Ohoooo......it is too hot outside. Get cooled by having some chilled items.

So, here are some homemade recipes of thirst quenchers, which we use in our house in summertime and wintertime also:

 BEETROOT DRINK:

 No....No...please don't say "aagh..." hearing beetroot. Try this and give me your opinion. It is really good, and we have given this drink the number one status of our "family drink" and we always stock this in our refrigerator. Until this day, none of our guest could have guessed that this has been made up of beetroot.

Ingredients:

 1. Beetroot - 1 kg

 2. Sugar - 1 kg

 3. Lemons - 12

 4. Tonovin or grape essence - 2 teaspoons

 5. Water - 1 liter.

 Please keep the above ratio.

 Method:

 Scrap beetroot. Cook in 1 litre water. Allow to boil for 5 minutes. Remove from fire and strain well. Place the strained liquid on fire and add sugar and stir until sugar dissolves.

 Take juice out of lemon. Add to beetroot-sugar syrup when it cools down. Add tonovin or grape essence. Keep in bottles under refrigeration.

 To serve - fill half glass with the above syrup, fill remaining half with chilled water. serve.

SPECIAL GRAPE JUICE RECIPE

Conventional grape juice is prepared by blending grape in juicer. This recipe is different and unique.

 So tasty !!

 Ingredients:

 1. Grapes (You should take care to select grapes for making this drink. Grapes should be wine grapes, the darker ones and must have ripened well) - 1 kg

 2. Sugar - 1 kg.

 3. Tonovin or grape essence - 1 teaspoonful

 4. Water - 2 liters.

 Method:

 Boil grape in 2 liters of water. You should take care during this process, as grapes should not be overcooked. Check up to see the skin of grapes broken. At this stage, remove from fire at once.

 Remove grapes from the water using a strainer. Keep aside the water used to boil grapes. Remove skin of grapes. You can do it easily only if grapes are ripened well. After separating skin from grapes, mash the skin with some of the boiled water and strain the juice to the boiled water, so that the color of the grapes can be taken from the grapes completely.

 Now add sugar to the water used to boil grapes. Place on fire. Boil until sugar dissolves in it completely. Remove from fire. Let it cool down. Add tonovin essence.

 Now is the process to take utmost care. Add skinned grape pulp to the sugar syrup. Take this in a big deep vessel. Take another big deep vessel and pour grape juice to the other vessel from height. Now pour back this to the other vessel. Do this beating process 6-8 times. By this process, seeds of grapes will be removed from the grape pulp and will be collected underneath of vessel and grape pulp will come to the surface of the juice. Remove the seeds collected underneath.

 Chill this juice in fridge. Serve. This juice is so different. Grape pulps floating on the surface of the juice and you can eat them while drinking the juice, ahhhaaaa, l love this juice...

 So why not try lemon-ginger together to reap benefits from them.

LEMON-GINGER DELIGHT RECIPE

Here is one easy, tasty, different lemon juice.......

Crush well some ginger in mixer. Squeeze the crushed ginger and take its juice. Keep aside the juice. After some time you can find some whitish residual particles collected underneath of the ginger juice. Take only the juice. Do not use the residual particles. You can preserve this juice by pouring it in ice trays and keep it in freezer.

To make instant lemon-ginger juice, take two glasses water in a blender, add half cup of sugar, one cube of frozen ginger juice/two teaspoons of fresh ginger juice, juice of one lemon and a few ice cubes and blend it for 2 minutes. Its so foamy, tasty juice. Looks and color is totally different from the ordinary lemon juice.

JELLY MILKSHAKE

Ingredients:

Instant gelatin mix in strawberry or raspberry flavors - 1 packet

Chilled milk - as required.

Sugar - as required.

Condensed milk/milk powder - optional/

Method:

Prepare gelatin with the contents of the pack as per the instructions given on the pack. Store in refrigerator. If you have this handy, you can prepare this tasty and different shake to serve any unexpected guests.

Pour one glass chilled milk in a blender, add 4 tablespoons of jelly, sugar, and condensed milk/milk powder. operate blender for 2-3 minutes.

Pour in tall glasses. Serve. You can decorate it with red cherries/cream etc

HASEENA MILKSHAKE

For one tall glass

Ingredients:

Dates : a handful

Sugar : 3 teaspoons

Iced milk : 1 glass

Cashew nuts : a handful

Roasted poppy seeds- 1 teaspoon

 Method:

 Blend dates, sugar, cashew nuts and 1/4 cup of iced milk for 5 minutes. When all the ingredients blend well, add remaining milk and blend for a few minutes. Add poppy seeds and whip for a second. Serve immediately.

ASPARAGUS DRINK

  Health benefits:  Asparagus is low in calories, contains no fat or cholesterol, and is very low in sodium. It is a good source of folic acid, potassium, dietary fiber, and rutin.

 Ingredients:

 1. Asparagus juice (remove skin and crush. add some water and strain the juice) - 4 cups

  2. Lemon juice - 1 cup

 3. Cinnamon - 4 pieces

 4. Sugar - 2 1/2 kg

 5. Water - 4 cups

 6. Citric acid - 1 teaspoonful.

 7. Potassium metabisulfite - 1/2 teaspoonful.

 Method:

 Mix together asparagus juice and lemon juice and strain. Crush cinnamon and add to water. Add sugar to this and boil the mixture. Strain. Then boil again adding citric acid. When this syrup becomes one-strand stage, remove from fire.

 Add asparagus juice and lemon juice. Boil it again. Remove from fire at once. Let the syrup get cooled. Take 1/4 cup syrup and mix potassium metabisulfite in it and add to the syrup. Transfer to bottles.

 For making drink: fill 1/2 glass with syrup. Fill remaining portion with chilled water/soda. A refreshing drink is ready.

PINEAPPLE SQUASH

 Pineapple can be preserved in this beautiful form during season.

 Ingredients:

 1. Pineapple chopped (removing skin and inner stem) -

 water - 2 cups

 2. sugar - 4 kg

 water - 4 cups

 citric acid - 1 tsp

 3. Potassium metabisulphite - 1/4 teaspoons

 Method:

1. Grind chopped pineapple adding 2 cups of water little-by little in a liquidizer. Strain the pulp.

2. Add water and citric acid in sugar and boil stirring continuously. When the sugar is dissolved in water add pineapple pulp.

3. Remove from fire immediately on boiling and let it cool down.

4. Take 1/4 cup of syrup and add potassium metabisulphite in it and mix well. Add to the syrup. Mix well.

5. Transfer to bottles without moisture. It can be used 2 days after preparation. This syrup can be preserved for pretty long time.