fascinatingfoodworld

Spicy watermelon popsicles

Are you feeling the heat already? Mumbai is getting hot and humid by the day and these frozen watermelon Popsicles is all I want to cool myself down!

Speaking of things which help you cool down, you must try my home-made Thandai recipe which has ingredients like fennel seeds, poppy seeds and melon seeds with natural cooling properties. Also Mocha Banana shake is cold, insanely chocolatey and banana in it provides instant energy and keeps you full for long time.

Coming back to this popsicle, do you often eat watermelon with kala namak? How yummy know! Well these popsicles are even better - iced cold, spicy, minty with right notes of sweet and sour. Such a treat in summers!

This popsicle is best eaten when you are thirsty and tired and want something refreshing and energising. Since it doesn't have any added sugar, its also great as a dessert. You can even serve these instead of welcome drinks to your guests.I am sure they are going to love it in this heat.

Kids love popsicles and they are going to absolutely flip after tasting these. Fruit popsicles is an amazing way of increasing fruit intake of kids.

While I love watermelon and I have used it before in other recipes too like Watermelon Gazpacho, Watermelon and tomato salad with basil vinaigrette and Watermelon Jalapeneo Lemonade, this watermelon popsicle is my new favourite way of eating watermelon.

They are so yummy that you won't be able stop at just one!

Refreshing , sweet-sour and spicy watermelon popsicle to beat the summer heat

Type: Popsicle/Frozen dessert

Diet: Vegetarian

Serving: 4 popsicles

Ingredients

1+1/2 cup fresh watermelon juice (Strained)
1 Tsp honey
1 Tsp lemon juice
1/2 Tsp pink salt
1/2 Tsp red chilli powder
few mint leaves

Method

Add honey, lemon juice, chilli powder, pink salt and mint leaves in the juice and mix everything together.

Take popsicle moulds and fill them with watermelon juice.

Place the moulds in freezer and freeze for 1 hour.

Remove mould after 1 hour and insert popsicle sticks.

Return moulds to the freezer and freeze untill firm or atleast 4 hours.

To remove popsicles, keep them out of freezer for 5 minutes and then remove.

Enjoy immediately.

More recipes to cool down during summers

Rose masala spritzer

Mango and cream cheese ice cream

Cucumber and mint cooler

Classic Lemon iced tea

Mango chilli lemonade

Home-made Kala khatta lemonade

Summer is officially here and I come bearing the most amazing and refreshing lemonade!

Home-made Kala khatta lemonade which is as delicious as easy it is to make. It's a delicious mix of black grape juice, sugar, lemon mint and hint of spices. Its sweet, tangy, pretty, super easy and ice-cold- it's the perfect drink for onset of summer.

Gone is the time of soups, all I want in summer is refreshing drinks to keep myself hydrated. This kala khatta lemonade has become my new favourite drink and I am pretty sure that kids are going to love it too. It would make the perfect welcome drink too when you have people over.

We all have grown up eating baraf golas in summer and kala khatta has always been the most popular flavour to drizzle upon the golas. This lemonade is inspired from my childhood memories and I was ecstatic when it turned out good, even better if I must stay.

It starts with reducing black grape juice and sugar together along with some citric acid which maintains the beautiful and vibrant pink colour of the grape juice. Once the grape juice reduces down sightly, it's cooled and strained and then just mixed with water to make lemonade. It's as simple as that! Since black grapes are sweet on their own, I have added lesser sugar so this home-made syrup is much better than the store-bought ones which are loaded with sugar. You can even replace sugar with honey if you like.

I can't tell you how amazing this lemonade tastes! Black grape juice gets concentrated due to reduction and tastes extremely fruity with right balance of sweet and sour. Bruise some mint and lemon along with spices before serving in a glass and you will get the most delicious lemonade you have ever made. You really gotta try it to believe what I am saying!

Home-made kala khatta lemonade- fruity, pretty, delicious and ice-cold drink!

Diet: Vegetarian
Type: Drink
Serving: 3-4 glasses

Ingredients

1+1/2 cup fresh black grape juice- strained
1/4th cup sugar
1/2 Tsp citric acid
1 Tsp roasted cumin powder
Black salt- to taste
Salt to taste
Few mint leaves
Few lemon wedges

Method

Start by adding black grape juice. sugar and citric acid in a pot and cooking it on medium heat.

Once the juice starts cooking, you will notice some impurities arising. Discard with the help of spoon.

When juice reduces to 1 cup approximately, turn off gas and leave it aside to cool down in its own.

Strain the syrup and keep aside.( You can even make a bigger batch of the syrup and store it in plastic container in freezer for months)

To make the lemonade, run lemon wedge around the rim of glass and coat in pink salt+ cumin powder mixture.

Next, add few mint leaves along with lemon wedge, cumin powder, salt and pink salt and muddle together.

Now pour kala khatta syrup in the glass and top with ice-cold water/soda and serve. Add 1 part of kala khatta syrup to 4 parts of water).

If you try this drink,don't forget to take a picture or leave a comment and tag #fascinatingfoodworld on Instagram.

Follow me on Instagram,Facebook and Pinterest for regular updates on new recipes.

You might like these summer drinks too

Cucumber and mint cooler

Classic lemon-iced tea

Mango chilli lemonade

Cold Mocha Banana shake

Orange-ginger masala lemonade

Rose and coconut water lemonade

Blushing pink smoothie bowl

Meet my new breakfast obsession- Blushing pink smoothie bowl! It's a celebration of red and pink hued fruits together - strawberries, beetroot and pomegranate!

I love starting my day on a healthy note and this smoothie bowl is incredibly healthy, filling and super-delicious. Of all the smoothies and smoothie bowls like this 3 layer winter smoothie and Mango colada smoothie bowl on blog, this bright pink smoothie bowl is probably one of the most delicious and satisfying ever.

First things first, a smoothie bowl is different than smoothie. It's much thicker and creamier so that it can be eaten with a spoon and doesn't have a flowing consistency like smoothies.

All you have to do is blend frozen banana, strawberries, pomegranate and beetroot (Yes, beetroot! You heard me right) together. In-case you are having doubts about adding beetroot in the smoothie, you won't taste it at all once it is blended with strawberries and pomegranate. Not only does beetroot packs the smoothie with goodness of nutrients like folate, iron, potassium but also lends beautiful pink colour to the smoothie.

This smoothie bowl has right balance of sweet and sour provided by strawberries and pomegranate. It makes for a perfect quick and substantial breakfast or snack and keeps you full for a long time. It's creamy, fruity and low in calorie. In case you are into healthy eating like me, you must give it a try!

What I love about smoothie bowls is that you can add so many delicious and crunchy toppings like pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, granola for extra nutrition. Love it when they pop in mouth with every creamy spoonful of smoothie. So So yum!

Creamy, delicious and healthy Pink smoothie bowl packed with nutrition.

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten-free
Type: Breakfast/Snack
Serving size : 1 portion

Ingredients

1 cup chopped strawberries
1 frozen banana
1/2 cup pomegranate
1 small boiled beetroot
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tsp lemon juice
1 Tsp chia seeds

Toppings

1 Tbsp shredded coconut
1 Tbsp chia seeds
Chopped strawberries
1 Tsp pumpkin seeds
Pomegranate

Method

Add frozen banana, strawberries, pomegranate, beetroot in a blender along with maple syrup, chia seeds and lemon juice.

Blend till smooth.

Pour in a bowl and add toppings of your choice.

I really hope you give this smoothie a try because you are gonna absolutely love it!

If you try this recipe, don't forget to leave a comment. Do take a picture and tag #fascinatingfoodworld on Instagram.

Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for regular update on new recipes.

More healthy breakfast recipes

Egg-less whole wheat apple pie pancakes

Chia pudding and granola parfait

Egg-less whole wheat chocolate pancakes with strawberries

Instant stove-top granola

3 layer winter smoothie

Mini strawberry-orange custard trifle

Hi everyone! Love is in the air and I come bearing the perfect Valentines day dessert!

I totally adore mini jar desserts. With different layers of cake, fruits and cream, they look so vibrant and beautiful. You can even cover them with lid and easily carry for a picnic or gift to people.

Coming back to this trifle, it's creamy, fruity, perfectly sweet and really indulgent! Perfect for V-day, rather perfect for other occasions too like kids birthday party, anniversary dinner and other festive celebrations. Its so easy and delicious that you must try it!

This trifle is inspired from my childhood days when custard with fresh fruits was one of my favourite desserts. If you ask me, only effort really required in this trifle is to make vanilla custard which also is very simple to make. Once custard is done and cooled down, this delicious and satisfying trifle comes together very quickly.

This strawberry-orange custard trifle is made up of following layers---->>>

Buttery biscuit crust
Vanilla sponge cake soaked in orange syrup
Vanilla custard
Strawberries
and a drizzle of chocolate sauce

It has very subtle hint of orange flavour from the vanilla sponge soaked in orange syrup which just makes this dessert even more special and appetising. There are a lot of flavours going on in this dessert like, vanilla, strawberries, orange and even slight bit of chocolate but they all really marry well and makes this dessert taste divine.

This trifle is perfect when you don't have too much time on hand and want to make something which your guests will love.

Creamy and light Strawberry-orange custard trifle which is simple to make and tastes delicious

Type: Dessert
Diet: Vegetarian
Serving: 3 portions

Ingredients and method

Digestive biscuit layer- 1/2 cup crushed digestive biscuits, 4 Tsp melted butter and 1 Tsp cocoa powder

Combine the ingredients together and set aside.

Cake layer- Vanilla sponge cake,1 cup orange juice, 2 tsp sugar

Combine orange juice and sugar together and boil it on high heat for 5 minutes and then turn off the gas. Cool down this syrup.

Custard layer- 1 cup thick custard

Make according to package instructions, add little more custard powder to make thick custard. Chill it in the fridge.

Strawberry layer- 1 cup chopped strawberries, 1 Tsp sugar and 1 Tsp lemon juice

Mix chopped strawberries, lemon juice and sugar together in a bowl and set aside.

Garnish- Mint and Hershey's chocolate sauce

Assembling the dessert

Take a mini mason jar and add buttery-biscuit crumbs as the first layer. Press down and level it.

For second layer, break down vanilla sponge into crumbs and add tighly over biscuit crust. Spoon 2-3 Tsps of orange syrup over the cake.

For 3rd layer, add thick custard.

For 4th layer, add chopped strawberries.

Chill in fridge for an hour and garnish with mint and chocolate sauce before serving.

If you try the recipe, don't forget to leave a comment. Do take a picture and tag #fascinatingfoodworld on Instagram.

Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for regular update on new recipes.

Some more easy and delicious recipes for Valentines day

Egg-less dark chocolate and walnut brownies

Ultimate Egg-less Chocolate cake

Strawberry Brownie trifle

No bake chocolate tart

Red Velvet cake with nutella buttercream (Eggless)

Rainbow Thai rice noodle salad

Meet my new favourite salad- Rainbow Thai rice noodle salad!

It's saucy, crunchy, healthy, hearty and loaded with colourful vegetables.

Star of this salad is zingy peanut dressing which is to die for. It has the perfect balance of sweet-sour-spicy which makes it quite flavourful. Not to forget that it has just the right amount of garlic and peanut butter which is not too overpowering. It is so yummy that you would want to use it in other recipes too. It can be used to marinate and grill vegetables or in a quick noodle stir-fry. It can also be used to make coconut milk based curry which can be eaten with rice. Really! The dressing is that good!

This salad starts with thinly slicing fresh vegetables and preparing the yummy peanut dressing. While that is happening, boil your rice noodle according to package instructions (they usually take 8-10 minutes in hot boiling water).

Another important element of this vibrant and delicious salad is herbs and slightly roasted cashews/peanuts. Mint and basil lend freshness and pack a good punch of flavour in the salad. Roasted cashews give a slightly nutty and crunchy feel to the salad.

Peanut dressing is creamy and it just binds all the ingredients together and makes this salad very very appetising. In-case you haven't tried peanut based dressing yet, please don't be apprehensive and do try this salad.

Since this salad has carbs in the form of rice noodles, it's hearty on its own and would be ideal for lunch/dinner. It also packs really well in lunchbox, just remember to pack the dressing and salad differently and dress the salad only before eating it. And if you can't find rice noodles, just use regular noodles or soba noodles.

This salad would pair well with Thai inspired recipes like this Tom Kha Ghai soup, Pad Thai, Som Tam (Raw Papaya salad) and Thai iced tea.

Quick, easy and super-delicious Thai inspired salad with rice noodles, vegetables and peanut dressing.

Type: Appetiser/Main-course
Diet: Vegetarian
Serving size: 2 portions

Ingredients

1 cup cooked rice noodles

1/2 cup thinly sliced purple cabbage,

1/2 cup thinly sliced carrot

1/2 cup thinly sliced cucumber each

1 cup thinly sliced mixed bell peppers

1/4^th cup chopped basil and ½ cup chopped mint leaves

1/4^th cup roasted cashews/ peanuts

Dressing

1+1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp peanut butter

1 Tsp soya sauce

1 Tsp honey

1+1/2 Tsp lemon juice

1 Tsp schezwan sauce

½ Tsp black pepper powder

½ Tsp chilli flakes

1-2 cloves grated garlic

1 Tbsp water

Salt to taste

Method

Cook rice noodles in boiling water for 5-10 minutes and then rinse under cold water and keep aside.

To make dressing, add all ingredients in a small air-tight jar and give a good shake. Taste and adjust seasoning.

For assembling the salad, add noodles, chopped vegetables, basil, mint, roasted cashews/peanuts and dressing in a salad bowl and mix with the help of tongs or forked spoon. Chill in fridge for half an hour.

Garnish with roasted peanuts/ cashews before serving.