MINTY JALJEERA

 MINTY JALJEERA

With the advent of the summer the days become blazing hot and we yearn for something to cool off. Jaljeera is an age old drink which has the necessary cooling effect. The basic version of jaljeera is made with water ( Jal) and Cumin Seeds (Jeera). It is considered good for digestion and also improves one's appetite. 

This version in addition to water and cumin seeds, has mint leaves, coriander leaves and assorted spices.

I have adapted this from Minty Jaljeera by the legendary Tarla Dalal. I have not garnished it with "boondi" out of my personal preference. 

Try it out for yourself and you can enjoy it to beat the heat outside. 

Ingredients:-

• Mint Leaves (Pudina),  1/2 cup
• Coriander, Leaves, (Dhania), 1/4 cup
• Lemon Juice, 1/4 cup
• Sugar, 2-3 tbsp or to taste
• Ginger, (Adrak), chopped, 1 tsp
• Cumin Seeds, (Jeera), 1 tbsp
• Dried Mango Powder (Amchur) 1 and 1/2 tsp
• Black Salt, (Sanchal), 2 tsp
• Salt, 2 tsp
• Chilled Water,  3 and 3/4 cups

Method:-

Remove the mint and coriander leaves from their stems

Wash them thoroughly and shake off the excess water and chop them  

Dry roast the cumin seeds 

Roughly chop or grate the ginger 

Blend well together in a mixer jar the chopped mint and coriander leaves, dry roasted cumin seeds, lemon juice, sugar, ginger, dried mango powder, black salt and salt, adding 1/4 cup of water 

Strain this blended mixture through a sieve into a vessel

To this add 3 and 3/4 cups of chilled water and mix well 

Pour the Minty Jaljeera into 4 glasses, add ice cubes as required, and serve garnished with boondi