Qamar El Din/Apricot leather juice

Let’s talk Qamar El Din for it’s the in thing to talk and drink this season when it is sold in heaps and mounds in UAE. There were more reasons for me to try this at home. Firstly, the name Kamar-uddin, thickly resembled like a long forgotten uncle’s name from a Muslim community where I spent my thin slice of childhood sharing, caring and wondering about their traditions and how religious they actually are. Memories of breaking fast together and eating with all my might seeing my buddies struggle to eat after a long day of fast. Memories of hills and fields, of lotuses and water lilies, and thick clay which we muddled to shape it to the finest shape possible.  

Secondly, a glass of Qamar El Din is truly a sight to behold. It is reminiscent of glass jars which carry candles that brighten your living room, making it look instantly feng shui-ed. It was indeed beautiful with emerald pistachios.

Stop ... My sense of taste was not in harmony with the sight and when I gulped, the reality bit. Sadly I am not an apricot enthusiast anymore. Now this time my family was with me drinking and Mummy said I should have considered snacking on them instead of pureeing it. Oh! this is an acquired taste.

Ingredients

Apricot leather - 300 g 

Water - 4 glasses 

Sugar as required

Ice 

Rosewater - 2 tsp

Nuts to garnish 

Method

Using scissors, snip apricot leather into pieces. Place apricot leather and water in a pan. Bring them to boil stirring them in between. Switch off the stove and leave it to cool. Stir in between to break any lumps. Pass through a sieve. Mix in rosewater. Serve with ice and nuts. 

Mango Salsa

I’m a mango lover and a trip to Kerala in early May seemed to be a brilliant idea as the mango season was still on. The thought of gorging on limited edition mangoes made my mouth watery, you know what I mean, the ones you grow in your or someone else’s backyard, timely picked and ripened with much love and care for perfect texture, color, and smell that even the flies nor you want to be away from them.  

Then confronted by a real life situation of days moving like a breeze, typical of us visitors who pays yearly visit, we started getting acrobatic in scooter to catch up with friends and family and returning back home with those limited edition mangoes and no time to eat them.

Back home, the real deal were Pakistani mangoes. It is a dream of a mango, so sweet and cheap, having a couple of slices will make you think world is indeed a better place to be, and how blessed you are to savor them. I say it is a sweet swap for alphonsa mangoes. 

I skipped my dinners for mango mousse, a mid morning meal for a sweet bowl of yummy yummy fruit salad with some milkmaid to top it, you call it mango smoothie or mango milkshake, I am for it. This salsa has to be the healthiest thing I have done this mango season followed by a Mango Pulissery. I could have dressed a taco shell with mango salsa, and it would have been lovely. But then we are so used to fruit chaats, I ate it all by itself. I never tried pairing it with fish, chicken, or pork and wonder how that would be? For that experience, I cannot stretch my mangoes anymore. My fruit bowl is empty.  

By the by, do you think the topmost caption should be Ode to mangoes rather than a mango salsa?

Ingredients 

Chopped mangoes - 1 cup

Chopped ripe tomatoes - 3/4 cup

Chopped capsicum - 1 tsp

Spring onion - 2 tsp

Chilli flakes - 1/4 tsp

Oregano - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Method

In a bowl, combine the mangoes and tomatoes. Lightly mash them with a spoon. Add capsicum, spring onion, chilli flakes, oregano, and salt. Mix well. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.