The Week has brought to you a few ways in which you can make the most out of these juicy blessings bestowed upon us. These few simple recipes will help you enjoy them better and turn your summers into a much cooler one.
PINEAPPLES
Hot and bothered? Chill out with these juicy delights! A powerhouse of vitamins A, C, E and K and calcium, potassium, electrolytes and carotene, they are not just good to be popped in but can also make a wonderful ingredient for juice, cocktail and dessert.
Here are a few simple recipes that you can try yourself.
Pineapple Juice
Ingredients
• A large fresh pineapple
• Sugar
Procedure
• Cut the leaf off from the pineapple.
• Trim the skin from the sides.
• Dice the pineapple to approximately the size of sugar cubes and discard the core.
• Put the small pieces of pineapple into a blender.
• Add sugar to remove the slight sourness of the pineapple.
• Blend for about 1-3 minutes.
• Pour the blended pineapple juice in the glass and enjoy every sip.
Pineapple Rum Cocktail
Ingredients
• 60 ml rum
• 120 ml pineapple juice
• 120 ml ginger ale
• Ice
• Pineapple slice
Procedure
• Stir together the rum, pineapple juice, and ginger ale in a large glass.
• Garnish with ice and pineapple slice.
Pineapple Pops
Ingredients
• Fresh pineapple chunks
• Milk
• Sugar
Procedure
• Blend together the pineapple chunks, milk and sugar until the mixture becomes smooth.
• Pour the perfectly blended mixture into a bowl.
• Divide it evenly in paper cups and insert a stick each.
• Cover the cups with plastic wraps and freeze them until they are solid.
PAPAYAS
Soft, buttery and delicious, there is much more to papaya than that which simply meets the eye. It is one of the healthiest fruits on earth. Rich in vitamins A and C, papayas also contain a fair supplement of fiber, magnesium, potassium and copper.
Here are some recipes in case you want to have more fun with papayas, also christened as "fruit of the angels" by the famous explorer Christopher Columbus.
Papaya Juice
Ingredients
• Half a medium sized papaya
• Fresh pineapple juice
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons honey
• Cold water
• A pinch of black pepper powder
• A pinch of salt
• Crushed ice
Procedure
• Peels the papaya and deseed it.
• Dice it into small pieces.
• Blend the papaya, pineapple juice, cold water, lemon juice, honey, black pepper powder and salt until it turns into a fine puree.
• Add crushed ice and serve it chilled.
Papaya Daiquiri
Ingredients
• 60 ml rum
• 30 ml fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 35 gm diced papayas
• Ice cubes
Procedure
• Combine all the ingredients, except for the lime slice, in a blender, and process until smooth.
• Pour the blended mixture into a glass, garnish with the lime slice, and serve it chilled.
Papaya Halwa
Ingredients
• Chopped/grated papaya
• Sugar
• Milk
• A pinch of cardamom powder
• Some cashew nuts and raisins
• Ghee
Procedures
For topping
• Roast the cashews in ghee until it turns golden brown.
• Add in the raisins and sauté in the warm ghee.
• Turn off heat and keep aside.
For halwa
• Cook the papaya and sugar together until they get well blended.
• Pour in the milk and let it simmer until a thick mixture is formed.
• The halwa eventually becomes thick and sticky.
• Completely evaporate the milk and water content.
• Now, add a little ghee and mix it with the cardamom powder, roasted cashews and raisins.
• Add this mixture to the halwa.
• Turn off the heat and serve, hot or chilled.
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