🌿 Green Mango Salad

🌿 Green Mango Salad

A vibrant, herbaceous salad with a refreshing crunch and zesty dressing—perfect as a light appetizer or side.

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🛒 Ingredients

Serves 4

For the Salad

• 2–3 firm green mangoes (preferably non-fibrous)

• 2 tbsp finely shredded, peeled ginger

• ¼ red bell pepper, thinly sliced

• ¼ red onion, thinly sliced

• A small handful of fresh mint leaves, chiffonaded

• A small handful of fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

• (Optional: shredded lettuce, toasted pumpkin seeds for extra texture)

For the Dressing

• Juice of 1 lime (approx. 3 tbsp)

• ¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar

• 1 tbsp neutral oil (e.g., canola or grapeseed)

• ½ tsp sugar

• ⅛ tsp salt

• ½ tsp chili flakes

• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

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👩‍🍳 Instructions

1. Prepare the Dressing
   In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, rice vinegar, oil, sugar, salt, chili flakes, and freshly ground black pepper until sugar dissolves. Set aside.

2. Shred the Mango
   Peel and shred the green mangoes using a mandoline or shredding peeler. Avoid the pit. Rinse the shredded mango under cold water and drain thoroughly. You should yield about 4 cups.

3. Assemble the Salad
   In a large bowl, combine the shredded mango, rinsed and drained red onion, shredded ginger, bell pepper, mint, and cilantro. If using, add shredded lettuce and toasted pumpkin seeds.

4. Dress and Toss
   Pour the prepared dressing over the salad and gently toss to combine. Adjust seasoning if needed.

5. Serve Immediately
   Mound onto a serving platter and serve fresh. Best enjoyed chilled or at room temperature.

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💡 Tips & Variations

• Mango Selection: Choose firm, green mangoes that are tart and crisp, not ripe or soft.

• Crunch Factor: For extra texture, add toasted pumpkin seeds, crushed peanuts, or crispy shallots.

• Leafy Twist: Shredded romaine or butter lettuce adds body and contrast.

• Make-Ahead: Dressing and mango can be prepped ahead, but combine just before serving to maintain freshness.

• Serving Idea: Serve alongside grilled meats, rice dishes, or as a refreshing stand-alone salad.

Mint Yogurt Chutney

 

Mint Yogurt Chutney

This Mint Yogurt Chutney blends creamy avocado, fresh herbs, and tangy yogurt for a vibrant, cooling taco topper. Its smooth texture and zesty flavor add the perfect balance to spicy fillings.

Plain yogurt - 1/2 cup

Fresh mint leaves - 1/2 cup

Fresh coriander leaves - 1/2 cup

Green chili - 1

Ripe Avocado - 1/2 cup

Lemon juice of 1/2 lemon

Salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor.

2. Blend until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides as needed.

3. Taste and adjust salt, lemon juice, or chili to your preference.

4. Serve immediately or chill for enhanced flavor.

Besan Chilla

Quick and tasty chilla. Power packed easy recipe !

Ingredients

Spinach leaves – 1 cup
Ginger – 1 inch piece
Garlic – 2-3 cloves
Green Chilli– 3
Salt as per taste
Besan flour - 1 cup
Baking soda - 1 tsp (optional)
Grated Paneer - 1 cup (optional)
Cumin seeds powder - 1 tbsp (optional)
Schezwan chutney - 2 tbsp (optional)

Recipe

1) First blend in the Spinach leaves, ginger, garlic, green chillis and salt required for taste into a smooth batter.

2) Heat the griddle so it is just hot, now reduce the flame to medium heat. Grease the tawa with few drops of oil and fill the ladle with batter. Gently pour the batter onto the center of the griddle and swirl the griddle around to spread the batter.

3) Grease the uncooked side and the edges with a few drops of oil.

4) If you like add the optional grated paneer, cumin seeds powder and required salt to taste in a bowl. Apply the schezwan chutney to the dosa and then add a portion of the panner while the dosa is cooking.

5) Allow to cook for a couple of minutes and fold the dosa to serve hot.

Papaya Salad

Papaya is an incredible healthy tropical fruit.  It's loaded with antioxidants that can reduce inflammation, fight disease.

Ingredients

Papaya chopped - 1 cup

Chopped onions - 1/4 cup

Coriander leaves - 20-25 sprigs

Pumpkin seeds - 2 tablespoons

Black pepper to taste

Salt as per taste

Recipe

1) In a large bowl add in the diced papaya, onions, pumpkin seeds and salt. Toss well.

2) Then sprinkle coriander, and pepper. Serve and enjoy!

Gavvalu - Indian Mini Donut

Gavvalu is a traditional sweet made in Andhra Pradesh.  Gavvalu is prepared with all purpose flour and jaggery/sugar.

Ingredients

All purpose flour/ Maida- 1 1/4 cups
Sooji/Rava - 3-4 tbsps
Salt - 1 pinch
Ghee - 2 tbsps
Water as needed (enough to make it into a soft dough)
Oil - For deep frying

Syrup for coating Gavvalu

Jaggery/Sugar - 1/4 cup
Water as needed (enough to immerse the jaggery/sugar)
Cardomom powder - 1/2 tsp

Recipe

1) Make a soft dough with all purpose flour, sooji, salt and ghee by adding enough water.
2) Keep the dough aside for 15 minutes.
3) To make the gavvalu, make small marble sized balls with the dough. Then with the back of the fork shape each ball like a shell. Use your thumb to press each ball gently onto the fork to roll into a shell shape. Prepare shells with all the balls.
4) Deep fry the gavvalu till they are crisp and light golden brown in color. Drain the oil and keep aside.
5) In a heavy bottomed vessel, add jaggery and water and let it boil in medium flame till the syrup thickens.
6) To check the correct syrup consistency, drop some syrup into a bowl of water and it should turn into a soft ball without the jaggery dissolving.
7) Once done switch off the stove, add the cardamom powder and then the gavvalu and mix for a good 2 minutes. Leave it to cool to room temperature and store in air tight containers.



Tips
1) Keep the flame in medium while frying all the gavvalu
2) Do not add too much water while make the syrup. The water should be just enough to immerse the jaggery/sugar.

Sweet Ragi Kali - Easy Method

These soft balls made from Finger-millet are very nutritious and very popular among the rural folks of Tamil Nadu. It is loaded with calcium and protein and also have good amount of iron, fiber, vitamin D and other minerals. It also helps cool the body. Here goes a very easy recipe with Ragi flour.

Ingredients

1. Ragi Flour - 4 cups
2. Water - 2 cups
3. Powdered jaggery / Karuppati - 2 cups (or as preferred)

Recipe

1. Heat a pan and dry fry the Ragi flour for a few minutes till the raw smell disappears.
2. In another deep bottomed pan, heat two cups of water with jaggery. Allow it to dissolve completely and come to a boil.
3. Then slowly add the Ragi flour and stir continuously till you get a dough consistency.
4. When the dough gets cool enough, make them into your preferred size circular balls, smearing the palm with oil. 

Tips

1. You can add dry roasted coconut power and sesame seeds to add more flavor.

Party Punch !!!!

Here goes an incredible and easy to make fruit punch. This is a sure hit and great for parties of all kinds. Enjoy !

Ingredients

1. Fruit punch chilled - One  64 fl oz bottle    
2. Unsweetened pineapple juice chilled - One  64 fl oz bottle    
3. Ginger ale chilled - One  2 Liter   bottle    
4. Orange sherbet - 16  Cups       

Recipe

1. In a punch bowl, mix together fruit punch, pineapple juice and ginger ale.
2. Add scoops of orange sherbet into the punch. 
3. Wait for the sherbet to begin melting (10 minutes). Stir gently. 
4. Add fresh strawberries/ orange slices cut into small pieces (optional)