Watermelon Mocarita | Watermelon Mocktail

Mock-tails are non- alcoholic drinks that are made of mixing different juices. You can modify many cocktails in to mocktails by omitting alcohol from them.

Watermelon Mocarita is a mocktail, which is somewhat similar to non-alcoholic blend of margarita. In this drink I mixed watermelon juice with lemon juice & flavored it with salt. You can replace salt with sugar but for me it was perfect & refreshing with salt.

Enjoy the drink!!!

Prep Time - 45mins {cooling + making} | Serve - 3 - 4people 

Ingredients
3Cups watermelon / 6Cups cubed watermelons 
1/2Cup water {optional}                                       
2Tbs lemon juice
1/2Tsp salt
Few small watermelon pieces to garnish

Directions

- Extract juice of watermelon cubes using a juicer. 

- Filter the juice to remove pulp. 

- Stir in water, lemon juice & salt. If needed adjust them as you like.
- Chill & serve with few watermelons on top or you can serve right away with few ice cubes. 

Note
- I diluted watermelon as I'm not a big fan of the taste. 
- You can omit water if you don't want to.

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Lassi

Haryana is a north indian state which was part of punjab & separated in 1966. The staple is mostly roti's & chapati's made of corn or bajra. Also milk products are included in their staple as they are rich state with cattle wealth. 
Lassi is a yogurt based drink, which is flavored with fruits, different spices or just sugar & salt. Lassi is a summer drink, as it keeps body temps cool & soothes you from inside. As mentioned above you can flavor this drink as you like & here I'm sharing two recipes for this refreshing drink. 
You might like:
- Mango Lassi | Mango Smoothie
- Strawberry Pear Smoothie
- Orange Carrot Smoothie

Prep Time-5mins | Serves-1person
Ingredients
1/2Cup yogurt
1Cup water
5Tsp sharbat {Rooh Afza}
1/2Tsp sugar
Pinch of salt

Directions
- In a blender mix all the above ingredients & blend them smooth & frothy. Adjust the taste if needed.
- Transfer it to a container & serve it cool.

Prep Time-5mins | Serves-1person

Ingredients

1/2Cup curd
1/2Cup water
1/2Cup milk
1/4Tsp salt
1/4Tsp cumin

Directions
- In a blender mix all the above ingredients & blend them smooth & frothy. Adjust the taste if needed.
- Transfer it to a container & serve it cool.

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Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 39

An InLinkz Link-up

Strawberry Pear Smoothie

Strawberry & pear are a great combination for a smoothies. Pear gives the thickening texture to the drink & subsidizes the tartness of the drink.

Prep Time-5mins | Serves-1person
Ingredients
2Cups strawberries
1pear juice
1/2 Cup milk
1Tsp honey
Few ice cubes (optional)
Directions
- In a blender add all the above ingredients & blend them smooth. 
- Transfer to a glass & top with few ice cubes.

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Orange Carrot Smoothie

Smoothies are healthy & refreshing. These are the best for upcoming summers. Today I'm sharing a orange carrot smoothie & it was delicious. 

Prep Time-10mins | Yields-1serving
Ingredients 
2Carrots juiced
1Banana
1/2Cup orange juice
1/4Cup yogurt
1/2Tsp honey (Adjust Acc.)
1/2Cup ice (Optional)
Directions
- In a blender mix add all the above ingredients & blend them on low speed first. Then on high speed to make a smoothie.
Note: 
- I omitted ice in my smoothie. 
- Honey is to balance the taste. Even it is optional.

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Lemonade | Nimbu Pani

For this weeks blogging marathon I'm showcasing " How to perfect " recipes. Today I'm sharing recipe for "Lemonade" adapted from here. Check this Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#38.

Summer in India is exhausting with high temperatures for months with no hope. In my recent experience I have seen temps going up to 48C. You have to hydrate yourself with thirst quencher's like coconut water, buttermilk, jal jeera & their comes our favorite Lemonade or Nimbu Pani. We don't call it a lemonade but it has it's own regional names depending on the language, but the mix is almost the same.

Prep Time-5mins
Ingredients
1Big lemon
2Cups + 1/4cup cold water

1Tbs + 2Tsp sugar

1/4Tsp salt
Few ice cubes
Mint for garnish
Directions

- Gather all the ingredients & gadgets you need to make this drink as shown above. 
- Cut lemon into 2 halves.
- In a vessel squeeze fresh lemon juice using a lemon squeezer.
- To that add sugar, salt & water. 
- Mix sugar & salt with a laddle until they are dissolved completely. Taste & adjust salt & sugar if needed.
-  Serve in a glass with ice cubes & mint. 

Note: 
- You can add a 1/4tsp of chat masala & flavor it up.
- Replace 2 cups of water with soda & enjoy the fizz.
Some more refreshing drinks:
Mango Lassi
Iced Orange Tea

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Apple Milkshake with Almond Milk

Prep Time-5mins | Yields-1 Serving 

Ingredients

1Cup apple juice 

1Cup almond milk

4Dates (Soaked in water overnight)

1/2Tsp cinnamon powder

Directions

In a blender mix applejuice, almond milk , dates & cinnamon powder. Blend it on high speed once. Transfer the milkshake in to a glass and enjoy.

Note: 

- I used almond milk as it is less in calories rather than normal milk. 

- Check kitchen basics section to get almond milk recipe. (Coming soon)

- I soaked dates in just enough water & not more.

Follow me on "Facebook", "Google+", "Pinterest" for daily updates. Leave me a comment on any queries regarding this recipe & I will be able to answer it for you as soon as possible.

Check this too..

Banana Nutella Milkshake 

Mango Lassi | Mango Smoothie

After a long outing in summer sun all our power has been swallowed & we were all gloomy & lazy. I made our selves a power booster & it felt awesome to quench our thirst this delicious smoothie. I haven't added any ice to our drink as are not so into the ice. So add it at your convenience.

Ingredients 
1 & 1/2 Cup mango juice
1/2 Cup non-fat yogurt
1/2 Cup milk (2% fat)
1 Tbs Honey
Ice (Optional)

Take all ingredients in a blender. Blend them to smooth & creamy. Serve right away.

Mexican Hot Chocolate

Thinking of hot chocolate reminds us the cold winter days where you have to have a cup of it. Right now Southern California is maintaining low temps, which made me crave for a hot chocolate. It is suppose to be summer but for past 2 weeks the temps are running little low while reminding of sweet fall time. So I'm sharing a recipe for those days you need a kick to boost your energy. 

Recipe courtesy: Food Network
Ingredients
2 Cups 2% fat milk
1 Cinnamon stick 
1 Anise star
4 Tbs Semi sweetened chocolate powder.
1/4 Cup Brown sugar ( Adjust acc. to your taste)

Heat a big pot with 2 cups of milk. To that add cinnamon & Anise. Stir well & let it boil for 10mins in low heat with closed lid.To that add chocolate & sugar.Stir it to dissolve sugar. Let it boil in low heat for 5mins. Then switch off heat & serve it hot.

Check my other Blogging Marathon friends here. 

Banana Nutella Milkshake

A healthy milkshake is what makes you feel complete while you are on a diet regime.For me milk was never a cup of tea.I never liked the taste & smell of milk.I know it cannot be changed so I started replacing it with milkshakes & cold flavored drinks to vanish the actual flavor of it.I make milkshake's that are filled with nutritious stuff like fruits, honey,nuts, dryfruits & some times a little chocolate for my taste buds with a low fat milk or skim milk to blend.

The recipe I'm sharing today is also a similar kind of a drink with nutella & banana.This a magical drink that makes adults & kids to fall for. 

When I shared this drink with my hubby the first word he said that it was tasting like a chikoo (Sapota in telugu ) juice which you get in Indian fruit juice stalls. I sprinkled a little of grounded pistachios to give it the street side flavor. 

Hope you all will enjoy it as we did :)

Ingredients
1 Ripe banana peeled
2 Tbs of Nutella
11/2 Cup milk ( 2% fat milk)
1 Tbs grounded rosted pistachio

In a blender add the above ingredients & grind them well. Pour it in a glass & sprinkle pistachio before you serve.   

Note: 
1. Replace with whole milk to get a richer & creamy effect. 
2. You can add vanilla flavor ice cream for a creamy texture. 
3. I avoided sugar as Nutella gives a slight sweetness to the drink but you can add honey or sugar as you wish.   

The above one was a kids version with the same ingredients above. 

Check this too..

Apple Milkshake with Almond Milk

Iced Orange Tea

A woman is like a tea bag - you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water ~Eleanor Roosevelt.

While I was going thru some quotes this caught my attention & I'm sharing it here with you all.I feel the quote is so true...

The recipe I'm sharing here is a chilling drink for hot summers.I came across this on food network website & I instantly felt thirsty for this drink.This is a drink which you would want to have it again & again.. :)

Ingredients
4 Cups of water 
2 Cups of fresh squeezed orange juice
1 cup sugar
4 Tea bags / 1/2 Tbs tea powder
Mint & orange slices for garnish

With tea bags:
Heat a vessel with 4 cups of water & teabags. Bring it to boil & switch off heat. Allow the tea bags to sit for 15mins & remove them.Let the tea cool down before you add orange juice.
Take a big vessel with tea, sugar & orange juice.Mix them well.

With tea powder:
Heat a Vessel with 4 cups of water & tea powder. Bring it to boil & switch off heat. Filter the tea & cool it.
Take a big vessel with tea, sugar & orange juice.Mix them well.

Serve it chilled with mint & orange slice. You can also serve with ice cubes added.But It might dilute the tea & the taste may vary.

Note: 
1. If you conscious about sugar add 6 Tbs of honey instead of sugar. 
2. You can also use a store bought orange juice too. 

Enjoy it...:)