July 16, 2012

Mango Lemonade


Ramadan is almost here—the most wonderful and magical time of the Islamic calendar. And on these last few days, with each day bringing us a little closer to the fasting season, there’s so much to think about, so much to do—iftar meals to plan and to attend, guest lists to confirm, suhoor meals to schedule, without having to worry about getting new abhayas tailored, and plenty more Ramadan-y things to get hopelessly lost in. But for now, before I get whisked away to a flurry of activities, I’m taking a few minutes for a quick hello, and share this delightful citrusy drink to set the Ramadan mood, and as usual, fill this space with plenty of photos too.

Fasting from sunup to sundown, there’s one thing my body craves most—drinks. And in this seriously H-O-T summertime weather with the mercury soaring past 110 most days, it’s not going to get any easier—days are long, the days are hot, and the nights are very short. Mindful of the weather, It is necessary to drink plenty of fluids and stay well hydrated after breaking the fast.

Two types of drinks work beautifully for iftar meals—something light, refreshing and thirst-quenching like lemonade, or something more creamy and filling like a fruit smoothie. And of course, tea—I absolutely need tea at iftar, be it summer or winter. More than just a cup, for that matter.
Lemonade is our refreshment of choice to quench thirst at Iftar, and with a whole month to cater to, there’s nothing more welcoming than flavored variations, especially if it’s fruit flavored. Mango lemonade makes the perfect summertime drink, it has this delightful yellow hue and subtle mango flavor that adds a nice aromatic sweetness—serve it with a bucket-loads of ice, and you have the perfect cooler for sipping on a hot, hot day. If you love munching mangoes, you’ll love drinking it too.

And now, before the glasses are filled with drinks, and we get lost in the magic of the season, a million thank you’s for your lovely, lovely thoughts and notes, comments and e-mails over the past year, and especially after my most recent tête-à-tête on fb. Life is full of little pleasures and moments to treasure, and it feels really wonderful to have you to share such loveliness.
 
{p.s.} utterly inspired by recipe card designs, I’m offering you more than one choice to toast the most beautiful season of the year. Oh and don’t forget to tell me your favorite pick!
Mango Lemonade

Ingredients
Makes 4 drinks
Prep 5 min

½ cup fresh mango puree (I used Pakistani Honey mango)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar, or to taste
2 ½ cups water, divided
Directions

Blend mango puree, lemon juice and 2 cups water in an electric blender; transfer to a pitcher.

Meanwhile, microwave ½ cup water and sugar on high power for 30 seconds; stir to dissolve and add to the mango juice in the pitcher. Chill mixture until ready to serve.

To serve, pour into tall, chilled jars (I used left over jam jars) or glasses filled with ice. Stir to enjoy.
Hope you are having a perfectly beautiful summer week, and it gets better with each passing day.


Submitting to the Monthly Mingle – Taste of yellow event hosted at Cooksister blog.

64 comments:

  1. Beautiful clicks. Loved using the bottles!

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    1. O yea, mason jars are so much fun!

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  2. Nice and refreshing drink and Awesome clicks!!!!!!so beautiful ...

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  3. beautiful clicks as always!!

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  4. wow beautiful clicks as always...i have some mango pulp sitting in the refrigerator.

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  5. Nash....I cant take my eyes off from your tempting clicks...loved the bottles...

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    1. Thank you Nisa! I keep collecting all these left over mason jars... :)

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  6. Love ur photography Nashi!!!

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    1. Jovita!! So happy to see you here, thanks much hon!

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  7. Simply STUNNING!!! No words to describe the beauty of each click..oh and love the mango touch to the lemonade.

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  8. Beautiful clicks and refreshing drink

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  9. beautiful clicks Nashi..... Wish you a very disciplined and joyful Ramdan month..

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  10. Stunning pics & refreshing drink!!!
    Prathima Rao
    Prats Corner

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  11. I love your first recipe card, so quirky ! Ramadhan Kareem to u dear and hope to see more iftari creations from u this coming month !

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    1. Ha I loved playing with the first one :) Thanks for the mail, will write to you soon. Ramadan Kareem! xo

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  12. Thats a super refreshing lemonade, breathtaking pictures as well.

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  13. I like your 2nd recipe card very much . But frankly all the pics are so beautiful...

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    Replies
    1. That's what my kids liked! Thank you Deepa!

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  14. ur clicks r a feast 2 eyes...superb n just love this lemonade

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  15. Stunning clicks,mango and lemonade,awesome and refreshing

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  16. Wow awesome. this is a superb feast.I am out of words to say more. Just awesome.

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  17. amazing n fabulous clicks and a lovely drink :) Thank you for stopping by my space :)

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  18. I somehow missed your note. Thanks for mentioning it here or else I would have missed your beautiful writing. Sometimes it's so tough to convince people and family why we do what we do.. but you know what ? You rock and there are thousands of people who loves your blog and loves your work.
    As for this lemonade .. what can I say. I love citrus and I love mango. Mix it up and I am a happy girl :)

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    1. I feel so, so blessed to have met people like you who are my good friends now, thanks much for the honor sweetness!

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  19. How beautiful! I get thirsty every time I visit your blog :) Love the idea of mangoes and lemons together.

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  20. nash.... too good dear... such a refreshing drink...and the clicks are just outstanding

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  21. Refreshing drink...nice clicks..
    Ramadan Kareem...
    do visit my space in your free time..
    Shabbu's Tasty Kitchen

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  22. I keep falling in love with your Beautiful photography of these summer drinks! I had passed on Awesome Blogger award to you couple of weeks ago! Did you notice my message on your previous summer drink post?

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    1. Aw thanks Leena, you are so sweet and kind! Somehow I must have missed your note, will sure check out your post.

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  23. Beautiful pictures,though I know this must be a cliché for you by now!:-) Even though all recipe cards are outstanding,and I was divided between 2nd and 3rd,I would say 3rd.
    Thank you for sharing this lovely drink!:-)

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    1. So kind of you Fahad! And thanks for the feedback on the recipe cards, I was so undecided myself ..:)

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  24. These are making me so thirsty! And I LOVE the glasses..where did you get them?

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    1. Thanks Ashley! I used left over mason jam jars to serve the cocktail -- I keep my eyes open for anything interesting and collect them. It's so much fun and looks pretty too right? The best part is, it's a cute idea to pack a picnic!

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  25. Yummy refreshing drink...Love this..Awesome photographs and recipe cards dear...

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  26. AnonymousJuly 18, 2012

    Hello Nashira, I have literally fallen in love vth ur blog .I make it a point to visit atleast once a day....:) keep up the good work of getting lazy people like me to get cooking after seeing ur wonderful droolworthy pics....

    Regards, Sheeba- Dubai

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    Replies
    1. Oh Sheeba, you made my day! Thanks so much, ♥

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  27. You give life to the Mason Jars. Just like you, i am obsessed with glass jars and seeing your wonderful photography I wish I could click my collection of jars and make them look happy to be in my kitchen...sniff!

    Ps: This drink came out so refreshing and I think i am already addicted to it :)

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  28. Looks so refreshing!

    Looking forward to lots of wonderful Iftar recipes on this space.

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  29. supercooool!
    n hey nash, pls let me know where i can get banana leaves here in qatar? at this time of the year...will be needing it for ramadan

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  30. You have such beautiful pictures. This lemonade post is no exception. I am sure it will really quench thirsty people from all over the world. I 'd love to try this soonest.

    Myfudo here...Normally we'd never put a shameless plug back to us, but we just launched our new site and we would love for you to be a part of it. I'd love to share our newest launch with you, I hope you don't mind? Now that we are getting a new look...Myfudo is moving to a new domain http://www.yumgoggle.com This has been a project we have been working on for almost a year now. We just launched our new gallery submission site, and we are just thrilled. We’d be proud to have your work as part of our growing collection to continue to have a larger reach and further inspire all fellow food lovers out there! Please sign up and check us out (it's free) http://www.yumgoggle.com/gallery
    We look forward to seeing your wonderful pictures, as always.
    p.s. We are hosting a Kitchen Aid Mixer Giveaway to celebrate our new Yumgoggle site, we hope you'll participate =)
    http://www.yumgoggle.com/japanese-cuisine-japanese-spinach-side-dish-horenso-no-ohitashi-kitchenaid-mixer-giveaway/

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  31. Nashi...visiting your blog after a long time. Miss you girl. Ramadan Kareem. Will miss your ifthar this time :( Hope all's well. Loads of love.
    Joyce

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  32. Gosh...babes I can't tell you how much I love your sense of framing...wonderful. I commented on your wall photo and shared it in my GOAgaga FB page. My thumbnail came blank when I commented in yours...should we have a personal acc for that?

    I like the first. Man.go. I like it, quite literally. Like to say it once a way ;p

    http://goagagaholiday.weebly.com/. This is our hol home link. Babes, you're in there! Do gimme first impressions.

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  33. Beautiful pictures!

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  34. Love the styling - and thanks for taking part in the Monthly Mingle this month :)

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  35. This is an awesome and refreshing-sounding drink. I love mangoes and I love the color!

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  36. This sounds so refreshing! Ramadan Mubarak Nashira :)

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  37. love the addition of mango in lemonade. great idea.

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  38. I think today is a very productive day for me as I have come across somany creative blogs !! I just love your space - love your compositions !! So artistic !! Am going to learn so much here and am excited !! This is my fav post on your blog in terms of photography - awesome !!

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  39. Hey Nash! It's been a while since I came commenting - summer vacations just finished :) The lemonade looks really refreshing and delicious! Come visit me soon :) ps - great pics!

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  40. so simple and delicious! The pictures are fantastic. Can't wait to make this!

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    1. hat a great Mango Lemonade . Nice find!
      I love it, so much! It's so easy to preaper. I wish more people knew how fabulous it was! This photography looks great!

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    2. thanks so much! yes, it's a really easy and good one :)

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  41. Refreshing! Combinations sounds good.

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A million thank you's for stopping by, taking the time to connect, and coming back to visit again. I genuinely appreciate each of your kind thoughts, lovely words, love and support. Happy, happy to hear from you, and hope to see you again!

♥ Nashi