The mango melody

Move aside mango smoothies and iced teas. The mango has arrived grandly, in its juicy, golden splendour and rakish tangy avatar with a rather prized bang. Lacing drinks and divaesque dishes in dizzying proportions for that lipcurling touch. Inspiring menus, showstopper preparations and delectable desserts to colour the juicy melee. Stay calm and eat aam is the anthem Chef Manu Chandra has devised at all his outlets of his pan-Indian Oriental eatery The Fatty Bao. “Like Go Mango Merry gives the Bloody Mary a hip makeover with the tangy kairi elbowing aside the tomatoes. Rush in vodka, peppers, jalapeno and tamarind for that extra zing. As Tangotini, the martini gets dressed up in mango and kaffir lime, with a dash of cointreau and bitters,” he shares.

Just like the Avengers, the mango has its own cult following. Defiantly delicious, the king of fruits has spawned a virtual dervish across restaurants in the country. Slushy and sweet, the mango allures. And its tangy fill makes your heart simply sing, as it unfurls across your palate in a lingering after taste.

And for those desirous of the icy gola slurp, wings in the Kairi Nimbu ka Chaat in a ritzy thirst-buster avatar. Nothing beats the allure of the king of fruits as it makes your heart simply sing aloud. So take your pick and rejoice this summer as the mango infusion puts the spring in your step.

Chamomile Vodka Cooler

Chamomile Vodka Cooler

INGREDIENTS
for vodka

• 250 ml vodka
• 3 tbsp loose Chamomile (3 to 4 tea bags)

for cocktail

• 120 ml infused Chamomile vodka
• 60 ml lemon juice (from 2 lemons)
• 2 tbsp honey
• Lemon wedge
• for garnishing
• Mint leave
• for garnish

Method

• To make tea infused vodka place vodka and loose tea in a medium mason jar and cover tightly.
• Shake jar occasionally and let it steep for about 12 hours. Strain vodka through a fine mesh strainer into a large measuring cup. Pour tea infused vodka back into the original mason jar.
• To prepare the cocktail fill two old-fashioned glasses with ice. Add vodka, lemon juice, mint leaves and honey and stir. Garnish with lemon wedge.
  — Recipes by Manish Kusumwal, Corporate Chef, Keys Hotels

Mango Tango

Mango Tango

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup of fresh pineapple chunks
• 1 cup of fresh mango juice
• 3-4 crushed mint leaves
• 1 can ginger ale (or other
• carbonated drinks)
• 4-5 ice cubes
• 1 tsp salt

Method

• Tear the mint leaves and crush in a glass to serve or simply blend it with the fruits in a blender. Add the crushed mint leaves, pineapple chunks, mango nectar, salt and blend it for 30 seconds.
• Pour the entire contents with ice cubes into the cocktail shaker and shake it vigorously for two minutes and pour into the glasses.
• Top it with ginger ale to get the frothy effervescence into your mocktail.
• Serve chilled garnished with a pineapple wedge.

Kairi Nimbu ka Chaat

Kairi Nimbu ka Chaat

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup mint leaves
• 1 lemon
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 4 lemon slices for garnishing
• 1 cup raw mango panha
• Handful of mint leaves for garnishing
• ½ tsp roasted cumin powder
• ½ tsp black salt
• ½ tsp chaat masala

Method

• Separate the mint leaves from stalk, rinse thoroughly with water and dry over the sieve completely. Place the mint leaves in the mixer jar, add sugar to it. Also add black salt, chaat masala and roasted cumin powder. Squeeze out lemon and add its juice too. Add kairi panha and ½ cup water, and grind finely. Strain it through the sieve, remove if there are any leftovers.
• Put ice cubes in a glass. Now add sharbat to the glasses. Fill half the glasses with prepared sharbat. Fill rest of the glasses with water. You can also use soda water instead of water.
• Garnish with some lemon slices, raw mango and mint leaves. Refreshing and chilled lemon mint sharbat is ready to serve.

Yellow Smoothie

Yellow Smoothie

INGREDIENTS

• 1 small alphonso mango, diced
• 1 banana, diced
• ¼ pineapple, diced
• 35 gm passion fruit puree

Method
Blend everything in a mixer. Serve cold

— Recipe by Antonia Achache, head chef and partner at Suzette Kitchen Garden