If you love fatty foods, rich curries and deep-fried stuff, it’s time to let it go. Scorching heat can make you dehydrated, thirsty, fatigued and can play havoc with your health.

Make smart choices and include easy meals, and seasonal foods in your daily diet to beat the heat and stay healthy. Go for water-rich lauki or bottle gourd, cucumber, squash, watermelons, and mangoes to toss up in your salads, curries along with curd, honey and lemon.

Yummy, Easy Summer Recipes:

Sweet And Sour Lauki Stir Fry

Sweet and sour lauki stir fry cooked with spices/herbs, milk and sugar is a powerhouse of nutrients, calcium and protein.

Nutritional Value

Lauki or bottle gourd is one of healthiest vegetables to be included in your diet during summer as dense nutrients and high-water content keeps your body cool.

Ingredients

500 grams lauki /bottle gourd, finely chopped

2 tbsp ghee

10 black peppercorns

8 cloves

¼ tsp cinnamon powder

1 tsp jeera seeds

2 cardamoms

6-7 green chillies (slit)

1 tsp sugar

½ cup milk

Salt to taste

Method

Heat ghee, season with peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, jeera and cardamoms and add green chillies. Fry for 2 minutes.

Add lauki and salt.

Cook well on a medium flame for 10-15 minutes until the lauki becomes tender and soft.

Keep stirring occasionally to coat well with ghee.

Finally, add milk and sugar and toss well until all the water gets evaporated.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Mango Curry

Mango is a very popular and seasonal summer fruit which is loved by one and all. This delicious mango curry is made using gram flour, curd and jaggery.

Also Read:6 Amazing Health Reasons To Eat Raw Mango Every Day

Nutritional Facts

Mangoes are loaded with vitamins and soluble fibre pectin which helps in boosting immunity, lowers cholesterol and enhances skin health. Curd provides you with calcium, protein and it is good for gut health.

Ingredients

500 ml mango pulp

3 tbsp gram flour

4 tbsp curd, whipped

½ tsp ginger powder

A pinch of asafoetida

2 green chillies

2 tsp ginger paste

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

A sprig curry leaf

1 tsp jaggery, grated

Salt to taste

Method

In a bowl, add gram flour and whisk into smooth paste by adding water.

In a pan add mango, curd and gram flour paste, ginger powder and asafoetida and water. Blend well.

Add green chillies and ginger paste to this mixture and cook for 15 minutes, until it thickens. Add salt.

Heat oil. Season it with mustard, cumin and curry leaves and pour over the mango mixture and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add jaggery and serve.

Easy Veggie Medley

Ingredients

1 cup sweet corn kernels

1 medium red pepper, cut into small pieces

1 medium yellow pepper, cut into small pieces

1 small zucchini, cut into thin slices

10-12 large fresh mushrooms

3 tbsp butter

Minced fresh parsley, coriander, and mint

Few peppercorns

Salt and pepper to taste

Also Read:Mint Leaves Have Soothing Benefits For Irritated Skin

Method

In a pan add the butter

Add peppercorns and sauté for a minute on low flame

Begin to sauté the sweet corn and mushrooms

When sweet corn and mushrooms turn soft, add yellow and red pepper

Lastly, add the zucchini

Cook without covering the lid until all have become tender and blended well

If there is any water, let it dry

Add the herbs to the cooked veggies

Add the salt and pepper

Veggie medley is ready to be served

Nutrition

Red, yellow peppers, zucchini, corn, and mushrooms have all the essential vitamins and minerals. The recipe is seasoned with garden-fresh mint, coriander and parsley to make it super tempting and let the body stay cool