Cool down with these icy delights during Ramadan

From the first of Ramadan, Star Lifestyle will present for its online readers one recipe a day that would be an ideal addition to your iftar/sehri dishes. From the secrets of the Mughal kitchen to the charm of Middle Eastern cuisine; from the culinary tricks of your grandma's magical hands, to the fusion cuisine that is all the rage these days, The Food Spread, hopes to be the golden key to Ramadan gastronomy.

The heat is unbearable this Ramadan; whenever I am out in the open, my skin feels like burning red. What better way to cool down than having an icy cold drink with your feet up!

Pineapple coconut blitz

With cool mint, tropical fruit and zippy lime — chilled out with (*shocking*) coconut water.

Ingredients

4 cups fresh pineapple

1 cup coconut water

¼ cup mint simple syrup (recipe below)

Twist of lime

Ice

Additional lime and mint for serving (optional)

Method

Add pineapple, coconut water and simple syrup to a high-speed blender and process until very smooth and frothy, about 30 seconds. Pour over ice with a generous twist of lime and a sprig of mint and allow a few minutes for the pineapple froth to float on top. Cover and chill leftovers for up to a day, stirring before serving. Enjoy!

Mint simple syrup

Typical simple syrups are 1:1 sugar to water, but as I have mentioned earlier, I like mine on the lighter side. Since you still need enough liquid volume to steep the mint, I have just reduced the sugar by half.

Ingredients

1 cup water

½ cup organic raw sugar, or

Generous handful mint (about 20 leaves)

Method

Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and heat to a simmer, stirring or swirling until sugar is dissolved. Add mint, pressing down to ensure leaves are submerged in syrup. Remove from heat, cover, and steep for 15 minutes. Strain out mint leaves before using syrup.