This Summer's Top 3 Cooling Drinks

Summer certainly seems to have come early this year (not that I am complaining!) but this does mean we will be on the hunt for ways to stay cool and keep our body temperature regulated both during the day and at night.

In India where temperatures soar during the summer months, yogurt is often used to make drinks known as lassi's to help people stay cool. Yogurt is naturally cooling on both the digestive system and body generally and when added to water, it becomes a great hydrating drink to quench that thirst!

A Traditional Lassi is usually savory, seasoned with cumin, salt or cilantro or all of these things. I have put a more middle eastern twist on this first recipe with sumac, another spice known for its cooling properties.

Serves 2

1/2 cup greek yogurt (full fat please!)
100 ml cold water
1/4 tsp Spice Sanctuary cumin ground
1/4 tsp Spice Sanctuary sumac

Mix all ingredients in a blender and drink cold!

My second version of lassi is using watermelon, another cooling ingredient in itself and buttermilk. Buttermilk is essentially a fermented milk drink with acidity in its taste which actually benefits the gut as it acts like a probiotic. For a little exoticness, I've added rose water into the mix to further boost the cooling nature of this delicious drink! And for spice, I chose fennel seeds and fresh mint. Both of these work on the digestive systems, dispersing the heat away from there and also cooling the body down too. So much of our body heat and internal heat resides in our gut and it is important to cool this area down as much as any other.

Watermelon Mint & Rose Lassi

Serves 2

1 cup watermelon chunks

1/2 tsp Spice Sanctuary Fennel Seeds

2   fresh mint leaves

1/2 tsp Rose water

200ml Buttermilk (or you could also use kefir as an alternative probiotic)

Blend all the ingredients together and enjoy cold over ice.

Last but not least, since the base of lassi is always dairy based, I would be remiss if I didn't create a recipe suitable for those with lactose intolerances. 

This Peach and Pistachio Lassi is quite rich and decadent and so easy to make.

Serves 1

100-125 ml cold Pistachio milk (made from pistachios and water, blended and strained - no need to soak)

1/4 tsp Spice Sanctuary Cardamom Ground seeds

1 Peach, cut into chunks with skin on

drizzle maple syrup to taste

Blend all the ingredients together and enjoy immediately!

There you have it, 3 easy ways to help you sip on something cool this summer and guaranteed to be patio pleasers too!

Creating Moroccan Harmony in Your Kitchen

One of the most amazing gifts the spices in our cupboards gives us is the ability to go on a culinary journey around the world right from our kitchen! This weekend, I hosted a dinner party and the theme was Morocco! Although the food was themed, the preparation and ingredients used all had another common theme: they can be used in and for so many other dishes.

The harmony of flavours created from cumin, coriander, chili, mint, cinnamon, garlic, orange flower water, rose water and nuts is quintessentially Moroccan but why just use them for this when there is a whole world of food and dishes to explore too!

Eggplant Boats

We started with an eggplant dish that I created using the Spice Sanctuary Moroccan Harmony Spice Blend. Just 3 Tablespoons of the blend mixed with some garlic, honey, lemon juice and a little oil and voila! A marinade you can use on almost anything! Try on steaks, lamb, as a salad dressing...

Harissa, Tagine and More!

Our mains consisted of one of the very first recipes I ever created - a chickpea and butternut squash tagine. This was accompanied by Harissa shrimp and a divine nutty rice dish cooked in a tagine which our friends brought!

This was the first time I made Harissa and again, I quickly realized just how versatile this paste can be too! You can use this as a hot and fiery pasta sauce, as a flavouring for soups, in place of store bought Ketchup too....

For my version of a Harissa paste, click here! 

For the other recipes mentioned, it's a tease but you'll have to wait for the cookbook :)