Lemon, Ginger and Mint cooler

Summer at grandparents place, as kids has so many fond memories attached. It would include playing in the sun with cousins, climbing trees(yes, you heard it right.. I was good at that :)), feeding the cattle and what not and then rushing home every now and then to drink something cold or snack on something yummy. How I wish I could get back those days. Yes, those times included long academic years with books, exams and science projects and what not. But the thought of those 2 month long vacation was always looked forward to. 

We have a huge bunch of cousins. So every single get together would look like a ceremony with house full of people. It is super fun and blessing to have born in a family like that. Well, I think I drifted a little beyond the topic..he he. Lemon juice was one of the favorite drinks after a tiring day. And the elder ones used to get the job of squeezing out the juice from the lemon and making the juice. It was so frustrating to get the sugar dissolve by stirring. As a parent I now understand, why the request for making powdered sugar or sugar syrup was refused by the elders. It helped us learn patience :). Well, all said, this recipe of cooler includes concentrate that has sugar syrup added into it to make my life easier now every time I make the cooler.

It was my moms idea to keep cool in the summer. She recommended me to have this squash handy in my refrigerator to make my life easy this summer. Because all you need to do is to add some water to the squash/concentrate, pop in some icecubes and enjoy. This is one perfect way to keep yourself cool while the temperatures rise steadily. And yes, it is a great immunity booster too.

Ingredients

1. 15 medium sized lemon, washed and wiped
2. 5 tbsp of chopped ginger
3. 15 mint leaves
4. 2 cups of sugar

Method

• Squeeze out the lemon juice from the lemon. Strain it to remove the seeds or pulp if any.
• Meanwhile, in a blender, add the chopped ginger and mint leaves. Add about 3-4 tbsp of hot boiling water. Grind it all into a fine paste. Strain the mixture to remove the pulp. Let the bowl of ginger and mint juice stand for about 1 hour. By then, a residue would settle in the bottom of the bowl. Just pour the ginger and mint juice to the lemon juice and disgard the residue. 
• In a pan, add the sugar and 3/4 cup of water. Bring it to a boil and let the sugar melt. Turn down the heat to medium and let it cook untill the sugar syrup thickens and is about to form a single thread consistency. Turn off the heat and let it cool. 
• Mix the lemon-ginger-mint extract to the sugar syrup. Give it a thorough mix and transfer it into glass bottles. Refrigerate it.
• For making the juice, take about 3 tbsp of squash mixture in a glass and add chilled water to it. Stir it. Drop in some ice cubes and serve .

Tips

1. Make sure you let the ginger- mint extract sit for a while for the residue to settle. Do not use the residue for the squash. 
2. You could keep the lemon-ginger-mint extract as is and add sugar or sugar syrup as required, if you would be required to serve this squash, sugar free too.

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