka (optional)
Ginger beer (4 bottles)

To make concentrate:

• Pressure cook raw mango till it is soft. Remove the skin and pit and cut into pieces.
• Add sugar saffron and cardamom seeds and grind it well.

To make mule:

• Chill copper tumblers in the freezer for some time.
• Mix around 2 tbsp. raw mango concentrate with vodka and ginger beer and stir well
• Add ice cubes.
• Serve chilled!

Pressure cook raw mango till it is soft. Remove the skin and pit and cut into pieces.

Add sugar saffron and cardamom seeds and grind it well.

Click on the picture to buy these copper tumblers.

Mix around 2 tbsp. raw mango concentrate with vodka and ginger beer and stir well.

Add ice cubes.

Serve chilled!

A Refreshing Drink!!

Watermelon & Rose Sharbat

It's summer...it's hot, and it's time for some cold and refreshing drink. Sharbat, a chilled drink made of fruit or flower syrups and very soothing and calming in summer. When watermelons are in season, I remember my mom buying a large one and it had lot of seeds of. (I had not seen seedless one then.) She used to cut into cubes, deseed it, and put into a large stainless steal container. The container was then filled with her homemade Rose Sharbat and then chilled. It would be our evening snack or dessert on a hot and humid night in Mumbai. Oh, how I miss being a child and miss those days!

Rose Sharbat with watermelon cubes is also a common Mumbai street food drink. Cool, refreshing, and energizing, this drink is perfect for summer to keep away from dehydration. Also a tiny bit of salt or chaat masala will keep electrolytes in balance.

Ingredients:
3 cups Watermelon cubes (remove as many seeds as possible)
2-3 tbsp. rose syrup (store bought or homemade)
Chilled water
Ice cubes

• In a blender, blend 1 cup watermelon cube. Strain it is it is pulpy.
• Add chilled water and rose syrup and give it a taste test. The amount of rose syrup depends on the type of syrup you use and your taste buds.
• Serve in a glass with watermelon cubes and ice.
• Add a spoon and straw to enjoy the chilled drink while eating watermelon pieces. Click on the link to check the spoon straw that I used.
• Enjoy this chilled beverage. 

In a blender, blend 1 cup watermelon cube. Strain it is it is pulpy.

Click on the picture to see the recipe to make rose syrup at home.

Add chilled water and rose syrup and give it a taste test. The amount of rose syrup  depends on the type of syrup you use and your taste buds.
Serve in a glass with watermelon cubes and ice.

Add a spoon and straw to enjoy the chilled drink while eating watermelon pieces.
Click on the link to check the spoon straw that I used.

Enjoy this Refreshing Drink!

Loquat & Mint Cooler

As some of you know we have a beautiful huge evergreen tree in our backyard. This fruit was very new to us when we moved in to this house two years back. It is called Loquat. Being from Mumbai, I had no idea about this fruit. I would say it is some what like amla or gooseberry when raw and the ripe one is like Kamrak or Star fruit. It is more on a sour side with slight sweetish tinge.

Looks like loquat is very popular in northern parts of India. While asking for suggestions from a Facebook community,  someone suggested I make a drink using sugar and chilled water. So here is my trial with very simple ingredients, and we loved it. I would love to call this loquat panna but in panna, the fruit is cooked, So I will try cooking loquat to make panna and will post in my next recipe.

Click on the picture below to check out my other loquat recipes.

Loquat Murabba

Punjabi style Loquat Pickle

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped and peeled loquats

2 tbsp. sugar (add more if you like it sweater)

3-4 mint leaves

1 tsp. rock salt

500 mL chilled water

• Wash, peel, and cut loquats.
• Add sugar and mint leaves and blend well.
• Add chilled water and rock salt to the loquat puree.
• Serve!

Wash, peel, and cut loquats.

Add sugar and mint leaves and blend well.

Add chilled water and rock salt to the loquat puree.

Perfect Spring & Summer Drink!!

Thandai Chuski Popsicle

Hot summer is always associated with chilled food. Icecream, gola or shaved ice, kalakhatta sharbat, Aam ras or mango juice, and who can forget chuski or what we use to call as pepsi cola. Try to recollect the childhood days where frozen colorful sharbat was available in long tube like plastic bags. My favorite was kalakhatta flavor: sweet, sour, and tangy! :)

Recollecting my childhood days I found cute popsicle bags: ZIPZICLE. Easy to use: just pour, zip, and freeze...and Popsicles are ready. So while it is the festival of holi...it is time to welcome spring and summer. This is the time when flowers will start to bloom and we will see color everywhere. Holi symbolizes prosperity... burn off sorrows in the Holi fire and bring colors in life. While Thandai is the drink of the season, I made Thandai flavored popsicles or chuskis to enjoy with my friends.

I also made some Eco-friendly holi colors with corn starch and food color. I had learned this two years back from one of the Facebook groups, and have made these every year. Here is the recipe to make holi colors at home. Just mix around 1/4 cup water with food color. Add around 3-4 tbsp of corn starch little at a time mixing well. When you have added enough corn starch and mixing becomes difficult, pour the solution on a plastic sheet or cling wrap. Let in dry completely for few hours. Crush into pieces, and grind in a mixer to form a smooth powder. Your holi color is ready to use...HAPPY HOLI!

I used my homemade Thandai Syrup to make Thandai. I poured in ZIPZICLE bags, and froze them. It was easy to make and mess free way to enjoy Thandai popsicle... perfect for the season!

Thandai Masala to gift friends.

 HAPPY HOLI