Aam panna - Spiced Raw Mango Drink !

Have you seen the ad of Paperboat? Their ad with the tune of Malgudi days would make anyone go nostalgic about those good old days and go buy one of their drinks. Atleast it worked on me, esp. when the cashier keeps repeating everytime I am there, saying there is an offer on it and I am eligible for it. Ahh, I fell for it one day and then the next day and then the next..

That was last year. And that's when the Maggi tragedy happened. I decided to give up packaged items as much as possible. But by then I was addicted to Aam Panna. So the next grocery shopping I got mangoes to make it at home myself. And when the cashier offered it again, it was hard to refuse, but I did.

When I made it the first time, we were so happy with the result and the bottle of the Aam Panna preserve vanished quickly. The second time when we bought the raw mangoes, it turned out that they were more towards ripened ones. And you can very well see it in the pics. My Aam Panna looks as if I made out of ripe mangoes. Anyways, they tasted equally good. 

Have you tried Aam Panna yet? If not, you should/must try it. Its worth trying it. So before mangoes disappear from the market, this year, try it. 

Ingredients

1. 1 big raw mango
2. 1/4 cup of Sugar 
3. 1/2 tsp of roasted and ground cumin powder 
4. 1/2 tsp of black pepper powder
5. 6-7 mint leaves
6. Salt to taste
7. Chilled drinking water
8. Ice cubes as required

Method

• Pressure cook the mango on medium heat for about 3-4 whistle. Once the pressure subsides, check if the mango has cooked properly, else cook it for some more time untill it is mushy.
• Remove the skin and discard the mango seed. Take just the pulp and mash it well. 
• In a blender, take the ingredients 2-6. Grind it well. Now add the mashed mango and blend it untill everything gets incorporated well. This is the Aam Panna preserve.
• In a glass, take 2 tbsp of Aam Panna preserve, add chilled water to it and stir well untill the preserve dissolves completely. Sprinkle some cumin powder on top. Add few ice cubes and serve chilled.

Tips

1. Do not add water while grinding the mango. Else the preserve would go bad quickly.
2. Usually the preserve stays good for about 2 weeks, if you ensure that you use a dry spoon to scoop out the preserve everytime. 
3. If you happen to have black salt with you, try adding it instead of the common salt. it enhances the taste.