Fire-Roasted Green Mango Aam Panna Cooler with Cumin and Mint

Roast the whole green mangoes directly in the embers or over an open flame, turning often, until the skins blister black and the flesh turns soft and tender, about 8-10 minutes.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3 raw green mangoes
• 60g sugar or jaggery, to taste
• 1 tsp roasted cumin powder, plus extra to garnish
• 1/2 tsp black salt (kala namak)
• 1/4 tsp regular salt
• 20 fresh mint leaves
• 750ml chilled water
• Ice cubes
• 1 lime, cut into wheels, for garnish
• Mint sprigs, for garnish

Instructions

1. Roast the whole green mangoes directly in the embers or over an open flame, turning often, until the skins blister black and the flesh turns soft and tender, about 8-10 minutes.
2. Let the mangoes cool, then peel and scrape all the soft pulp from the stones into a blender.
3. Add the sugar or jaggery, roasted cumin, black salt, regular salt and mint leaves.
4. Pour in a splash of the chilled water and blend to a smooth, thick pulp.
5. Push the pulp through a sieve for a silky base, then whisk in the remaining chilled water until you reach a pourable cooler.
6. Taste and balance - it should be tangy first, then sweet, salty and cooling.
7. Fill four glasses with ice, pour over the aam panna, and garnish with a lime wheel, a mint sprig and a final pinch of roasted cumin. Serve ice-cold.
8. Aam panna is North India's answer to the brutal pre-monsoon heat - a tangy raw-mango cooler believed to ward off heatstroke and replenish salts lost to the sun. Roasting the mangoes over fire before pulping them is the older village method, lending a faint smokiness beneath the sour-sweet tang, while roasted cumin and black salt give the drink its distinctive savory edge. It is summer in a glass, and the perfect alcohol-free counterpart to a hot afternoon at the grill.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 90 kcal
• Protein: 1g
• Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 23g
• Fiber: 2g
• Sugar: 20g
• Sodium: 320mg