Aam Pudina Panna: Green Mango Panna with Mint

Vendor carts sell fresh green mangoes right outside my home these days. What better invitation to pick some up and make aam panna (green mango panna)?

Making aam panna is a little time-taking but it’s worth the effort. The drink is packed with nutrition and helps you tackle the bad effects of loo. Adding mint into the mix enhances its cooling and digestive properties. You do get aam panna too, but that doesn’t taste nearly as good as the homemade stuff. Plan to make this drink when you have some extra time for the kitchen.

You Need:

• Green Mango – 1 large: I use totapuri mango, have tried others too but this one seems to taste best for this drink.
• Mint leaves – a handful, plucked
• Roasted cumin powder – 1/2 teaspoon
• Black salt (kala namak) – 1/2 teaspoon
• Pepper – freshly ground, 1/4 teaspoon
• Sugar – To taste: Some more than you’d put in sweet lime water.

How To Make Green Mango Panna with Mint:

Wash and chop fresh mint leaves.

Roast the mango, unpeeled, on the fire on medium-low heat. I put the mango on the gas burner over a stand. Keep turning it every few minutes. By the end of it, the mango’s skin should blacken all over but not turn to ash. I usually tie in the roasting while I’m doing something else nearby, as the mango needs a watchful eye but you don’t need to stand over it every moment.

Take the roasted mango off the fire and let it cool. [Avoid looking at the dirty burner with dismay, it gets cleaned up in no time.] When cool, break off the skin taking care not to let its particles stick to the mango. The skin will crumble away very easily.

Squeeze out all the roasted mango pulp into the blender. Put in all the other ingredients (sugar, pepper, roasted cumin powder, black salt, mint leaves), add a glass of water and blend.

This is a concentrate that makes 4-5 glasses. You can bottle and store green mango panna concentrate in the fridge for about two days; longer if you use dried mint in place of fresh.

To Serve:

Add ice cubes to a tall glass. Pour in green mango panna concentrate and water in a 1:1 ratio. Garnish with fresh mint leaves.

Notes: