Aam Panna Granita / Green Mango Granita

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The rains came unexpectedly early this month, and while we got a much needed reprieve from the scorching summer heat, it suddenly grew from a light drizzle to a full blown thunderstorm. Laundry drying on rooftop lines flew away, window panes shattered, trees were uprooted and there was all kinds of chaos.

Meanwhile in our Achen’s (uncle’s) mango orchard, thousands of plump, little green mangoes that he had nurtured with love and compost, chasing away crows and rampaging monkeys, waiting patiently for them to ripen to their full potential and turn golden, sweet and delicious, fell to the ground.
Farmers are used to such heartbreak and I imagine that he stoically gathered them up into gunny bags to distribute to his neighbors, family and friends and he sent us a huge bag filled with these green mangoes which he wanted us would be very sour and more suitable for cooking.
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My sister would have disagreed, dunking chunks of green mango slices into red chili powder and salt and enjoying the contrast of spicy and tangy. My mother in law had them brined to temper the sharp edge of their bitterness, and made pickle, green mango chutney and fish curry.
We were determined to relish every single mango Achen shared with us, as if to somehow make up for his loss. I made aam panna granita.
Tingly, sour-sweet and mildly spiced, this refreshing summer drink is perfect enjoyed in the form of icy flakes that melt in your mouth.
Aam panna, is a very popular summer drink made with green mango pulp, infused with spices and pungent black salt. It is known to have cooling properties, in addition to aiding digestion and being full of vitamin-c. I tasted it for the first time when visiting a friend in Delhi almost a decade ago. After being out all day in the intense Delhi sun shopping for fabric at the bustling Sarojini Nagar market, we got back to her home, hot, sweaty and tired, to be greeted by tall glasses of this weird looking, speckled yellow-green drink that her mother had thoughtfully made for us. The drink was cool and refreshing as it flowed down my parched throat, the then unfamiliar flavors of black salt and cumin dancing on my tongue. In aam panna the often underappreciated green mango is celebrated for what it is: tantalizingly sour with just a slight hint of sweetness.
Summer is meant for aam panna and is even better with aam panna granita! It’s refreshing and cooling abilities get kicked up a notch. Try it, you will never again look at raw green mango with scorn or impatience, wishing they were ripe.

Aam Panna Drink Recipe
Ingredients
  • Green Mango- 4
  • Sugar- ½ cup or to taste
  • Roasted cumin powder- 1 tsp
  • Black Salt / Kaala Namak- 1/2 tsp or to taste ( can substitute with regular salt to taste)
Method
  • Slit the the green mangoes in half, place in a saucepan or pressure cooker with enough water to just cover them
  • Cook until they are soft and mushy and the peel comes off easily.
  • Once cool enough to handle, scrape the flesh off the seed and discard both the seed and the peel
  • Blend the pulp and water in a mixie/blender and strain it with a wide meshed sieve back into the saucepan, stirring the pulp to help it strain faster
  • Add sugar, spices and salt and heat the strained pulp on simmer until all the sugar has melted.
  • Store the cooled aam panna mix in the fridge.
  • When ready to serve, pour the aam panna mix into a glass to fill it about a third, fill the rest of the glass with water. Stir, adding some lime juice and muddled mint leaves if desired.
Aam Panna Granita Recipe
  • To make aam panna granita, first make the drink as mentioned above or use store bought juice like Paper Boat Aam Panna
  • Pour into a cake pan or some other wide, shallow container, making sure the liquid level comes up to only an inch or so high and freeze.(You can also use ice pop moulds if you have them. Basically we want the drink to freeze into a thin layer that is easy to break up. You don’t want to be breaking up chunks of ice that are too thick.)
  • Once the drink is frozen solid ( in a couple of hours) scrape and break it up with a fork into fluffy, flaky ice crystals.
  • Enjoy either as spoonfuls or slurp up with a straw!
The next time I make this I will definitely try spiking with a little vodka and a green chilly or two!

caramel popcorn easter eggs


Happy Easter!
I can't believe its already another Easter. We have settled in well, back home here in India, after moving  from our beloved Marin ,that I still miss dearly, but now, no longer in that heart-gnawing way, more as one remembers a beautiful dream.

We have been busy in our new lives here, catching up with family and friends, taking little trips to rediscover and fall in love all over again with our beautiful and colorful country and getting the kid settled into school here (the same one his Pappa went to!), and I did neglect my beloved blog.


Easter and Spring is a time of renewal and rebirth, so here we are! I have much to share,and I am finally ready to get back to blogging.


I have been cooking and baking a LOT but somehow, in the hustle and bustle of our new life here, just didn't get down to writing and posting here.
These delightful sweet and salty, crunchy caramel popcorn filled Easter eggs though, were such fun to whip up, I just had to share in case you have an Easter egg hunt planned for the little bunnies in your life this week.

Growing up, sometimes we got Easter Eggs filled with candies from the local bakeries in Kerala. Those were usually made of a hard and dry fondant or gum paste and elaborately decorated with piped flowers. They shattered when you broke them, and spilled the treats within. These chocolate eggs are fully edible though, and totally delicious!

The bittersweet chocolate I used contrasted well with the sweet and salty caramel popcorn and my little bunny loved the crunchy eggs as well as the hunt to find them all!



Ok so you don't really need a recipe to fill an egg mold with melted chocolate and fill it with caramel popcorn, so this is more of a sharing of an idea!

Anyways, here are some tips:

Caramel Popcorn Chocolate Easter Eggs
(Yield- about 9 medium sized chocolate eggs)

Ingredients:

Tempered chocolate ( Dark, Milk, White- any kind!) 400 gms
Caramel popcorn (Chopped into small pieces or pulse for a few seconds in your food processor) 2 cups

( The amount of chocolate and popcorn you will need of course depends on the size of your molds. I used ones that were roughly the size of a small egg)


Method

I used chocolate egg molds, and also made some using an empty plastic kinder egg cover ( much larger eggs but works like a charm. Martha uses real eggs here
Chop chocolate ( I used about 400 grams of already tempered chocolate for about 9 eggs) and melt in the microwave in 30 second bursts stirring until chocolate is fully melted.
Pour about a teaspoon into mold and swirl it so it evenly coats the inside and let set in the fridge. Repeat this about three times so that you have a strong shell.
If you find the chocolate firming up, just microwave again for a few seconds more.
Now fill with caramel popcorn chopped into small pieces.
Make sure no pieces of popcorn are jutting out of the egg half.
Cover the popcorn pieces with a final coat of chocolate and swipe the top with a spatula or knife so that it is even. NO bumpy tops.
Let set again in the fridge for about 10 mins till fully solid.
When you try tapping the mold, the egg halves should pop right out, else give it a few more mins in the fridge.
Affix two egg halves with some melted chocolate to make a complete egg.
You can also adhere some sprinkles on with a teeny drop of melted chocolate.
Wrap with foil. Enjoy!