Papaya Milkshake

The temperature has been found soring even higher this week touching the absolute 40 deg C.

Breakfasts are more of toasts and fruits along with fresh, plain, chilled yogurt or mildly spiced buttermilk, fruit juices or preferably shakes. I still had the remaining half of a Ripe Papaya, the first half which I served with the toasts, yesterday.

Today when Pongal, Chutney and some Puligojju barged in as the breakfast menu the papayas went into the cold milk which came out pretty as Chilled Papaya Milk Shake.

I have never made this before and was so refreshing and filling (I skipped Pongal and the accompaniments) and absolutely comforting.In spite of being a Papaya Hater, I Loved this drink since it didn’t have that ‘strong flavour’ of the fruit; the part, a papaya hater really dislikes.

Here’s how I made the drink,

Boiled and Chilled, Fat free milk- 3 cups

Ripe papaya , cut into half inch cubes-a large cup(more or less)

Sugar- 7-8 tsps or as you prefer

Ice cubes- a few

Powder sugar. Pulse/whip the fruit along with it.Add the ice cubes and the chilled milk and pulse again until well blended.Pour into glasses and enjoy the fresh milk shake.

It is not advisable to store the ‘shake’ as you might be doing with the other fruit shakes as this one tends to get curdled soon, though edible. I presume it is due to the enzyme Papain, present in the fruit which does so while blended with milk.

This goes to Srivalli's Thanda Mela, the summer drinks event, celebrating 3 years of her successful blogging and to Indrani's Spotlight event of Summer Food and Drinks.

Just a few shots to see what sunlight can do to this Drink...

Something which really interested me with the drink was the change of colours I noticed while I placed the glass near the window, the usual spot.

It had more of a rich golden yellow-orange hue.

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...while with the lesser light, the papaya shake looked naturally pretty with its mild pink colour.

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When all the 3 colours of the drink; ‘golden yellow-orange-pink’, combined, were captured.

'Pretty' healthy drink...na?? ;)

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Kapplanga Thoran/Stir fried Green Papaya with Coconut.

Papaya is one among the vegetable/fruit category known in different names all throughout the state of Kerala; Kapplanga or Papparakka in Central Kerala, Koppakka in and around Thrissur and Karamoos in Northern Kerala.

Papaya is rich in Vit A,Vit C, calcium,iron and protective antioxidant carotenoids.Rich in Fibre and low in sodium, papaya contains papain, a natural and unique enzyme.


The Papain in the mature green papaya works to break down various protein, in the foods we consume.The proteolytic action of the papain break downs the protein into carbohydrates and fats thus reducing the lymphatic congestion.

This post goes to Nags,(who nagged me a little :) to send over the recipes,without delay :) for AFAM-Papaya, she hosts.(Yes, the papaya tree is from our front yard, of our house in Kerala, as you can see).

Also, my third entry to RCI-Kerala hosted by dear Jyothsna.:)

Coming back to the recipe,Thoran is a dry side dish of Kerala, prepared with thinly sliced, grated or cubed vegetables mixed with grated coconut and spices, tempered with that touch of coconut oil.

You need:

Green/Raw papaya, peeled,de seeded and cut to small cubes- 2 cups
Turmeric powder-2 pinches
Salt-to taste

To grind coarse;

Grated coconut-1/2 cup
Cumin seeds-1/4 tsp
Garlic cloves-1 or 2 nos
Red chillies-2-3 nos
Shallots/ulli-4 nos
Turmeric powder-1 pinch

To season;

Coconut oil-A tbsp
Mustard seeds-1/4 tsp
Urad dal-1/4 tsp
Curry leaves-A sprig

Method:

I. Cook the papaya pieces in just enough water(say,in ½ or ¾ cup) in a closed pan till they are just half cooked and firm,adding salt and turmeric powder along with.Toss the pieces now and then while cooking to ensure even doneness.

II. Heat coconut oil in a thick bottomed kadai, splutter mustard seeds and brown the urad dal.Throw in the curry leaves.
Add the coarsely ground paste,which had been pulsed using minimum water, next, keeping the flame low.
Sauté for half a minute so as to get rid of any raw smell.
Dump in the half cooked papaya pieces and blend in carefully with the seasonings in the kadai.
Sprinkle water is necessary and keep the pan closed, with the flame; minimum.

III. Open the lid once in every 2 minutes to ensure the pieces are cooked soft and blended well enough, giving the wonderful aroma and the consistency of the Thoran!.
This whole slot should take not more than 7-10 minutes, in all.
If you feel any sticking or charring in the bottom sprinkle more water and keep the flame low again,very low, till done.
Enjoy with hot boiled rice and any curry!.


Other 'Papaya' recipes, posted..

• Kaplanga Ularthu/Stir-fried Green Papaya
  
• Papaya-Cashew Muffins

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Papaya-Cashew Muffins

Little Mister-busy with his usual online multiplayer game.

Mom approaches and informs-"Hey, chithi is hosting Papaya for AFAM!."(chithi=mom’s younger sister).

Little Mister-without taking off his eyes from the monitor,"ahem, she knows I am not a fan of that fruit".

Mom-"She doesn’t have to consider you. All she has is to think of a fruit which is not yet announced for the event and this is one among them.Next, she has to consider her readers and the availablility of the fruit."

Little Mister-Sighs deeply, seeming disappointed.

Mom-"Now tell me what I can make with the fruit and contribute to her."

Little Mister -"Like what?", in a low voice, still reluctant to take his eyes off from the screen.

Mom-"… hmm… sort of salad or a salsa?…smoothie? milk shake?..may me muffins?…or..

Little Mister-“that sounds better…muffins..bake them, ma.”

Little Mister gets over with his game, mom googles for a long while and book marks the following recipe, from here!.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups diced peeled papaya
1-1/4 cups lightly salted roasted cashew nuts

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 190 deg C.


• Prepare muffin pans.


• In a bowl beat oil and sugar for 2 minutes then add eggs and vanilla and beat 1 minute.


• In another bowl stir together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger.


• Add dry mix to wet mix then stir to just combine.


• Stir in papaya and cashews then spoon batter into pans.


• Bake for 25 minutes.


• Cool 5 minutes before removing.

Mom has halved the original recipe above, which yielded about a dozen medium sized muffins.The combination of the fruit and the nuts and the bursting aroma of the cinnamon and ginger were of course sinfully delicious as mentioned in the site!.

Little Mister returns from school in the evening, carefully pinches out the fruit pieces and the nuts, nibbles the cake along with the proclamation,"ma, this is not bad, but next time when you make this, you do the job what I am doing right now, yourself, before baking…ok??"

“Chithi, hope you are happy to receive what amma had made specially for the AFAM-Papaya event. Amma, daddy and akka did enjoy them”. :)

Bindiya, this is also for your cute event of My favourite things-Cakes and Muffins.:)

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Kaplanga Ularthu/Stir-fried Green Papaya

I had been a little away from home recently and had not been up with regular updations and blog visits.To top up, my camera failed to function, unexpectedly.Now that I am back with a simple dish.

Papaya, as you all know, is a common and well known Indian fruit.I have not come across much of dishes with the vegetable or the 'Green Papaya' in South Indian Cuisine other than Kerala. The tree laden with the vegetable is from my mom's garden and the dish was prepared fresh from a couple of them.

Kaplanga is nothing but papaya.Ularthu or Mezhukkupuratti is an oil coated stirfry associated with God's own country. Mezhukkupurattis had always rendered me the fine memories of Kerala with the mingled aroma of coconut oil and I love this mild spicy mix of the green vegetable.
This authentic recipe is posted specially for Suganya towards her lovely theme of Vegan Ventures.


Ingredients:

Raw Green Papaya, deskinned, cleaned and cut onto thin 1" long strips-2 cups
Shallots-3- crushed or minced fine
Garlic-2 cloves- crushed or minced fine
Turmeric powder-2 fat pinches
Coconut oil-A tbsp(more or less)
Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
Red chillies-4-broken into 3 pieces each
Curry leaves-A sprig
Salt-to taste



Method:

Cook the papaya pieces in a closed pan adding turmeric and salt in ¼ cup of water for about 5 minutes till the water is absorbed and the pieces are half cooked.
Heat oil in a kadai,splutter the mustard seeds.Add the crushed or minced shallots and the garlic and saute till the aroma spreads arounds.Throw in the red chillies and curry leaves,followed by the papaya strips.Keep the flame medium and toss the pieces gently allowing the oil to coat all over and the pieces are glossy.Turn or toss gently for a few more minutes till they acquire a golden colour as in the picture.Do not let it get fried for long.Toss again and serve hot with rice and curry.

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