Mango Lassi

Mango Lassi is a perfect summer drink with its creamy texture and cooling properties. You can use fresh mangoes if it is in season or you could also use frozen or canned ones. This drink is flavored with cardamom or/and saffron. This is one of the popular beverages in Indian cuisine. You will definitely find them in menu of any Indian restaurant. 

Ingredients:

1. Ripe Mango - 1 cup
2. Yogurt - 1 cup
3. Milk - 1 cup
4. Sugar - 2-3 tablespoon 
5. Cardamom pods - 5

Method:

1. Peel the ripe mangoes, remove the pit and cut into large pieces. Add the mangoes pieces in a blender along with rest of the ingredients.
2. Add 5-6 ice cubes and blend them into smooth puree.
3. Serve immediately.

I had the opportunity to select the theme for "Shhh cooking secretly" challenge. This is a group in Facebook which has a monthly challenge. In this challenge a theme is selected at the beginning of the month by one of the participants. All the members are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are supposed to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month. This month's theme is "Mango recipes" where we could make a dish from any cuisine using raw or ripe mangoes. My partner for this month is Preethi Prasad who blogs at Preethi's cuisine. My ingredients were cardamom and yogurt and I gave her coriander seeds and poppy seeds. She made a raw mango curry which is a perfect curry for hot steaming rice. 

Avocado Toast

This is a very basic avocado toast with simple ingredients. It is very easy to make on a busy morning. We just need around 5 minutes to whip up this healthy protein-rich breakfast. All you need is a ripe avocado and a couple of slices of bread. I have added chili flakes and pepper powder for spiciness in this recipe and this can be added or removed as per your spice preference. The avocado used should be just ripe and not too mushy. It is preferable to consume it immediately after preparing it. Even though lemon juice added will prevent the discoloration of avocado, I believe the taste of avocado alters with time.

Ingredients:

• Bread slices - 2
• Avocado - 1 
• Lemon juice - 1/2 teaspoon 
• Chili flakes - 1/8 teaspoon
• Pepper powder -1/8 teaspoon 
• Black sesame seeds - 1/8 teaspoon
• Butter - 1 teaspoon (optional)
• Salt - a pinch

Method:

1. Toast the bread slices with butter. This is completely optional. If you want, you can just toast it without butter.
2. Take the avocado, cut it in half, and remove the pit. Scoop out the flesh and transfer it to a bowl.
3. Mash the avocado with a fork. I like mine to be completely smooth. 
4. Add a pinch of salt, pepper powder, chili flakes, and sesame seeds to the mashed avocado and mix well. 
5. Spread the avocado mix on toast and serve.

As part of the "Sshhh Cooking secretly" challenge, a theme is selected at the beginning of the month by one of the participants. All the members are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are supposed to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month. This month's 'Protein-rich breakfast' theme is chosen by Renu. Do check out her recipe of Tofu Bhurji she made for this theme. 

Priya Vijaykrishnan is my partner for this month. She gave me pepper powder and lemon juice as my ingredients and I gave her coconut and curry leaves as her secret ingredients. Priya prepared very healthy black lentil crepes. Do check out her blog for a wide variety of traditional dishes like Thiruvadhirai kali.