Summer season has always been my favorite part of the year until I moved to Dubai. I have always been an outdoor-sy person so staying inside during the day had never been my theory of relaxation while visiting parks, hanging out at the beaches or strolling on the roads is absurd in this desert climate. It is incredible how the lives change in a moment; and I really don’t have anything to complain about. Now since I spend most of the time at home with Little A as he is enjoying his vacation, we channel our energy towards making our favorite drinks, popsicles, light foods to beat this scorching heat apart from having intimate craft sessions if he isn’t playing with our neighbors of his age. It is rejuvenating, energizing, cooling and make us feel alive.
When I was growing up, my sister, cousins and I found numerous activities around the house to carry out during the summer break. Our favorite was the kitchen set to play with and pretend we had stay-overs, night outs and kitty parties. And during that we’d come up with many options saving our parents from feeding our starved tummies. We’d pick lemons from our aunt’s backyard and pluck ripe gooseberries from a tree that grew in our neighboring school, carry a few tomatoes, squeeze the pulp out of alphonsoes, crush ice to make lollies, buy a rupee worth of sugar concentrated drinks and kulfis in a stick for as low as 25 paise from a bike-vendor who religiously passed by our house at noon; and would usually come up with ideas to prepare a no-cook lunch to pass the time. My fond memories aren’t only related to food though it is the most important in shaping my perspective towards the food I eat today. Making and selling hand-made cards to our family members. Sketching in a group. Playing characters from our favorite Indian mythological serials and pretending to attack an opposing team with stone-bombs and celebrating the victory at the end of it with our freshly made juices. Cricket with older boys who’d never let the girls bat was something I did only as a child. I can already see this trend swifting away in today’s technology clad world where owning latest devices is much cooler than having soiled clothes.
Coming back to my current post, I have got for you some of my favorite recipes to cool off in summer. While I have been enjoying some as a child, few recipes I have discovered and experimented with along the way.
I have been wanting to share these recipes in each separate blog post since April, however I couldn’t take out the time to update them with busy Ramadan, Philips #30daysofhomemade, running errands and house-work. I thought it’d be best to compile them into one post as a round-up – a few summer favs from our kitchen.
{List of ingredients are mentioned on the photo itself}
♦ Chai Iced Tea :
To get the ball rolling, I’ll start off with Iced Tea infused with our darling chai spice – cinnamon, ginger, mint and lemon. I have always loved the art of brewing a pot of tea – not too much nor too little. You’d find me with a cup of warm tea in cooler months and as summer approach, I look forward to mixing and infusing thirst-quenching iced tea spiked with my usual chai spice, laced with mint and lots of crushed ice.
How to make:
- Bring water, cinnamon, mint, ginger, sugar and lemon slices to a boil. Add tea bags and brew for 4 mins.
- Strain and cool at room temperature.
- Transfer to the refrigerator for couple of hours until chilled and the flavors set in.
- In serving glasses, add crushed ice and lemon slices. Pour tea concoction over it and serve.
Tip : Add more tea bags for stronger flavor but don’t brew more than stipulated time. It may make the tea bitter.
♦ Rose and Pistachio Ice-Cream :
Who doesn’t love a good creamy ice-cream? I fall for home-made ones but the biggest problem I always faced was to nail an ice-cream with rich creamy texture. Then a quick glance at a video from Buzz Feed made me try with mangoes the same day and it came out perfect in the second attempt. Yes just a glance, considering there aren’t many steps to this recipe and once you make it a couple times, you can work on the measurement of ingredients yourself without having to check every time! Since then, I have been experimenting with different flavors and what became the most popular in my house is this rose one that is correctly sweet and lingers with a taste of Roohafza in every bite (substitute with any rose syrup of your choice) – perfect cool-me down without visiting a store!This recipe calls for a few ingredients probably found in anyone’s kitchen and makes it without a machine!! Such a win-win, isn’t it? Use rose petals if you are feeling exquisite! By the way, this one was a hit at one of my Iftar gatherings this year :)
How to make :
- With a help of a standing mixer or hand blender, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Gently mix in condensed milk while the machine is running.
- Add the rose syrup, rose petals, pistachios and rose essence. Fold in gently with a spatula until all incorporated. Do a taste test.
- Fill the mixture into an air tight container and pop into the freezer overnight or minimum 6-8 hours.
- Scoop, sprinkle petals and pistachios before serving!
Note : Swap the flavors of your choice and add pieces of fruits, as you like.
♦ Fruit and Vegetable Salad :
We have been eating light this summer and salads are our go-to choice over heavy meals. Here’s an easy-peasy salad that children can help you prepare and what is more fascinating about this recipe is that it will bring your kids to taste a variety of fruits and vegetables which they wouldn’t usually pop in their mouths so easily otherwise. I talk from an experience. Little A is wary of beetroot so I include his other favorites such as olives, mangoes, grapes and it forges to be his most enjoyable meal of the day including the beets which he now eats willingly. Make your own ranch dressing from the scratch because of the two main reasons – it is super easy to whip up and can store for upto a week in the fridge. And secondly, you know of the ingredients that goes into it as compared to the store-bought ones. Sit with your child and have a gala time giving this salad a try.
How to make :
- Roast the beetroot in a foil for approx 60 minutes or until cooked. Let it cool.
- Keep the other ingredients ready in a bowl or a plate.
- With help of your child, start threading alternating between fruits and vegetables on a skewer. Fold lettuce for better effect.
- Squirt the ranch dressing serve and enjoy!
- Love this home-made ranch dressing recipe from The Pioneer Woman . I just swap sour cream with greek yoghurt.
♦ Grapefruit Lemonade :
I am such an Indian, my love for lemonade started from the nimbu-paani stalls situated outside local stations in Bombay where I’d gulp down glasses of lime water, alone or not, shamelessly. I know it is gross when I come to think of it – the water they use and hygiene they follow is best put to rest here but it used to be my savior in those hot Audit days I traveled outside office under the scorching sun. Summer in Dubai has me tweaking with the simple nimbu-paani I had back then – sometimes with plain cold water or with club sodas as I’d fancy. A couple of years back, I experimented with a citrusy lemonade with a mix of grapefruit and lemons with a handful of mint leaves. Need I say, a concoction as worthy as this made regular rounds in the house since then?
How to make :
- Prepare a single consistency sugar syrup by placing equal amount of sugar and water over medium heat. Turn off and let cool
- When ready to serve, combine grapefruit and lemon juice. Add lemon rounds, sugar syrup, and mint. Give a stir.
- Fill the glasses 3/4th with crushed ice and pour the juice in the glasses.
♦ Guacamole :
Call me naive, yet I only had my first taste of guacamole in Dubai. Not only guacamole, but of the avocados! The fruit became a staple in my home as I started introducing solid food to Little A. The days he’d refuse to eat, I’d change avocado into a guacamole with other pantry dominants like onions, tomatoes, coriander and chillies and it would make my meal time much easier than spending an hour in the kitchen while also tending to a crawler. It is creamy, light, can be prepared in minutes and is a perfect party pleaser for guests before dinner to develop their appetite. Serve along as a dip for nachos, smear it onto the toast with runny egg on top, add it to the rolls or discover many possibilities with variety of its uses. However, I’d recommend that you make it fresh just before when you want to use since it is a two-step no time-consuming process at all.
How to make:
- Chop the avacados in a bowl and mix in with all the ingredients. (I like to mash it with fork a bit to make it creamier)
- Serve as you like.
♦ Raw Cacao and Peanut Butter Smoothie :
I don’t get to sit around and have a proper breakfast – there are tons of work that I am doing on a normal weekday morning so smoothies become my go-to savior on most days.I like to keep my smoothies simple rather than loading them with variety of ingredients since I like to go slow and taste everything I put in my glass. My pantry is always stocked with peanut butter (because of it’s versatile use) which gets slathered on a toast for Little A, turned into popsicles, rolled into energy bites etc and usually go into my chilled smoothies with fruits or chocolate. Nothing better than having a healthy start to the day, right?
How to make :
- Place all the ingredients in a blender, except choco-chips and blend until all combined.
- Serve garnished with choco chips.
♦Hummus with zaatar pita chips:
The first thing I order at any Lebanese restaurant is a bowl of Hummus with roasted pine seeds, for the reason that it lends a certain flavor which makes the regular hummus more enriching and appetizing. It definitely builds my zest for other dishes on the table and is yet a simple meal on its own. Hummus just out of the refrigerator served with warm zaatar pita chips makes for a great lunch/dinner option saving you the cooking time (a plus when you have kids at home) and is another good opportunity to beat the heat without consuming hot foods or heavy meals.
How to make:
- Pressure cook chickpeas till they are cooked. Rinse and tip into a food processor.
- Add tahini, garlic, salt and a few tablespoons of water. Process until smooth while also pouring in olive oil as it runs.
- When the mixture is smooth, scrape into a bowl and serve with extra drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika. Garnish with roasted pine seeds.
- For zaatar pita chips – cut pita bread into triangles and combine with a tablespoon of olive oil and a teaspoon zaatar. Preheat oven to 160 Degrees C and line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Roast for 10 minutes or until crisp.
♦Roohafza Watermelon cooler :
Trust husband to get creative and up the notch of our beverage game during Ramadan. Another recipe he shelled out is this Roohafza-Watermelon cooler he learned from a Bohri landlady he stayed with in his bachelor time. Water melon is usually eaten as is or turned into glasses of refreshing fresh juice at home, although sometimes we break the rule and whisk up a rose cooler which is just as energizing.
How to make:
- In a pitcher, add roohafza or rose syrup and enough water or soda. Check for taste – it shouldn’t be too sweet or bland. Chill in the refrigerator.
- When ready to serve, deseed water melon and chop them into small cubes. Place them in serving glasses and pour the rose-water mix over it. Enjoy!
♦ Gol Paani (Jaggery Water Drink) :
This particular drink I posted in Ramadan got the most views on the blog, clearly by the virtue of its authenticity. A quintessential Bohra recipe, it became quite popular amongst non-bohras as well.Gol Paani literally means a refreshing drink made of jaggery and water with sabja seeds (basil seeds) quivered in to provide cooling sensation to the stomach on hot sunny days. It makes it to the list of my favorite recipes for summer because it is preservative free and the ingredients provide instant energy while keeping the body hydrated. Click here for the recipe.
♦ Rose/Roohafza Lemonade :
Another lemonade that is hugely popular, especially in Ramadan is Roohafza lemonade. Since we always stock a bottle at home during the Holy month, I love playing around with different flavors and taste. Instead of conventionally stirring the dark pink syrup with water and ice, I love to squeeze a lemon and add some rose petals to make it look more appealing and classy. Sipped at leisurely pace, it can strike beautiful conversations and wouldn’t let you miss hot brews for that perfect pick-me-up. Click here for the recipe.
