Sweating it and a sweet mango drink

So the summers have basically been here for a good three months now and will still be here for atleast 20 days more. Not exactly the most productive time of the year for me as the whole thought of spending a few minutes in front of the soldering block and my faithful soldering torch is enough to make me sweat a puddle! But what with the new studio furniture I was dying to do some work on it :D

Did I mention 'Patina' :)

So the next best alternative chainmaille and patina jewellry that does not require too much soldering. For now though I am concentrating on catching up with blog posts( kind of admitting to being absent here :P) working on the mockup of my brand new wordpress website ( yup kind of letting the cat out of the bag here)  and trying to cool down with sweet mango drinks

 :)

Here is my recipe for a very refreshing Mango drink called " Panha" that is an all time favourite with all of us at home :

Ingredients:

1Kg Raw Mango ( mostly the large ones , if you live in Mumbai just ask the vendor for " Panhachya Kairya" ( translation: "Raw mangoes meant for making Panha" in marathi )

1/2 Kg Sugar

2 tbsps Cardamom powder

1 tsp Saffron (optional)

Method: Wash & boil whole raw mangoes for a good 2 hours or until they turn a dull yellow colour and let them cool overnight. The next day peel off the skin using just your fingers don't worry the skin will be super soft and will easily come off. You can scrape the pulp with a spoon or a fork or well just your fingers. Put all the pulp minus the stone in a large bowl, stir in sugar, cardamom powder and saffron, add enough water to make a thick paste. I usually give it a whirl with a hand blender at this stage. That's it your drink is ready just pour two to three tablespoons of this into a tall glass top with water, ice cubes and stir. This drink truly helps cool me down :) Remember to store your drink concentrate in the refrigerator its lasts longer that ways.

Do drop a line if you try this out at home :)