Hot Chocolate

Nothing says "comfort" quite like a delicious mug of hot chocolate! It's a delicious blend of sweetness & richness.
Ingredients (serves 2)
4 tbsp solid chocolate, chopped
2 cups milk (nonfat to cream, as rich as you prefer)
2 tbsp Cream (optional)
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
Pinch of cinnamon powder
1-2 tsp sugar (optional & according to taste)

Method
Using a sharp knife (serrated knives work well for this task), chop the chocolate into chunks. The finer the chop, the quicker the chocolate will melt.
In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the chocolate with 1 cup milk, stirring constantly, until the chocolate is fully melted.
Don't leave the stove unattended because milk & chocolate can burn easily.
Add cream (if using) to the chocolate & stir.
Add any additional flavorings to the ganache while stirring in the cream.
Add the remainder of the milk, whisking continuously.
If the mixture becomes too hot, or you feel that it might burn, remove pot from the heat and continue to stir, allowing the temperature to reduce.
Put the pot back on the heat once the mixture has cooled.
Do not allow the mixture to boil.
Served in small cups or large mugs.

Tips
* If you feel you might burn the chocolate on direct flame, use double boil method.
* Optional flavourings, such as vanilla, herbs, and spices (cinnamon and nutmeg give nice notes to the finished drink), liqueur, mint etc.
* If you start with chocolate at the sweetness you prefer, you do not need to add additional sugar.
* You can also start with unsweetened chocolate, & add sugar to taste.
* In place of solid chocolate, you can use 1/4 cup of cocoa powder + 1/4 cup sugar.

Bobby's Bael Ka Sherbet (Wood Apple Sherbet)

The bael fruit has a smooth, woody shell with a green, gray, or yellow peel. It takes about 11 months to ripen on the tree. The shell is so hard it must be cracked with a hammer. The fibrous yellow pulp is very aromatic. The fruit is eaten fresh or dried. If fresh, the juice is strained and sweetened to make a drink. This recipe is given by my friend Bobby, who is a proud owner of a bael tree that gives fruit every alternate year & she enjoys making Sherbet for family and friends

Ingredients
1 Bael Fruit
1/2 cup Sugar (more or less according to taste)
Water

Method
Break Bel & scrape the pulp out.
Soak in water.
Allow it to soak for 2 to 3 hours.
In a separate bowl, take 1 cup water & add sugar. Stir to mix well.
Once the pulp is soft with soaking, use your hands to further mash it.
Strain the mixture & discard the seeds & fibre.
Add sugar water to the strained pulp.
Now add cold water to dilute according to taste.
You can churn it in mixer with ice cubes to give a frothy look.
Garnish with fresh mint leaves & serve chilled.

Tips
* Water to soak should be just enough to & not too much.
* There is no preservative in this so either make it fresh or keep refrigerated (can be kept for maximum 2 days).
* You can use 1/2 Milk in place of water to dilute it & make a milkshake.

Green Grape Cooler

Summers are here (it's 36 degrees in Mumbai). Here's my tangy grape drink to beat it :)

Ingredients
1 cup green grapes deseeded
¼ tsp lemon juice
Pinch of black salt
Pinch of jeera powder
½ cup water
2 tbsp Mint leaves

2 tbsp crushed ice
Few mint leaves

Method
Puree green grapes & mint leaves in a blender, adding water.
Strain juice.
Add lemon juice, jeera powder & black salt. Mix well.
Pour crushed ice & torn mint leaves in glasses.
Top with juice & garnish with mint leaves.
Serve chilled :)

Gajar Ki Kanji (Spicy Carrot Drink)

It's a tangy & a very refreshing drink. As a little girl I used to wait for winters so mom could make it during carrot season. This traditional drink is usually made in spring season around Holi. Here in Mumbai I keep looking for Black/Purple carrots for this but mostly I don't get them. So I use our normal red carrots & sometimes I add a piece of beetroot to it for colour.

Ingredients
3 big carrots
2 tsp Rai seeds (not Mustard Seeds)
4 tsp salt.
2 tsp red chilli (less or more according to your taste)
8 glasses of water

Method
Wash and scrape the carrots lightly.
Cut the carrots in 1 inch long pieces.
Take the rai seeds & dry grind them.
Take a wide mouth jar or bottle & add carrots, salt, red chilli & rai seed powder.
Pour water & stir well.
If you are making it in winters or in cold places then keep this bottle in the sun for 5 days. But if you are in coastal areas or warmer places then this is ready in 2 days without sun.
Once a day just shake the bottle or stir with spoon. (Each night bring in the bottle & keep at room temperature. )
After its ready keep the bottle in the fridge.
Serve chilled with some mint leaves.

Tips
* It depends on the weather how long the kanji will take to get sour (2-4 days). Once the kanji has turned sour, keep it in the refrigerator. It can be kept in the refrigerator for 5-6 days.
* You can make this drink with black/purple carrots that will give it a beautiful colour. You can add a piece of beet root also to give same effect.
* To make Kanji Vada, instead of carrots, urad dal dumplings or Vada can be added to this drink one day before serving.
* Please don't be confused between Rai & Mustard (Sarso) Seeds. Both are DIFFERENT. Rai seeds are smaller in comparison to Mustard (Sarso) seeds. And you CANNOT replace rai with Sarso seeds in this recipe.

Amla/Avla/Gooseberry drink

A very healthy drink & should be taken first thing in the morning. Its a tangy drink & many ppl can't take it without diluting. Can be taken as it is (but not a glass full, juice is clicked in shot glasses) or in a more diluted form by adding about 4 tbsp in a glass of water. This can be kept frozen as ice cubes and just add one or two cubes in a glass of water & drink.

Ingredients
2 cups chopped Amla
1 1/2 tbsp chopped ginger
2 pinches black pepper powder
2 1/2 tbsp honey
2 cups water

Method
Blend amla & ginger in mixer, adding water as required.
Sieve & add honey & black pepper powder.
Have it fresh or make ice cubes & store in freezer in zip lock bags.

Tips
It's better to have this juice fresh.
It can be stored for long in freezer but I would recommend not storing it for more than a week.
Pure Amla juice (without anything added) can be stored longer.

Fruit Punch

Punch is the term for a wide assortment of drinks, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice. The drink was introduced from India to England in the early seventeenth century; from there its use spread to other countries. Punch is typically served at parties in large, wide bowls, known as punch bowl.

The word punch is a loanword from Hindi panch (meaning five) and the drink was originally made with five ingredients: alcohol, sugar, lemon, water, and tea or spices. The original drink was named paantsch.

Ingredients (makes 3 glasses)

2 cups of mixed fruits (apple, pear, grapes, plums, peaches, papaya, kiwi)

Juice of 2 oranges

Few ice cubes

Water as required

Some fruit slices to garnish

Method

Blend orange juice and fruits in a blender.

Add water only if required. Chill for some time.

Add ice cubes in glass. Pour punch & garnish with fruits.

Serve chilled :)

Tips

Colour of drink depends on fruits you are using.

To make it more interesting, you can add syrups like orange squash or khus syrup or any other, use your imagination :), but please remember to add just one syrup.