Passion fruit has always been a favourite to me when it comes to selecting citrus fruits. The only fruit that gave me the confidence of trying citrus fruits after a long time. And so, I make maximum use of this fruit whenever I get hold of the seasonal fruit till the stocks last in market. Nowadays, it's again hot in Kerala, the monsoons have vanished, and we are back to hot sunny days. This fruit punch is perfect to quench the thirst of the heat and give you a refreshed feel. A simple fruit punch that has the all the good flavours to keep you energetic throughout the day. You may add soda to make a passion fruit mojito if you wish instead of chilled water. I personally don't like the soda drinks, so don't add. This is my version of the simple fruit punch, which is ready in minutes. Try on and enjoy !!
In each of the glasses, add the pudina leaves, ginger, green chillies and crush with the back of a spoon /ladle. To each glass, scoop out one passion fruit pulp. Mash with a fork lightly. Add a pinch of salt and sugar syrup. Add chilled water, ice cubes to both glasses. Mix and enjoy.
To make sugar syrup: Dissolve (1 cup)sugar with (1 cup) water. Boil this mixture over low heat until the sugar is dissolved completely, Switch off flame and leave to cool. Refrigerate to cool or preserve for later.
NOTES
* You may add soda to make a passion fruit mojito if you wish instead of chilled water. I personally don't like the soda drinks, so don't add.
* Adding green chillies is a personal choice but believe me, it just spikes the flavours and has a mild spice touch.
* Ginger and mint leaves aid in digestion and adds a unique flavour to the drink.
How do you include citrus fruits in your diet? To me, none of the citrus suits my throat, especially the nectarines, oranges, lemon. And so, I avoid them mostly or have it as a midday snack or half an hour before lunch, which works to some extent. However, passion fruit is the only fruit that I can enjoy any time of the day and has not given me any issues till date. I love passion fruit for this very reason and so enjoy the most during this season. I have already posted the passion fruit squash that I prepare and keep in the fridge to extend the season one more month or so. Also, the passion fruit juice is another favourite that I prepare instantly and enjoy whenever I have these cuties ready at hand.
It's been so long since I bought store brought ice cream or made too.Kids were not tolerating the store brought ones and had allergic issues. I didn't want to superimpose the allergy factor esp during this corona phase. I used to make the ice cream at home but this time after the lock-down, H only went shopping groceries, and invariably I forget to remind about whipping cream and then one day recently got hold of a pack of whipping cream and bought. The yellow type or the greenish yellow passion fruit are more on the tart side, and this reddish types are sweeter. I generally buy the reddish kind, but for making squash, both are fine. This time for a change I tried this simple passion fruit ice cream that I thought would create some fuss as I was a little apprehensive to mix whipping cream with citrus fruit. But to my surprise, all loved this ice cream, and it's just made of three basic ingredients. It's all natural passion fruit ice cream, no added colours/ essence. The fragrance is so strong and doesn't need any extra essence to this ice cream. The colour of this ice cream feels so calm and relaxing, with the passion fruit sauce on top adding the extra touch. Depending on the sweetness of the passion fruit, add more condensed milk if needed. Give this ice cream a try and enjoy !!
Watch on YouTube -
Preparation time ~ 10 minutes
Cooking time ~ 3 mins (for sauce)
Freeze time ~ 6 hours
Serves ~ 5–6 persons
Author ~ Julie
Ingredients
passion fruit 3 or 1/2 cup pulp
condensed milk 1/3 cup + 3 tbsp
whipping cream 1 cup
for sauce (optional)
passion fruit 1 or 1/4 cup pulp
sugar 3-4 tbsp
corn starch (flour) 1/2 tsp
water 1 tbsp
Watch on YouTube -
Method
Wash and cut passion fruits in half. Scoop out the pulp in a bowl (make sure there are no white portions in the pulp). Add the condensed milk and give a mix. Keep aside.
Whip the cold whipping cream in a bowl until soft peaks (about 3 minutes). Fold in the passion fruit and condensed milk, mix in the whipped cream.
Finally, pour the mix in a bowl to set. Top this up with the prepared passion fruit sauce (reserve a little for garnish when you serve). Freeze the content for up to 8–12 hours, or until set. Scoop out in bowls and enjoy with an extra topping of the fruit sauce.
For sauce - In a pan, add the passion fruit pulp for sauce and add sugar. Bring to a boil. Mix the corn starch with 1 tbsp water and add to the passion fruit mix. Boil a minute to thicken and then switch off. Leave to cool till use.
Remove the ice cream mix from freezer and add a small layer of passion fruit sauce (reserve the rest of the sauce in refrigerator till use) on top (optional step). Re freeze for 5–6 hours.
Remove from freezer and scoop out the ice cream in serving bowls. Add the prepared sauce on top and serve.
NOTES
* The sauce can be refrigerated for a week.
* The ice cream tastes yummy without the sauce too, but the sauce adds to the extra tangy effect. Omit this step if you don't like tangy flavours.
Passion fruit has enormous health benefits, the highlight of them is that it improves insulin sensitivity and boosts the immune system as it is packed of vitamin C. The rich content of riboflavin(Vit B6) and niacin(Vit B3) in passion fruit helps regulate the thyroid activity(source: google). There are two seasons of fruiting- August to December and March to May. When the fruits are not available,we can definitely preserve this fruit in the form of squash. I have tried preserving this fruit squash for over a month and has stayed good without any added preservatives like citric acid. Try preserving the pulp together in a bottle in freezer and make squash as and when required so that I don't need to make large batches as storage becomes an issue in fridge at my home. One bottle of squash gets over by one month at home as everyone loves passion fruit.
Though many other citrus fruits like moosambi and lemon doesn't suit me but this fruit is better tolerated and so I have become a die hard fan of passion fruit.I started seeing this fruit in US first and then once we moved back to Kerala, this climber was seen in the backyards of many home. My mom also planted one plant in her backyard. Initially it was only one plant but now there are both varieties of passion fruit. The yellow coloured one is more citrus and the purple coloured is known to be more sweeter. And we had lot of fruits on them for the past two seasons. I hope my source of passion fruit is understood now and when we have these in abundance at home, What do you do? You try preserving this for long term use, right ? I asked mom to store the pulp in freezer and then bought here to make passion fruit squash. Here everyone loves passion fruit juice so whenever they feel like sipping passion fruit, I just mix with water and serve. This squash has been preserved in refrigerator and stayed good for over a month after making squash.
Preparation time ~ 10 minutes Cooking time ~ 5 minutes Author ~ Julie Yields ~ 3.5 cups squash
Ingredients
passion fruit 15-20(1 cup juice) or 2 cups scooped out pulp
sugar 2 cups
water 1 cup
Method
Wash the passion fruits under running water and cut them in halves. Scoop out the pulp using a fork in a bowl. Add to a bowl, repeat till you finish scooping out all.
Transfer this pulp to a blender(reserving 1/2 cup of pulp in the bowl). Blend the transferred mix and run the mixer or blender twice for 5 secs each, carefully taking care not to break the seeds finely.
Strain the juice in a strainer by holding above a bowl( I have skipped straining as the crushed seeds sink to the bottom once you make juice out of the concentrate like you see in pics). Add the reserved pulp to this strained mixture (you can blend this two but I love biting the seeds) and with the help of a fork or hand whisk, whisk gently to separate the pulp from seeds.
In the mean time, boil the water and sugar mentioned to a syrup consistency until sugar is well dissolved. No need to get one string consistency. Switch off flame and leave to cool.
Once the syrup is completely cool, add the passion fruit juice and mix well. Leave to cool completely before storing in bottles.
USE: Add 1.5- 2 tbsp of passion fruit squash to one glass of water to make one serving of squash. Add more to make in larger batches in the same ratio. No need to add any sugar, just mix with water and serve. Quite simple, right? Go ahead and give this a try !!
NOTES * I have used both yellow and light red (hybrid variety), so have added 2 cups of sugar. If you use yellow variety alone, may need to add more sweetness as it is tangy. If you use the hybrid variety alone its more of a sweeter variety,so alter accordingly. Anyways a minimum of 2 cups is definitely needed for this measure of pulp to add sweetness and preservation.
* As the syrup is rich in citrus flavor, it is better to store in glass bottles rather than plastic bottles.
* No need to add citric acid if you refrigerate the syrup. I haven't stored out so have no clues about the shelf life. I have stored the squash for over a month and have had good results.
* If you stay in a place where you have frequent power cuts then this squash may not stay good for long. There has been incidences when this fruit pulp alone when kept in fridge turned sour and fermented like wine. So be extra vigilant to dispose off in that case.
* I have had good results when mixed with sugar syrup and preserved in fridge.
How do you quench the thirst on a hot summer day? I prefer to sip a lemonade to calm down the heat or sip a sambaram/ pachamoru (spiced butter milk) which perfectly eases the thirst. These are natural cooling foods that you can easily give a try and you regain the energy instantly. Watermelon and cucumbers also can be added to cool your body. Kids love lemonade better than sambaram but H likes sambaram over lemonade. Lemonades can be made by adding a variety of fruits or with simple lemon alone. I try out with different flavors of lemonade at home as kids also prefer to try out varied tastes and flavours.Passion fruit lemonade is one such experimentation which all liked because of the vitamin C packed tangy flavors at te first instance and the added crunch of the seeds too. If you are a person who don't prefer that added crunch of seeds in the lemonade then you can blender the pulp in a blender,strain and discard the seeds. This is a simple lemonade but I truly love the color of this lemonade.
Ingredients
passion fruit 6 or pulp 1/2 cup
lemon juice 1/4 cup or 3 lemon squeezed
sugar syrup 4 tbsp or more as per taste
water 2 glasses
Method
To make sugar syrup: Dissolve (1 cup)sugar with (1 cup) water. Boil this mixture over low heat until the sugar is dissolved completely, Switch off flame and leave to cool. Refrigerate to cool or preserve for later.
Wash and cut the passion fruit in halves. Scoop out the pulp using a fork keeping in mind not to remove the white thread like strings attached to the pulp. Remove in a glass or jar and beat/mash lightly using a fork(Its better not to use the mixer to mash the passion fruit pulp as the seeds gets ground or incase if you wish to use the blender,then just pulse once or twice).
Mix the sugar syrup with the passion fruit pulp well and enjoy with ice cubes or just like that or chilled.
NOTES
* You can use make bigger batches of sugar syrup to make more lemonade in the ratio of sugar and water 1:1.
Passion fruit is a tropical fruit with a rich source of anti oxidants. It has a tough outer rind with juicy seed center. They are available in purple and yellow varieties. Passion fruit contains good fibre, vitamin C, beta-carotene, polyphenols and vitamin A. Passion fruit is also helpful in easing pain in joints (osteo arthritis). Passion fruit is widely used in drinks, toppings over desserts esp cheesecakes and can be used over salads in the west. I have seen drinks made with passion fruit and mango and many other combinations.
Back here in my place, my mom has a passion fruit climber and I happened to get a good batch of these fruits when I went home. The passion fruits are versatile and everyone loves it at home. I have seen people throwing out passion fruits in Kerala homes as none eats passion fruit or uses it up. But if you ever heard the health benefits of passion fruit, you may not throw them in trash.I also prepared passion fruit squash with these cuties, but couldn't click pictures and the drink got over soon. Kids happened to walk in and out of the fridge each time to pull out the bottle, add a few tbsp of the squash, add water and enjoy. How simple, right? And how healthy, too. The passion fruit has sour flavours dominant and definitely needs equal amount of sugar in a juice to balance it up. If you get hold of ripe passion fruits, then go ahead and enjoy making this juice !!
Preparation time~ 10 minutes Cooking time~ nil Serves~ 2 glasses Ingredients
Passion fruit 6
Sugar 6 tbsp
Water 2 cups
Method
Wash the passion fruits under running water and cut them in halves. Scoop out the pulp using a fork in a bowl. Add to a bowl, repeat till you finish scooping out all except a half passion fruit.
Transfer this pulp to a blender(reserving the half passion fruit pulp in the bowl). Blend the transferred mix and run the mixer or blender twice for 5 secs each.
Strain the juice in a strainer by holding above a bowl. Add the reserved pulp to this strained mixture.
Chill in refrigerator and enjoy !!
NOTES
*Use sweet as per sweet tooth and this above mentioned quantity of sugar can be varied depending on your sweetness. This recipe yields a moderately sweet juice.
*You can even hand whip the passion fruit and add the water,sugar to it. In that case there is no need to strain the juice.
*The seeds are crushed when blending so its better to strain and use. Though the seeds are edible but the broken pieces may not be appealing like the whole seeds.
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