Mango Panna - A Raw Mango Drink

I was going to post on Father's day but got busy having fun. Yesterday was a day out and by the time we got back home, I was too pooped to lift a finger let alone finalize a post and publish it.

Every summer as I pick flowers from my yard to arrange at home, I think of my childhood. My father was a botanist (a paleo-botanist, to be precise) and my mother is an artist. My father's knowledge of botany and my mother's artistic sense made our little garden a work of art. Our garden was filled with blooms, rare orchids, ferns, exotic begonia, and my mother's bonsais - to me, it was near paradise. I would always see my mother arrange flowers on Fridays (even now) - every Friday had new table setting with fresh flowers year round. What I considered a norm is a luxury in this part of the world. Summer is my season, when I go overboard, even though I do not have a huge yard to boast of. I enjoy picking flowers from my yard and bringing the outdoors in. Food and entertaining was a big part of our household - I remember huge gatherings and tons of food - almost everything was home made! My father was an active member of the menu planning party, and so was Ditu (my sister) and I.  Each of us wanted our favorites and Dad's would almost always prevail, so my mother would sneak in our favorites somewhere in the menu. No matter how busy dad was, he would always notice the fresh flower arrangement or a new art work at home and never fail to compliment my mother for her choice.

I remember my mother making Panna a lot during the summer months and it was a huge hit with family and friends. A great beverage for a party, as you can make it ahead of time. It was dad's favorite!

The size of a house doesn't matter, nor does the size of the city, village, or town that you come from. It is more important to grow up with values and principles. If I could go back in time, I would not like to change a thing! I learned a lot of life lessons from my father... To enjoy the little things, to question things and not follow blindly, to be fearless in pursuing your dreams because you believe in them, self discipline, and my first and finest spiritual lessons. To dad, wherever you are,  I love you - Happy Father's Day.

1 Raw Mango

1cup Jaggery or brown sugar

1 1/2 cup water

cardamom powder

pinch of salt
additional water to dilute the drink

Mix the jaggery, water bring to a boil. Make sure all of the sweet goodness is dissolved. Add the cardamom powder. Peel the cooked mango, chop into big chunks and blend. Mix all the ingredients and desired amount of water.

I just love the flavor and the small bits of mango that come in my mouth while drinking!! It is a great drink for summer months, not only for your taste buds but helps you from a heat stroke.

And here some clicks for my yard :))) Off I go to clean a messy house......