It's a lazy Sunday. I know I have to work through the multitude of chores that have piled up through the week and beyond; some of which cannot wait for another weekend. I decide to work seriously on the morning juice and think about what is to be tossed later.
So in goes
a few leaves of spinach,
coriander,
jaggery,
lemon,
2 inches of dudhi (or lauki or bottle gourd) and
a pinch of salt.
The juice turns out yummy and I am feeling energised.
I finish my morning chores and by 12 pm I am hungry again but in no mood to toss myself a salad so I just cut some carrot and cucumber into sticks and have it with a Raw Mango & Mint Chutney I have made last evening and stored in the fridge.
Ingredients for the Raw Mango & Mint Chutney:
1 Katori Raw Mango - diced
1 small bunch of mint leaves, cleaned
1 tsp Cumin
2 Chillies (per taste)
Jaggery (per taste)
Salt
Method:
FIrst grind everything except the mint (as mint on excessive grinding gets too warm and hence a stale taste in a few hours). After you grind the rest into a paste, add the mint leaves and grind only for a few seconds. The mint breaks down immediately. This is one of my favourite chutneys as it has all the flavours mixed together. It is hot & tangy & sweet at the same time. This is a great recipe to go to especially in the summers when kairi is available in abundance.
For lunch since I am out visiting friends, I end up having a couple of bowls of chilled watermelon, another life-saver during summers.
By the time I head back home, it is already 4.30 pm and I am half wilted from the heat. So I come home and make a summer cooler for myself. A lemon, jaggery, chaat masala drink in cold water. I have also kept some aamras (pulped mango to which I add a bit of cardamom and a wee bit of salt) in the fridge to chill which I polish off with relish.
Evening again I am in no mood to cook. I have bought some makhana (fox nuts) which have a very high nutritional value. I put them in a box and just toss some salt, a wee bit of sugar and some chilli powder on them. Close the box and shake it. problem is when there is no oil and heat, the spices do not stick to the makhana. But I am too tired t care. I pick up a pinch of the mixture in one hand and gobble it with the makhana in another :P
I also have a small katori of dry fruits so that I do not feel hungry at night, cause I somehow feel that the oh-so-light makhanas will not satisfy my hunger and I will wake up in the middle of the night looking for a mid-night snack. The dry fruits do their job and I decide to call it a day and pull the curtain on Day 6 of my raw diet :)