Kashayam (A Herbal remedy for Cold & Flu)

As a kid I was so scared of kashayam. My mom used to make kashayam when any of the family members got sick, especially when one had a sore throat or cold. Last year when my husband was down with a severe cold, I made this for the first time. At first, he was apprehensive and didn't want to drink it, but when I insisted, he had the kashayam and to my relief, his symptoms of cold started disappearing. Today when I was wondering what to post, my dearest hubby reminded that since flu is in season, why not a post on kashayam...
With only 5 ingredients and hardly 10 minutes to prepare, one can easily tailor make kashayam as per their taste.

Ingredients:(Makes 2 cups)
Powdered Jaggery - 2 tbsp
Peppercorns - 10, roughly crushed
Grated Fresh Ginger - 1 tbsp
Water - 11/2 cups
Milk - 1/2 cup

Method of Preparation:
1. Heat the water in a vessel until it boils and add the powdered jaggery, crushed peppercorns and grated ginger.
2. Boil for around 5 minutes before adding the milk to it.
3. Boil for 3 minutes. Strain the kashayam using a strainer.
4. Serve the kashayam hot.

Making a Perfect Cup of Chai

Its raining outside and a perfect cup of chai or tea is what is comforting :). A hot, refreshing cup of tea is sure to generate warmth in your body and senses. Here is a simple way of preparing a perfect cup of chai.

Ingredients:(Makes 1 cup)
Water - 1/4 cup
Milk - 3/4 cup(I used 2% milk, you can increase the water amount in case of full fat milk)
Sugar - 11/2 tsp
Tea bags - 2(You can also use loose tea powder, use 2 tsp of the powder instead of the tea bags)
Cardamom - 1, slightly crushed(can also use the regular chai masala or any other flavoring ingredient)

Method of Preparation:
1. Heat the water on medium heat in a small vessel and add the tea bags and crushed cardamom.
2. Let the water start boiling. Once the water starts boiling, add the milk and wait till the tea starts boiling.
3. Once the tea starts boiling, lower the heat and let the tea simmer for 2 minutes.
4. Add the sugar and mix well. Take the tea off heat and strain it.
5. Serve the chai, while it is still hot.

Home Made Hot Cocoa

Hot Chocolate is a all time favorite not only for kids but for a lot of adults too. A hot cup of chocolate on a cold day is a perfect combo. Instead of shelling around 3 bucks for a small cup of hot chocolate, you can make your own home made hot cocoa, for a lot less cost and with the perfect amount of sugar you like. All you need is a natural unsweetened cocoa powder. I used the Hershey's brand of unsweetened cocoa powder, bought at Walmart.

Ingredients:
Cocoa Powder - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Salt - a pinch
Vanilla Extract - few drops(optional)
Hot Milk - 1 cup (You can even reduce the quantity of milk by adding hot water, I used 1/3 cup water and 2/3 cup milk)

Method of Preparation:
1. In a clean dry cup, add the dry ingredients - cocoa powder, sugar and salt. Mix well.
2. Heat the milk(add the water to the milk, if using any) in a microwave for 11/2 to 2 minutes or until hot.
3. Add a little hot milk to the cup and mix well, ensuring that no lumps are formed.
4. Add the rest of the milk and vanilla essence, mix well and enjoy your home made hot cocoa.

Lime Mint Cooler

This is one drink that is very close to my heart. Back in India, when I was working in Chennai, me and my teammate used to have this in a juice shop on the premises of our company. We used to work late hours till midnight, so had the flexibility of coming at around 9.30 A.M in the morning and by that time the breakfast section at the food court used to be closed. Then our only option was having a sandwich. We used to wash down the sandwich with a chilled lime mint cooler. For almost three months, we had this drink almost everyday. This is a very simple drink with the most refreshing taste.

Ingredients:
(Serves 1)
Mint/Pudina leaves - 5 or 6
Lime/Lemon - 1 whole
Sugar - 1 tbsp(adjust according to taste)

Water - 1 glass
Ice cubes - few

Method of Preparation:
1. Take a blender, add the mint leaves, squeeze the lemon/lime, add sugar and water.
2. Blend for a minute. If required, strain the juice.
3. Serve lime mint cooler in tall glasses with ice.

Very Berry Smoothie

With various fruits in season, I am experimenting a lot with smoothies. Today's very berry smoothie is a very simple recipe that is extremely delicious too. This one is worth giving a try!! Couldn't really do a good job with the pictures though, as I had to use a mobile phone camera.

Ingredients:
Blueberries - 1 cup
Raspberries - 1/2 cup
Yogurt - 3 tbsp
Sugar/honey - 1 tsp (adjust as per taste)

Method of Preparation:
Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend into a smooth puree. If using frozen fruits, you need not add ice, else add crushed ice and serve.

Peach Ice Tea

With the constant raise in temperatures, I was thinking of a cold refreshing drink without loads of calories. I decided to go with a refreshing ice tea. Since, peaches are in season and widely available, I tried a peach ice tea. The result was pretty amazing drink, which required very few ingredients.

Ingredients:
Fresh/frozen peaches - 2 medium sized.
Tea bags - 2
Water - 3 glasses
Honey/Sugar - 1 tbsp (optional)

Method of Preparation:
1. Add the tea bags to 3 glasses of lukewarm water and let it sit for 30 minutes.
2. If working with fresh peaches, remove the skin and roughly chop into quarters. If using frozen peaches, thaw them and use. Keep aside few slices of peaches and add the rest of chopped peaches to a blender and blend to a smooth puree.
3. Remove the tea bags after 30 minutes and discard them.
4. Add the peach puree to the tea and strain the whole mixture. Place the strained tea in the refrigerator and chill it for a couple of hours.
5. Add sugar/honey if required and pour the peach tea into tall glasses filled with ice cubes.
6. Garnish with chopped pieces of peach and serve chilled.

Apple Dates Milkshake

If you are looking for a quick energy boosting drink, you should definitely try this. This is a drink that does not need lot of ingredients. All you need is a small apple, few dates and milk.

Ingredients:
Apple - 1 medium sized, chopped into small pieces
Dates - 5-6
Milk - 1 cup
Almonds - 2, finely sliced(optional)

Method of Preparation:
1. Chop the dates roughly and soak them in hot milk for 20 minutes.
2. Add the chopped apples, the soaked dates along with the milk they are soaked in and the remaining chilled milk to a blender.
3. Blend to a smooth puree.
4. Serve the milkshake in tall glasses and garnish with finely sliced almonds.

Variation:
Add a banana along with the ingredients and blend, this enhances the taste of the drink and fills your stomach too.

Blueberry Lemonade

Blueberries are in season and available at all leading grocery stores. Fresh blueberries are a good source of vitamins such as vitamin C, vitamin K and Vitamin B6 along with manganese and fiber. Blueberries can be eaten as a snack too. Today I added blueberries to lemonade and the result was pretty good.

Ingredients:
Blueberries - 1/2 cup
Lime/Lemon Juice - 3 tbsp
Sugar - 5 tbsp(Adjust according to taste)
Ice cubes

Method of Preparation:
1. Wash the blueberries and add them along with sugar to the mixer/blender and blend into a smooth puree.
2. Strain the puree through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl.
3. Add the Lemon juice and chilled water to the bowl.
4. Mix well and serve in glasses with ice.