Do you crave something refreshing these days? The scorching summerish days make the majority of us crave something cool yet delectable. Our most preferable way to beat the heat during summertime is to drink exotic summer coolers. Besides, seasonal items like mangoes, watermelons, cucumber .etc. are the epitome of freshness, especially in summers.
We have all learned truckloads of recipes during the pandemic but who wants to spend so much time in a hot kitchen? On such days, all we want to cook is something facile that requires minimum ingredients. So, let’s have a look at some easy-to-make appetizers that will tickle your tongue.
Beat the heat this summer with these refreshing recipes
Watermelon Lemonade
Watermelons and lemons are distinct yet similar. They belong to different categories but both have nutritional qualities. How about merging these essential summer ingredients and turning them into a summer cooler?
Ingredients
- Watermelon cubes- 6 cups
- Lemon juice- 2 cups
- Fresh mint leaves- 10 leaves
- Sugar- as per taste
- Chilled water- 2 cups
Procedure
- Take all the watermelon cubes, lemon juice, and sugar in a blender. Sugar is not necessary as watermelon is usually sweet enough. Also, alternatives like honey or maple syrup can be used to make it healthy.
- Add mint leaves in the mixture as well for a more refreshing experience otherwise, you can skip this and just add it for garnishing towards the end.
- Blend these until it gets smooth and strain the juice while keeping some pulp that would make it taste even better.
- Add chilled water into the mixture.
- Pour and serve by adding ice cubes and mint leaves for garnishing in serving glasses and enjoy the heavenly cooler.
Strawberry Smoothie
Strawberries are hands-down the best bases to add to your smoothie. It gives a beautiful pigment and merges well with yoghurt. Refreshing smoothies with strawberries are creamy, rich and extremely tempting.
Ingredients
- Fresh strawberries/ frozen- 1 cup
- Milk- 1/2 cup
- Yogurt- 1/2 cup
- Sugar- as per taste
- Mint leaves (optional)
Procedure
- Chop and remove the stems of fresh strawberries and put them in a blender. You can also use frozen ones in case you want a thicker smoothie.
- Add strawberry/vanilla flavored or normal yogurt.
- Now, add milk and sugar. However, if you are on a diet and want a healthier drink then you can replace sugar with honey.
- Blend until smooth and pour the smoothie in a serving glass or a jar topped with ice.
- Besides slit strawberries, you can use dry fruits and mint leaves for garnishing.
Also Read
20 Fun Things To Do In Your Home During Quarantine!
17 reasons why everyone should switch to veganism
Home-made Kulfi
The ice-cream season is here but amidst the pandemic, we aren’t able to visit our favorite ice-cream parlors. Anyways, lockdown cannot prevent us from having ice cream, right? Here’s the easiest rose-flavored ice-cream recipe ever.
Also Read 20 Traditional savory food of Jharkhand
Ingredients
- Milk- 1.5 cups
- Rose essence- 1 tsp
- Pink food color
- Sugar- 3 tsp
- 1 Cardamom
- Dryfruits
Procedure
- Along with sugar and cardamom, add dry fruits of your choice preferably almonds and pistachios, and blend them together. Set it aside.
- Besides, pour 2-3 drops of food color into the rose essence and mix it well.
- Then, simmer the milk for a few minutes and add the blended mixture to it. Additionally, stir it well until thick and creamy.
- Merge the food color mixture into the creamy milk.
- Indeed, in order to make kulfi, you need a kulfi mould. So, pour the final mixture into the mould.
- Cover the mould with aluminum foil, insert ice cream sticks into it and freeze overnight.
- The next day, carefully pull out the ready-to-serve kulfi and garnish it with dry fruits as well as other toppings of your choice.
Virgin Mojito
Nothing says summer like a minty mojito. One of the well-known welcome drinks to please the guests. The combination of sweet and sour makes it all the more refreshing. Moreover, with vitamin C, mojito serves as a great immunity booster.
Ingredients
- Water- 2 cups
- White sugar- 1.5 tsp
- Sprite/Soda -2 cups
- Lime- 2
- Mint leaves- 1 cup
Procedure
- Assemble the mint leaves along with the wedged lime and put them in a bowl.
- Then, add some sugar or maple syrup into the bowl.
- Muddle all the ingredients in a way that they start releasing their juices.
- Pour Sprite or club soda into the released mixture. Also, add more sugar in case you use soda as Sprite is already sweetened.
- Garnish the liquid with mint leaves and lime, put crushed ice and you’re ready to serve the Virgin Mojito.
Iced Latte
We hear about lattes all the time these days and by the name of it, we believe that it is limited to luxurious places like Starbucks and CCD. However, it’s simply milk mixed into expresso with ice that can give your Starbucks coffee a run for its money. Yes! that’s a latte and it is that effortless without an expresso machine.
Ingredients
- Whole milk- 1 cup
- Sugar- 2 tsp
- Coffee( instant granules or powdered)- 2 tsp
- Ice cubes
- Vanilla essence- 2 drops
- Water- 1/2 cup
Procedure
- In a glass jar, add coffee granules along with sugar and vanilla essence.
- Microwave the water for a minute, pour it into the jar, and stir until dissolved.
- Dilute the coffee with chilled water(1/2 cup) and stir to combine.
- In the end, add milk of choice and stir to combine and give it another good stir.
- Top it with chocolate sauce and cocoa powder. Serve with a straw and enjoy the Starbucks feels.
Hang Curd Sandwich
You must be pondering that how can a sandwich beat the heat? Well, as they contain cooling elements like mint, cucumber, and curd, these sandwiches would surely cool you down in a hot summery day. Eat them toasted or as it is, either way, they are mouth-watering.
Ingredients
- Curd- 250 grams
- Bread- 8-10 slices
- Capsicum- 1/4 cup
- Chopped cucumber- 1/4 cup
- Green chili- 1
- Mint- 10-15 leaves
- Butter- 2 tsp
- Salt and pepper to taste
Procedure
- Use a muslin cloth to hang the curd to strain the water or with the help of a strainer.
- Take a bowl and mix the hung curd with blended mint leaves/powdered mint, chopped cucumbers, capsicums, and green chili.
- In addition to the minty curd mix, put seasoning of salt, pepper, and oregano(optional). Further, give everything a good mix.
- Now, your sandwich spread is ready and it’s time to spread it.
- In order to make the sandwich, take a bread slice and spread two spoons of spread over it.
- Cover it with another bread slice and cut it into two slices.
- You can skip the grilling part but if you want to, then put butter on the griller and grill until golden brown.
- Cook both the sides well and serve the crispy cool sandwiches with mint chutney.
Raw Mango Juice( Mango Panna)
Surely, your grandmothers must’ve made this for you during summers when you used to come home after a tiring day at school. It is made from unripe green mangoes and is flavorsome as well as good for digestion.
Ingredients
- Green raw mangoes- 2
- Sugar/ jaggery- 3 tsp
- Water- 2 cups
- Mint leaves- 2 tsp
- Cumin powder- 1 tsp
- Black salt- 2 tsp
- Salt- 1 tsp
- Ice
Procedure
- Place the mangoes along with water in a pan and boil it until it softens.
- As soon as they cool, peel them off with a light object.
- Make a thick paste with the mango pulp and a sufficient amount of water.
- Add sugar or jaggery into the mixture and stir on the flame until fully dissolved.
- Season it with black salt, cumin powder, and salt as per taste and your concentrate is ready.
- Pour and mix your concentrate in a glass of iced water.
- Garnish with mint leaves and the cooler is ready to be served.
Oreo Milkshake
Oreo is one of the most popular ingredients used in cakes, shakes and other desserts. It makes the dishes creamy and chocolaty at the same time. With a bit cookie crunch and thick creamy texture, no wonder why people drool over this milkshake.
Ingredients
- Oreos- Basic pack or 10 biscuits
- Whole milk- 1 cup
- Vanilla ice cream- 2 scoops
- Chocolate syrup- 1 tsp
- Powdered coffee- 1 tsp
Procedure
- Crush the Oreos and put them in a blender along with 1 scoop of vanilla ice cream, milk, and coffee. Keep blending until smooth.
- Pour the thick shake into a glass jar and top it with another vanilla scoop.
- Crush the remaining Oreos and garnish them on the topped vanilla ice cream along with the chocolate syrup.
- Add ice cubes and serve with a straw for a decadent treat.
Mint Raita
Something seems missing whenever we eat biryani or kebabs without any accompaniment. Also, the heat these food items create is compensated with the freshness of mint and curd. So, here’s an easy recipe for the raita that can be alone as well as an accompaniment to various dishes.
Ingredients
- Mint Leaves- 3/4 cup
- Coriander leaves
- Cumin- 1/2 tsp
- Sugar- 1/2 tsp
- Salt- as per taste
- Curd- 1.5 cups
- Green chili
- Chopped cucumber- 2 tsp
Procedure
- Roast cumin and keep it until cool. Then, put it in a blender and blend until powdered.
- Besides, wash mint and coriander leaves. Put them in a blender and blend them along with the cumin powder.
- Add yogurt, chili, salt, and sugar to the blender and blend for a few seconds.
- Once the smooth mixture is made, add a few spoons of chopped cucumbers and mix well.
- Serve the mint raita with any food item to give a cool effect in summers.
Cucumber Cooler
A healthy and hydrating summer drink to give you relief from the scorching heat outside that is made with the goodness of cucumber. It is the perfect combination of tangy, salty, and sweet. The cucumber can also be substituted with fruits like orange and kiwi.
Ingredients
- Cucumber
- Water- 3 cups
- Sugar- 3 tsp
- Mint leaves-6 (approx)
- Lime juice- 4 tsp
- Black salt- 1 tsp
- Ice cubes
Procedure
- Peel the cucumber and chop it into fine pieces.
- Add the chopped cucumber to a blender along with water, sugar, and mint leaves. Blend until smooth
- Strain the pulp using a strainer and extract the maximum amount of liquid.
- Now, add the remaining water, lime juice, and black salt to the cucumber juice.
- Pour the drink in glasses after proper stirring and garnish with sliced limes and mint leaves.
- Add ample ice cubes and serve the epitome of freshness.
Also Read Immunity boosting foods to consume to keep yourself healthy
Mango Lassi
Who doesn’t like Lassi? Not many, I guess. After all, what better way to consolidate the pleasantness of mangoes with the tartness of the yogurt. Also, it is less arduous.
Ingredients
- 1 chopped mango
- Plain yogurt- 1 cup
- Milk- 1/2 cup
- Sugar- 4 tsp
- Cardamom
- Ice cubes
Procedure
- Ripe the mango and chop it into fine pieces.
- In a blender, put mango, yogurt, milk, sugar, and cardamom and blend for a minute or two.
- Blend the ice cubes or top it up with the cubes.
- Pour the lassi into a glass and sprinkle cardamom powder on top of it.
- Serve to escape the sweat.
Frozen Fruit Pizza
Are you aware of the non-bake pizzas? Rather, pizzas that make you feel refreshed. This pizza is a bit unique as it is healthy, cool and easy-to-make. A perfect breakfast, full of whole grain as well as protein.
Ingredients
- Whole-grain tortilla
- Peanut butter/ fruit jelly/cream cheese/ flavored yogurt (spreads)
- Frozen Apple
- Banana
- Pineapple
- Kiwi
- Chocolate chips
Procedure
- Spread the whole grain crust with one of the sauces or you can even blend more.
- Add the chopped fruit toppings. Make sure that the toppings are frozen so that it gives a cooling effect.
- Garnish chocolate chips on it and it is ready to serve.
- You can cut your fruit pizza into wedges. Furthermore, you can wrap it like a quesadilla. Just grab and eat.