Ahhhhh! Chilled Kairi Panha!!!
Summers bring with them the most refreshing & cooling drink ever- Kairi Panha or fresh raw mango cooler!!! Made out of boiled raw green mangoes and caramelized brown jaggery that’s not overly sweet, this one’s a winner all the way! High on taste & top of the health chart too. Thanda Thanda cool cool!
Flavour it any way you like, blend with some elaichi powder and saffron strands the traditional Maharashtrian way or muddle some mint leaves with sugar, black salt, pepper & jeera powder to enjoy it chatpata North Indian style!
Consuming raw mangoes in summers is extremely beneficial to us in many ways. Rich in vitamin A and E that boosts one’s hormonal system. It prevents dehydration by replenishing our sodium chloride. Very helpful in healing stomach disorders such as constipation, bloating, indigestion and diarrhoea. It is high in vitamin C, calcium, magnesium which is useful for releasing toxins from the body. Great for skin & hair too.
In short, an ideal energizing summer drink to keep your body cool and hydrated from within, all through summer, protected from intense heat and dehydration.
I often wonder how our grandparents & ancestors were so aware of all the benefits hidden in these specific cooling summer time recipes, ensuring to cook only certain foods, fruits, vegetables and grains at this time of the year & strictly restricting others to winter months when we require more heat producing foods. Such happy memories come rushing to my mind, of my grandmother preparing this vitamin-enriched cooler in large quantities for us. Especially needed & appreciated when we would be playing outside in the hot sun all day with cousins, blissfully unaware of the blazing heat and the harm it could cause us.
Recipe for Two Ways Raw Mango Cooler – Kairi Panha
Ingredients (Serves 4 Persons)
To pressure cook:
- 1 raw mango (I have used a round, local variety of mangoes)
- 2 cups water
Other ingredients (Maharashtrian style)
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder / elaichi powder)
- 4-5 strands saffron /kesar, mixed into 2 tbsp hot water
- ½ cup brown Kolhapur jaggery (upto ¾ cup depending on the sweetness)
- cold water
- few ice cubes
North Indian style
- 3-4 leaves mint / pudina
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder / jeera powder
- ¼ cup sugar depending on the sourness of raw mango or as per your taste
- ½ teaspoon pepper powder
- ½ teaspoon black salt
- 1 slice of lime (optional)
- few ice cubes
- cold water
Procedure
- Pressure cook 1 raw mango with 2 cups water for 4 whistles until mango is cooked well.
- Cool completely and discard the skin of the mango.
- Scrape the pulp of the mango. Measure in a cup & then transfer it to a blender. Blend with jaggery/sugar to form a smooth paste without adding any water.
- Now add your flavourings as per your preferred style & blend once again.
- Your raw mango cooler concentrate or Kairi Panha is ready.
- To serve, in a tall glass take 1 tbsp of panha concentrate and ¼ cup water. Blend well.
- Fill the glass with ice-cold water and ice cubes & mix well.
- Enjoy fresh Kairi Panha garnished with fresh mint leaves or a slice of lime.
- It is usually recommended to add double the quantity of jaggery or sugar to the mango pulp. The ratio is 1:2 for mango pulp and jaggery respectively. So before adding sugar or jaggery measure the amount of mango pulp in a measuring cup. If you get 1 cup of mango pulp, then add 2 cups of jaggery or as per your taste.
- It also depends entirely on the variety of raw mango, with Totapuri requiring slightly less jaggery than other varieties.
The Culinary Konnoisseur 