Sparkling Ginger Lime & Mint Cooler

These are fabulous recipes from Modern Indian cookbook , written by my new friend and famous chef, Hari Nayak. If you are new to Indian cooking, this is absolutely the perfect book to start with. The recipes are simple, elegant and uses ingredients you can find in most supermarkets.

Sparkling Ginger Lime Cooler

serves 6

1 (3-inch) piece peeled fresh ginger, grated on microplane grater
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 6 limes)
6 cups sparking water or club soda
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

In a blender, blend together all the ingredients, except ice. Strain and serve over lots of ice. You can also add gin or vodka too!

Sweet Yogurt Sundae with Saffron & Pomegranate

Yes, this is the same yogurt sundae from November. Remember when I slept with Rocco?

My favorite source for saffron is a company called Saffron.com, where you’ll find a better quality of the spice at least 10 times cheaper than at your local market. You can judge the quality of the saffron by just looking at it. Pure saffron is red and only includes the style. If you see any yellow or orange on the thread, then you’re paying for the stigma which is colorless, tasteless and aromaless. Get the good stuff, as you are only using a pinch of the spice.

Sweet Yogurt Sundae with Saffron & Pomegranate

Serves 8

4 cups plain yogurt
1/4 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 pomegranate
2 kiwis
large pinch of saffron strands

Line a large sieve or colander with cheesecloth. Place colander over a bowl. Place yogurt in colander to drain for 2-3 hours in the refrigerator. Discard the water (or whey.) Turn the yogurt into a bowl and mix in the honey, nutmeg and cardamom. Lightly toast the saffron strands in a small dry skillet over medium heat, until brittle. Let saffron cool on plate and with your fingers, finely crush the strands. Cut kiwi into small pieces and remove the seeds from the pomegranate. Layer yogurt, fruit and saffron in dessert cups.

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Photo time!

Here are the photos that led up to the money shot. I’m still not happy with these photos, but take a look. And !@(*$&!$! what’s going on with the soggy, mushy colors??? They look perfectly vibrant to me loaded from my computer, but then it gets to the web and BAM! the photos look drunk. I’m using same monitor to view both. argh.