Chilled Indian Aam Panna: Green Mango Cooler with Mint and Roasted Cumin

Place the whole green mangoes in a saucepan, cover with water, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the skins wrinkle and a knife slides easily into the flesh; drain and let them cool completely.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 3 large unripe green mangoes, about 1 1/2 pounds total
• 2/3 cup jaggery or light brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon black salt (kala namak)
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
• 6 cups cold water
• Ice cubes, for serving
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Instructions

1. Place the whole green mangoes in a saucepan, cover with water, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the skins wrinkle and a knife slides easily into the flesh; drain and let them cool completely.
2. While the mangoes cool, toast the cumin seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 60 to 90 seconds, shaking constantly, until they darken a shade and smell nutty, then grind them to a coarse powder.
3. Peel the cooled mangoes with your fingers — the skins should slip off — and squeeze all the soft pulp off the pits into a blender, discarding the pits and any fibrous bits.
4. Add the jaggery, ground roasted cumin, black salt, sea salt, black pepper, mint leaves and 1 cup of the cold water to the blender.
5. Blend on high for a full minute until you have a smooth, thick emerald concentrate with no visible flecks of jaggery.
6. Taste the concentrate straight — it should be aggressively sour, salty and sweet all at once, because it will be diluted fivefold; adjust the jaggery or black salt now.
7. Transfer the concentrate to a jar and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 10 days.
8. To serve, stir 1/3 cup of concentrate into 1 cup of cold water per glass, taste and adjust the dilution to your liking.
9. Pour over plenty of ice, garnish with a mint sprig and a lime wedge, and dust the surface with a little extra roasted cumin.
10. Aam panna is India's answer to the peak of summer — a drink built specifically to replace the salt and minerals lost to heat, which is why the black salt is not optional but the entire point. Kala namak has a sulfurous, almost egg-like edge that reads as savory rather than salty and is what makes the drink genuinely refreshing instead of merely sweet. Making the concentrate in one batch and keeping the jar in the refrigerator is the traditional household approach; it stays good for well over a week and gets better after the first two days.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 130 kcal
• Protein: 1g
• Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 33g
• Fiber: 2g
• Sugar: 29g
• Sodium: 480mg