Kairi Panha – a green mango drink recipe

Whenever I visit my family in Bombay in summers, I know that I’ll find tubs of homemade ice cream and bottles of homemade raw mango drink aka Panha in my aunt’s fridge.

So, when I popped over yesterday over tea time, we had a good cup of tea prepared by my uncle. Then I stayed over and got some work done over family gossip. It was nearly evening and I asked my aunt if she was going to give me a glass of panha. She said, “I haven’t made it yet this season, but I do have one raw mango in the fridge, so we can make it now.” I did think she was joking, because from whatever little I knew, I thought it would take more time than that. I was wrong, because in 20 minutes flat, I was drinking a beer mug full of chilled kairi panha, which is the armour you need to fight these really hot days in Bombay in summer.

This is a super quick pressure cooker version. But you can also char the raw mango on an open flame, then peel off the skin and puree the flesh similarly to get a more intense smokey flavour. I intend to try that the next time.

Kairi Panha

STEP BY STEP PICTURES: Who needs bottled drinks, when this all natural raw mango drink - Kairi Panha, can be prepared in less than 20 minutes! A popular summer cooler made using seasonal raw mangoes, try this one out!

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Servings: 15 cups

Course: drink

Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 350 grams mango large raw , roughly
• sugar 1/2 cup
• cardamoms 3 green
• salt pinch of black
• cumin pinch of roasted powder
• mint leaves mint fresh or sprinkle of dried for garnish

Method

 

1. Peel and roughly chop the raw mango, discarding the seed and the white skin around the seed.
   
2. In a pressure cooker, place the chopped raw mango with the sugar and 1 cup water. Remove the seeds from the green cardamom and add it to the cooker. Pressure cook for 3 whistles and 5 minutes on sim.
   
3. Once the cooker is cool enough to open, remove this mix into a blender.
   
4. Once the mixture has cooled a bit, blend until you get a fine puree.
   
5. This is your Kairi Panha concentrate.
6. To prepare the drink, in a medium sized glass, place 3 ice cubes, fill the glass with 1 part of the raw mango puree and 2 parts water. Add roasted cumin powder, black salt and mix well. Garnish with fresh mint leaves or dried mint powder. Drink immediately.
   
7. You can even use the whole lot to prepare a jug full of kairi panha.
8. You can use powdered jaggery instead of sugar for a more rustic flavour.
9. This drink also makes a superb base to prepare vodka, white rum or gin based cocktails in summer.

Notes

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