Aam Panna with many twists

The crisp flesh of raw mangoes, fresh and aromatic mint, basil sugar and rich yellow pineapple puree- they all make my summers a bit more tolerable. I lived with my grandparents while growing up and so fortunately inherited my grandpa's obsession for mangoes. He loved both, raw and ripe ones and bought loads of them. My house always smelled of tangy and sweet smell of mangoes and its many avatars- aam ras, aam panna, aam ka aachar, morabba and more. Aam panna was one of my favourites besides aam ras. It's sweet, tangy and pulpy taste with daring flavours of mint and rock salt all concocted with ice, took away all the summer heat and its delirious effects.

What I am sharing here in addition to traditional Aam Panna, are my little twists on Aam Panna.

Traditional Aam Panna Recipe
Makes about 14-16 glasses

Ingredients:-
for raw mango pulp
1 kg. raw mango
400 gm sugar
2-3 tsp mint powder (if preparing to store, do not use fresh mint leaves)
8 to 10  black peppercorns- powdered
rock salt to taste

Method:-
Peal and cut the mangoes in medium sized cubes. Heat enough water in a large vessel. Add chopped mangoes, mint leaves and sugar to the water and cook on medium flame. Once the mangoes are cooked and sugar dissolves, turn off the heat. Add black pepper and rock salt and mix well. Remove the mango pieces from the water and let them both cool down.

Once the mangoes are cool enough, make a pulp in a mixer / food processor. Add water (in which mangoes are cooked) to the pulp and mix well. The pulp should be sufficiently thick; so do not add all the water if you think it will become runny. Refrigerate in an air-tight bottle/jar.

When you want to drink Aam Panna, fill the glass 1/4th with the raw mango pulp, add ice and water and some fresh mint leaves- drink and be revived!

Pineapple & Basil Sugar Twist

for pineapple pulp
1 medium sized pineapple

for Basil sugar
There are two ways to make the basil sugar-

One: Wash and finely chop the basil leaves. Take castor sugar in a mixing bowl and add basil leaves to the sugar. Mix well and store in an airtight box fro about 1-2 hours. Let the basil infuse its flavour. Now, it’s ready to use.

Other: Wash the basil leaves and chop them roughly. Take half of basil leaves and half of sugar and grind them using mortar and pestle. Keep doing it till basil gets nicely incorporated. Repeat with the rest of basil leaves and sugar. Refrigerate in an airtight box.

Method:
Remove skin and eyes of the pineapple and cut it into medium sized cubes. Make a pulp in a mixer / food processor. Add water only if required. Refrigerate in an air-tight bottle/jar.

When serving, mix 3/4 raw mango pulp with 1/4 pineapple pulp.  Add basil sugar and mix well. Add chilled water and ice cubes. Garnish with some fresh basil and mint leaves.

Fizzy Wine Twist / For teetotalers, Soda Twist

When serving,fill half the glass with raw mango and pineapple pulp. Add basil sugar and mix well. Add ice. Fill rest of the glass with fizzy wine.The tangy mango, the sweet basil sugar and the tingling fizzy wine, will all explode in your mouth with their various flavours in a single sip. For teetotalers, there is club soda. The carbonated version, though not as flavourful as the fizzy wine, is definitely a worthy variation.

Lastly, there is the creme version. When serving,fill 3/4th glass with raw mango and pineapple pulp. Add basil sugar and mix well. You can even skip basil sugar for this version. Now add 1 tbsp fresh cream and mix well. Add ice and garnish with some mint leaves. A raw mango smoothie! Believe me, it is sinfully delicious.