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Showing posts with label smoothie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label smoothie. 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, October 29, 2015

Beetroot and Carrot Smoothie

Smoothies can be a great way of losing weight given that one picks up the right ingredients. And all those bovine sympathizers, rest assured that even the vegan ones are quite delicious. This is one such example. Read on for the recipe -


















Preparation time - 5 mins

Ingredients -


  • 1/2 cup peeled and cubed beetroot
  • 1/2 cup peeled and cubed carrot
  • 1 tsp basil seeds (sabza)
  • 1/2 tsp honey
  • 2 pinch cinnamon powder
  • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Preparation - Take the beetroot and carrot cubes in a blender along with the powdered cinnamon, honey and 1/3 rd of the orange juice. Blend into a smooth puree.

Pour it into a glass. Dilute with more orange juice to get desired consistency.

Sprinkle the basil seeds on top. Serve immediately or chilled for 10-15 mins.

DO not store overnight.


Thursday, August 15, 2013

Avocado Smoothie

Avocados are easily available in the market these days and the prices have also come down. This is a great time for avocado lovers like me. Though i was first introduced to this fruit during my Mangalore days, i immediately fell for it. One can readily find it in parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra.

For the uninitaited, this lush green fruit has a very subtle flavour and velevtty , melt-in-the-mouth texture. No wonder it is also popular as butter fruit. Though high in calories, it is has high amount of mono-unsaturated fats and dietary fibre. It is also loaded with vitamins and minerals. It helps in lowering the LDL ( bad cholestrol) and increasing HDL ( good cholestrol ). It is a skin superfood with its anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

While buying the fruit, look for deep purple ones or very dark green ones. On pressing between the thumb and forefinger, it should yield only slightly. Too hard or too mushy is just not good enough.

Here is the recipe for a quick smoothie that i made with this fruit:
















Preparation time - 10 mins

Ingredients - ripe avocado ( 1 no), milk ( 1/2 cup), fresh yogurt (1/2 cup), almonds ( 5-6 nos ), honey ( 2 tsp), powdered flaxseed ( 1 tsp), ice cubes ( 5-6 nos).

Preparation- Soak the almonds overnight. Wash and remove skin in the morning.

Put a cut along the length of the avocado, and around its seed in the centre of the fruit. Hold the two pieces, turn in opposite directions and use gentle pressure to take apart. Remove seed with a sharp object. Scoop out the fleas using a spoon. (Do not throw the skin yet.Rub it on your face for yummy-licious skin)

Dissolve the honey in 2-3 tbs of lukewarm water.

Transfer all ingredients into the blender jar. Blend till smooth. Dilute with cold milk to get desired consistency or serve as it is.

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