Refreshing Drinks for Summer

Buttermilk / Ale / Majjige

This is my version of butermilk recipe. I prepared and served this for family get-together and yes, everyone liked. So thought of sharing this recipe in here.

Ingredients:

Curd - 4-5 tsps
Coriander Leaves (Cilantro) - 1/2 cup
Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 11/2 -2
Hing (Asafoetida) - A pinch
Ginger - A small piece
Salt for taste

Procedure:

1. Grind all the above ingredients in a mixer to a fine paste.    
2. Take out the ground mixture and add add 11/2 cup of curd. Add a glass of water and whip it until tiny curd particles dissolve properly. 

Yummy buttermilk is ready.

Ragi Juice 

This recipe comes from my mom. She makes this juice daily without fail,  in summer.  Ragi also known as finger millet or nachani and has several health benefits. You can go through its health benefits in here: http://health.india.com/fitness/did-you-know-these-10-health-benefits-of-ragi-or-nachni/  

Ingredients:

Ragi (finger millets) - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1/2 cup
Cardamom - 1

Procedure:

1. Soak Ragi/Finger millets in water for 2-3 hours. You can also soak it overnight.
2. After soaking it for the  required amount of time, be sure to wash it twice with clean water. 
3. Grind it along with jaggery and cardamom  in a mixer. You can add 1/4 cup water when you grind the ingredients.
4. Strain the mixture using a sieve twice or thrice.  This is because, the ground mixture is thick. So, you can add enough water to reduce its thickness; however, be sure to add enough jaggery to make it sweet.  

Note: Do not add too much water, it might lose its taste.
You can have this juice immediately or refrigerate and have it as and when you wish. It tastes better when its refrigerated.

Jeerige Neer (Jeera / Cumin Water)

This one is again from my mother's kitchen. Jeera/Cumin is considered to be a cooling agent. It cures indigestion and heals mouth ulcer. It hardly takes 5 minutes to make Jeera water. You can go through its health benefits in here:http://www.stylecraze.com/articles/benefits-of-jeeracumin-water-for-skin-hair-and-health
http://www.womenplanet.in/health-fitness/benefits-of-jeera-cumin-jeera-water-its-powder-and-seeds-oil
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumin
When we were kids, my mom used to soak jeera overnight and we used to have this water first thing in the morning. 

Ingredients:

Jeera /Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Water - 2 cups
Salt for taste

Procedure:

1. Grind Jeera/Cumin seeds using a mixer to make a fine powder. Do not add water.
2. Meanwhile, boil two cups of water. Add the ground powder to it along with a pinch of salt. 
3. Let it boil until you get the aroma. 
4. Strain the water and serve. 

Some use sugar instead of salt. You can try that as well. I personally feel salt goes well with this.