Summer Refresher

On Saturday we were hosting the book club over at our place, and for some reason, including being unemployed, I decided to go all out on the food. Hyderabadi cuisine, followed by a dessert buffet. Yes, a bit crazy that way. And of course, given the elaborate menu, how could the drinks be plain old wine or vodka out of a bottle? I considered making melon sangrias with white wine but the effort to juice melons sounded too much, not to mention a bit uncertain since I’m not a good picker of ripe melons. So, to add a desi twist to the proceedings, I decided on aam panna margaritas, and they actually worked out delicious!!! Might just become one of my favourite summer drinks J

Ingredients:

Aam Panna squash (this is a cheat but it worked out to be so much less effort!! I used the Druk one) – 2 bottles
1.5 bottles Smirnoff Vodka
1.25 litres of water
Crushed ice – lots of…

Just mix the three ingredients together and serve with pride. If you can’t resist the urge to jazz it up, add slivers of mango peel, thinly sliced lemon or mint leaves, but they are unnecessary to the experience. This makes about 30 servings, depending on how generously you pour. Pictures? Are you kidding? We wiped out three pitchers of the stuff!!

The Menu for the night?
Bagare Baingan
Khatti dal
Hyderabadi Dahi wadas
Tamarind Rice
Curd rice

Paan kulfi, served on pan leaves
Rose-flavoured pannacotta topped with fresh mulberries, served on rose petals
Dumroth
No-bake cheesecake topped with grapes
Melon balls steeped in Malibu, with a chiffonade of mint