Fruity ideas to beat the heat

Does any of this sound familiar? Rising mercury levels; dripping sweat making you miserable; television channels flooded with prickly heat powder, deodorant, refrigerator and cola ads.

You don’t want to step out in the sun, so you buy grocery early morning or at night. But your commute to and from your workplace is hot as hell. There is respite only at home, as you turn on the AC. But then there is the legendary power cut, or load shedding as they call in Bengal, to battle with. Despite how hard you try to avoid it, you always end up battling summer heat at least for an hour each day. The only silver lining, perhaps, is the opportunity to gorge on a variety of fruits. You can enjoy at very low prices, mango, watermelon, pineapple, peach, plum, grapes. So, is there any summer fruit recipe that can be prepared at home and without huge fuss? The good news is, there are many. And we will talk about how to prepare 3 of them real quick.  You can know about how to beat the heat with more summer coolers on our blog. And all of these recipes taste just as good even when it’s raining. [caption id=“attachment_27354” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Watermelon juice. Image from bengalicuisine.net”]  [/caption] Watermelon juice Serves: 4 You need:  6 cups of chopped watermelon, 3 tbsp sugar (optional), pinch of salt How to prepare: • Puree the watermelon in a juicer and strain out the seeds. • Serve with ice cubes in martini or whiskey glasses. • Pour in  a peg of vodka (whoa!) if you wish. Mango Salsa Serves: 2 You need: 2 whole mangoes — chopped, ½ green bell pepper, 1 green chilli, 1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro (coriander), ¼ red tomato (chopped), ½ teaspoon chili flakes, ½ teaspoon salad seasoning (optional), ½ teaspoon lime juice. How to prepare: • Toss all the fruits and vegetables together • Season with chili flakes, salad seasoning and a pinch of salt if you like and pour in the lime juice Aam Panna Serves: 2 You need: 2 raw mangoes (unpeeled), ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder, a pinch of salt, 2 tablespoon icing sugar (optional) How to prepare: • Boil the unpeeled mangoes in 2 cups of water • Cool, deseed and take out the pulp, add little salt • Mix sugar if using • Pour in water to make up to 2 glasses of aam panna • Just before serving sprinkle the roasted cumin powder Well, if you even don’t even want to trouble yourself with preparing these drinks, go have a mango or a watermelon. The juice dripping from the side of your mouth would sure be worth it. Remember school days, eh! What do you drink/eat to beat the heat?