Sol Kadhi

It was in the 90's I remember, we went to Goa, with my Ajji (Grandmother). Her best friend ( Kolwalkar Maushi, as we called her) lived very close to Calangute beach, in an old, traditional home.

The lifestyle was so very different from the busy life of Bombay. 

The old sprawling hose with the red stone floor which was cool to the feet even on the hottest day, with many rooms and old fashioned locks, a massive kitchen with a big sized mortar and pestle set in the floor. Though they had a mixie/ blender, this mortar and pestle were used, to lend food and authentic flavor. 

The two things that I absolutely loved in that old house, the kitchen, everything so traditional, so quaint and the old but sturdy rocking chair that we all took turns sitting in. 

When our hostess and my ajji were cooking, I'd stroll around the garden which had many trees, full of sweet smelling flowers or fruit, I remember plucking chikoo / sapota, washing it under the tap near the garden and eating it, so sweet! 

There was a fresh supply of coconuts and one evening, we were treated to Sol Kadhi. Now this was something I had never tasted in my life. So as it grew dark I sauntered into the kitchen and watched K Maushi sit on the floor with a mound of freshly shredded coconut, she was making coconut milk. It seemed a lengthy process, grinding the coconut in the stone mortar pestle, looked like fun. She let all of us take turns, my mom too, using something like this was a novelty in Bombay (Mumbai) and as a working woman, my mom rarely did something like this. 

I did some grinding, then my hands were tired, I relaxed in the rocking chair until called to dinner.

This is the one meal I remember, we all drank copious bowls of Sol Kadhi. It was so cooling and refreshing! 

All the hard work of an hour or more and gone in minutes! 

Years later, I made this in my kitchen in Los Angeles, with shortcuts. It was easy.
This summer, I introduced the same to my 7 year old. He was not so blown away, but the husband and I finished every drop.

Here is a tutorial if you want to make coconut milk from scratch.
I use a can.

The other shortcut is using Kokum Agal. This is easily available in Maharashtra ( and probably other states) but is difficult to get hold of, in the USA.

Picture from Google search option.

Here is how I made Sol Kadhi

Soak about 5-6 Kokum in warm water, if you can, do this over night, otherwise and hour.

Squeeze the kokum and extract the juice, discard the solids.

Shake thoroughly and open a can of coconut milk. 

Mix the coconut milk and kokum extract. Add salt and sugar to taste.

Grind 1 ( or to taste) Green Chili and 1 small clove of Garlic. Add it to the kadhi.

Heat 1 -2 tsp of Ghee.

Add 1 tsp of Cumin seeds. As the cumin sizzles and browns slightly, add 1/4 tsp of Asafetida and a few Curry leaves. Some people like to add a halved dry Red Chili, if you want, add it in at this stage. 

Pour the sizzling tempering / tadka on the kadhi, Mix well, Garnish with finely chopped Cilantro.

Typically, Sol Kadhi is pink in color, mine was pale, I believe it is because of the kokum I used.
When I made this Kokum Kadhi, I used superior quality Kokum ( given to me by a fellow blogger). However, with packaged ones from the store, one cannot really tell, I suppose.
The taste was perfect, but if you are a stickler for details, good quality kokum is a must.

Enjoy this easy to make and very tasty kadhi on a hot summer day!

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Mango Lassi- making summer tolerable!

The only thing that makes a hot sticky, unbearable summer tolerable, in India ( or for that matter, here in Dallas, for me) is the Mango. A  mango crate, the ripe color of the sun, the setting sun, makes it feel cooler, already! 
If you are a mango devotee, like I am, you would want to eat THE fruit in every possible way. In it's raw stage, I like to make it into a spectacular chutney or a tasty mouth puckering sour-spicy pickle and last but not the very least Panha. 

In school, many of you reading this part will nod in agreement, we had this bhaiyya with his bushel full of  raw mango, berries , starfruit, tamarind and a plastic bag full of cayenne and salt. As per our order, he'd cut the starfruit or raw mango in wedges and sprinkle the cayenne-salt over it and hand it to us thru the school gates in to our eager hands! 

Mouths watering , we would enjoy these treats sitting on the steps of the school or perhaps under the tree. 

The ripe mango can be pureed and added into shrikhand to make Amrakhand which is ambrosia with a puffy poori! Or just cut wedges of the ripe Alphonso mango and eat them, just as, pure heaven!  

The one way my mother could shove milk down my throat was making Mango milkshake, bung mango pieces and a cup of cold milk in the blender, give it a whizz, pour into a tall grass and drink up. It was the only time I did not say No to drinking milk! 

Moving on to what I have for you today, is the famous Mango Lassi ! Nobody doesn't like love mango Lassi! 

Whoever thought of combining yogurt and mango was brilliant! 

There is no recipe folks, just a matter of absently putting things into the blender and blending, taste, adjust sweetness to your liking, give it a whizz if you make changes and then just pour yourself a tall glass of bliss, sit in your favorite chair or where you like and sip! 

For those who still need guidelines, here is what you do,

Pick a ripe and big mango. Alphonso, being the BEST variety, but here I make do with Atulfo variety. 

The best fruit is a big plump mango, with a deep rich, mango-ey color ( sorry, how else can I describe it!?!)

Give it a good sniff, the heady aroma of mango should waft, that's it! That's the fruit you want!

Alternatively, you can use canned mango pulp, use about 6 oz when making  this lassi.

Choose the yogurt. It MUST be Plain. 

You don't want sour yogurt.

Low fat, no fat yogurt is okay. But, Plain.

You need 1/2 cup of Yogurt

2-3 Ice cubes

2tsp sugar, optional, if the mango is really , really sweet, you won't need this ( adjust it to how sweet you want the lassi to be)

Peel and chop the mango, do not use the seed. Reserve some chopped mango pieces to garnish.

Place the mango, yogurt, ice cubes and sugar in the blender and blend until smooth.

This will make a thick, spoonable lassi, if you want., thin it out with some water. 

Do a taste test, if everything is just as you like it, pour into a tall glass, add the chopped mango pieces on top  and drink up! 

If you want some more sugar, add it, blend it and then pour it into a glass, enjoy! 

Optional: 

You can add a pinch of cardamom powder when blending.

You can add a few strands of Saffron to give the lassi another dimension (soak the strands in some warm water, for about 10 mins. and add when blending)

You can use Chopped almonds and pistachios to garnish the lassi.

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Summer Cooler: Kewra Sherbet : Screwpine Lemonade

On 3rd. April, the alarm on my phone went off, it was time to pick up Little S from school. As I started up the car, the first drops of rain hit the windshield, I smiled, I love rain! As I drove out into the street, the raindrops thudded loudly and within seconds there was a deluge. Free car wash, I giggled to myself. I reached school, the teachers were looking a bit tense as I picked up my Prince. I did not ask, I just waved  the customary 'bye and left. Little did I know what was in store for me! Within a minute or two  it clouded over, so much so that one might think it was 8 in the evening!  and how windy it was! We were at the railroad crossing and it was closed and there was a sea of cars in front of me, I was surprised, I've never seen a train at this odd hour...  and then, THWAP!  THUD! THUMP! I jumped out of my skin... got back just in time to see hail bouncing off my windshield.  

I parked on the side and sat out the terrible storm and drove back home, glad  that there was no damage! 

So, I thought to myself, 'this' is Spring in Dallas!  3 weeks down the line, I am relaxing in my air-conditioned living room, looking at the hot patio and wondering, do they call 'this' spring in Dallas? It's 95F outside.. heat : that does no good to man or beast. 

I hate the heat.

I try to do everything to beat it, air conditioning and a glass of chilled, refreshing 'Kewra/ Kewda Sherbet' are perfect for such horrid days. 

Source:The Indian Spice Kitchen

4 Cups Water

1 2/3 Cup Sugar

6 Tbsp Lemon juice

6 Tsp Kewra Essence

Heat Water and Sugar in a pan stirring until the sugar has dissolved

Remove from heat and cool slightly

Add lemon juice and kewra Essence

Cool completely and store in a glass bottle in the fridge

To serve, dilute the concentrate with some water and add crushed ice/ ice cubes

Enjoy!

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