Mango Milkshake Recipe | How to make fresh Mango Milkshake at home?

Come summer, mango milkshakes have to be made.. Right? Yes, for us it is like "What is summer without a Mango Milkshake?' I would love to make some popsicles too but this year we are cutting low on sugar and some carbs too, so I guess the popsicles have to wait for another year maybe :( This milkshake can be tailored in many ways to suit our cravings and needs. You can make it rich by adding a pinch of saffron. You can make it healthy by skipping the sweetener. You can make it vegan by adding almond or coconut milk instead of the normal dairy milk. Or maybe add 2 scoops of ice cream instead of one ;) Choose as you may want to, but if the mangoes are reasonably sweet, then any variant of the shake is great and makes you feel  refreshed :) I generally make the shake with Alphonso (for it's bright colour :D) or Banganapally mangoes but you can choose any pulpy and reasonably sweet variety of mango for the shake..

Makes: 2 glasses

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 10 mins

I Used:

Alphonso Mango	-	2 medium sized ones
Milk	-	1-1½ cup (boiled, cooled & refrigerated)
Sugar/Jaggery/Sweetner (optional)	-	1-2 tbsp (As needed)
Ice cream (optional)	-	1 scoop
Saffron/Kesar (optional) Cardamom powder (optional)	- -	A pinch ¼ tsp
Nuts (optional)	-	2-3 tbsp

The Way:

1. Scrape the skin of the mango and trim the stalk off. Rinse it well in water. While trimming the stalk some milk can ooze out of the mango and it gives a weird taste if not rinsed properly

2. Cut the mango into small chunks and take them in a blender

3. Add milk to it and blend well

4. Now open the blender and taste the milkshake. If needed add sugar, kesar and ice cream and then give a final blend

5. Pour into tall glasses and serve cold. You can garnish with chopped nuts if needed

Notes:

• I use Alphonso (or Banganapalli) mangoes for it's colour and taste. It gives a deep yellow colour and the shake feels like store bought :) You can use any ripe, pulpy, sweet and fibreless mangoes of your choice for making the shake

• For a thick milkshake use less milk for blending. Also keeping the mango/mango pieces in fridge also helps

• If using ice cream, use vanilla or mango flavour so that the taste is not compromised much

• Use ice cubes while blending for chilled shake. It can make the shake a little runny. Instead use chilled milk and mango for making shake and serve the shake with ice cubes added in the glass

• You can blend in the nuts or use for garnishing. Sometimes I like to blend in the nuts when I skip adding extra sweetner. Then it feels like having an extra crunch and I do not feel that I have skipped the sweetner (At times it is for satisfying the mind too ;))

Cheers,

Chitz

Strawberry Milkshake | Easy Strawberry Milkshake without ice cream

Last recipe was with strawberry and this one too is with strawberry.. Blame it on the season ;) Around a month ago, when my parents came visiting us in Pune, we went on a short trip to Mahabaleshwar and visited the Mapro gardens in Panchgani. There we got strawberries at a cheap rate of 150 rupees per kilo. Actually some were saying that if you visit in the morning the rates are still cheaper and you an get them for an easy 80-100 rupees per kilo.. We were expecting to go pluck the strawberries at the farms but the locals there told that since it was peak season we were not allowed to and that would be allowed during March-April time.. So what did we do? We ate a lot of strawberries and bought a lot more and came back :D Dhruv was ready to eat them all as such but he caught a cold two days later, so we didn't give him much.. And me being a strawberry lover in just shakes and cakes, went ahead and made milkshakes with them using chilled milk ;) 

You can have variants of this simple recipe.. You can sneak in some ice cream - anything of your choice, be it vanilla or strawberry. Don't like milk? Then replace with some Greek yogurt or have a mix of both the yogurt and milk. Add in a nice ripe banana or a couple of dates.. Maybe a handful of chia seeds.. Or a tablespoon of cocoa powder ;) Want to cut low on sugar? Then add honey instead or maybe cane sugar..The options are plenty. You can adjust to your cravings and dietary requirements! 

Makes: 1 tall glass

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

I Used:

Strawberry	-	4-5 nos
Cashew	-	5 nos
Almond	-	4 nos
Sugar	-	2 tsp
Chilled Milk	-	1 cup

The Way:

1. In a mixer/blender, crush the cashews and almonds together

2. Once they are coarsely/finely (as you need) crushed, add the strawberries and sugar and give a nice blend

3. Now add the milk and blend smoothly. Serve cold !

Notes:

I normally boil the milk and let them cool down and then refrigerate them and use in my milkshakes and smoothies

Cheers,
Chitz