Healthy thirst quenchers

This summer, try some yummy concoctions prepared from natural ingredients

Carrot Crush

Ingredients: Four cups of carrot gratings; ¾ cup of jaggery and a pinch or two of cardamom powder.
Method: Grind the carrot gratings to a smooth paste. Add a cup of water and strain. Add ¼th cup of water to jaggery and make a syrup of one string consistency. Stir in the juice and add cardamom powder. Mix well and store this squash in a clean bottle in the fridge. To make a glass of the drink, mix 1/3rd glass of the syrup to 2/3rd glass of water and serve chilled or with ice-cubes.

Leafy Delight

Ingredients: Two cups of drumstick leaves; salt; pepper; lime juice and jaggery to taste and ½ cup of buttermilk (optional).
Method: Wash and blanch the drumstick leaves. Drain and grind to a smooth paste. Add water to yield two glasses. Add the rest of the ingredients to season the drink and serve chilled.

Tom Joy

Ingredients: Six ripe tomatoes; honey or jaggery syrup to taste; lime juice to taste; a pinch of salt and ½ tsp of mint powder.
Method: Wash, blanch and puree the tomatoes. Add two glasses of water and strain. Add rest of the ingredients and mix well. Serve chilled or with ice-cubes. Frozen mint cubes can be used as well.

Peanut Pleasure

Ingredients: Around ¼ cup of groundnuts; ¼ cup of jaggery powder and ¼ tsp of cardamom powder.
Method: Roast the nuts till light brown and dehusk. Soak in water for two to three hours. Drain and grind to a smooth paste. Add two glasses of water and then strain. Stir in the jaggery powder and cardamom powder. Serve chilled.

Almond Surprise

Ingredients: Around ½ cup of almonds; a cup of sugar; a pinch or two of citric acid; 2 pinches of sodium benzoate and a few strands of saffron.
Method: Blanch the almonds and grind to a smooth paste. Add two cups of water and strain. Heat a cup of water, add sugar and make a syrup of one string consistency. Add the almond milk and simmer on a low flame for 10 minutes. Add citric acid and stir well. Warm the saffron strands and mix in a tbsp of water and then mix in the milk. Allow it to cool. Dissolve sodium benzoate in a tbsp of water and mix well and then bottle the almond concentrate.