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Showing posts with label Bela panna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bela panna. Show all posts

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Wood Apple-Vanilla Smoothie ( A Western Take on Odisha's summer drink 'Bela Panna' )

 IMP - Wood Apple-Vanilla Smoothie is an original recipe created by the blogger and has been published for the first time on oriyarasoi.com.


Think summers. Think icecreams, kulfi, lemonades, lassi, pina colada, fruit punch and endless other tantalizing concoctions. But somewhere in a remote corner of the world, summer is the time when the air hangs heavy with the smell of ripened tropical fruits. Mangoes, jackfruits and even the wood apples carry a scent which can only be described as heady. While the first two are much more popular and find their way into multiple cuisines, the wood apple is mostly confined to Odisha. A sad thing given that it is endowed with innumerable health benefits.

The wood apple has an intoxicating scent that reminds one of an overripe mango. Not something for the faint hearted for sure. But the flesh is sweet and varies widely from plant to plant. Some fruits have a nice creamy pulp with very few seeds and fibers, and a rich tatse that can be described as akin to a mango shrikhand. But much less sweeter ofcourse. Others have an astringent taste, a profusion of seeds and so much fiber that extracting the juice becomes a challenging task.

Wood apple is posessesd with multiple health benefits like aiding digestion, purifying blood, removing toxins, controlling diabetes, good for liver and kidney, curing earaches and also boosting energy levels. Not surprisingly, the seasonal fruit is available during the summer months when there is an abundance of stomach related ailments. That's Mother Nature watching over us and giving us hints to stay healthy throughout the year.

Coming back to the recipe, it is adapted from the traditional drink or 'panaa'. In Odisha, 'panna' refers to a drink in which diary products like milk, yogurt and cottage cheese have been added. But I wanted a vegan version with a gourmet twist to it, hence I skipped the milk products and went for some lime, vanilla extract and honey.

Read on for the recipe -























Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients -

  • Bael/wood apple 
  • lime juice
  • a few drops of vanilla extract
  • honey to taste
  • ice cubes
  • 2 tsp chia seeds (soaked for 2 hours)

For garnishing -

  • vanilla beans
  • colored sugar


Preparation - Break the shell of the wood apple on a hard surface and scoop out the ripe flesh.

Put the flesh in a mixing bowl and add some cold water. Mix the flesh with the water using your fingers to extract the juice. 

Strain the juice using a sieve. Transfer the remaining pulp back to the mixing bowl and add a little more cold water and extract any remaining juice.

Strain the juice and throw away the pulp.

Transfer the juice to a blender jar. Add lime juice, vanilla extract, honey and 1-2 ice cubes. Give it a quick buzz. Adjust consistency by adding water in required quantity.

Serving - Rub a little honey on the rim of the serving glass. Dip it in the colored sugar. Let it stand for a few minutes to dry. Repeat this step for all the glasses/

Pour the Bael smoothie into the glasses, add the chia seeds and garnish with a vanilla bean.























Serve immediately.

Check HERE for the traditional 'Bela Panaa' recipe !



Thursday, April 10, 2014

Bela Panaa

The Bela Panaa is a drink made out of the pulp of the wood apple . This is a fruit that one can find in abundance in Odisha as the leaves are an important part of the ritual worship of Lord Shiva. While the pulp ranges in color from a pale yellow (almost whitish) to a robust orange, the flavour of the flesh also varies widely. Some are sweet while others can be quite astringent with hints of bitterness.

Inspite of all the variations,  the fruit is widely consumed due to its medicinal properties. It is an excellent coolant and is supposed to prevent heatstroke. Apart from that, it is good for the bowels and alleviates any sort of gastro-intestinal distress during the hot months. Most people consume it in the form of a plain sherbat with just the deseeded pulp, some sugar and a tinge of souring agent like curd or lemon. But for the Maha Bisubha sankranti or the Odia new year, a more opulent version called the 'Bela Panaa' is prepared in most homes.

Read on for the traditional recipe -







Preparation Time: 10-15 mins

Ingredients:


  • Ripened Bela/Wood apple/Elephant apple ( 1 no)
  • curd ( 1 cup )
  • chenna/curdled milk ( 1 cup ) or 3 rosogullas
  • ripe banana ( 1 no)
  • sugar ( 3 tbs )
  • ice-cubes
  • black pepper powder ( 1/4 tsp )

Preparation: Break the shell of the wood apple on a hard surface and scoop out the
yellow flesh.

Put the yellow flesh in a mixing bowl and add 2 cups of cold water. Mix the flesh with the water using your fingers to extract the juice.

Strain the juice using a sieve. Transfer the remaining pulp back to the mixing bowl and add 1 cup cold water and extract any remaining juice.

Strain the juice and throw away the pulp.

Add sugar, banana, chenna/rosogulla, curd and black pepper. Mix well using your fingers.

Pour into glasses & top up with ice-cubes. Serve chilled.
































Note: Bela ( also called Bel) pannaa is very popular in Orissa during the summer months.

It is offered to Lord Shiva on Panaa Sankranti day which falls on 14th of April.

The leaves of this plant are also offered to Lord Shiva along with milk. Consuming a fistful of these leaves is supposed to reduce blood pressure & diabetes.

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