Aloe vera gives a perfect "cooling effect" to the body in order to fight with the warm weather in these days.
The climate at this time of the year in Sri Lanka is quite humid and warm. Usually it continues like this until the end of April, and as we don't get the regular 4 seasons like most other countries, this is the season of sunshine & blooming trees. We increase our intake of foods and beverages that "cool" our bodies in this season warm weather that blows hot wind no matter how many trees there are. It is widely accepted and practically demonstrated that certain foods have the ability to cool our bodies down, and it's beneficial to increase the intake of these foods during the warmer season. Aloe Vera is renowned here for this exact quality. The aloe vera plants I cultivated near the stream looked simply succulent. Due to the widespread use as a medication for burns, every house tends to have an aloe vera plant. This being the case, my brother who loves any food made with something picked from our garden didn't forget to remind me that the aloe vera plants have matured. I thought the best way to use the aloe vera right now is to make a delicious beverage to cool us down. Since there were some ripe pomelo fruits with the perfect pink insides that I love, I went ahead and made drink of pomelo(pummelo) & aloe vera, with added lemon juice as well. The combination of the sourness you get from natural pomelo pieces and the lemon are different, but they go well together to give off a unique taste.The sensation of biting into pieces of pomelo in the aloe vera juice is the same feeling you get from the flavoured bubbles in a bubble drink. I used the left-over aloe vera after making the drink to make aloe vera pickle with, because the "meat" from the aloe vera is perfect to be pickled. Sri Lanka is home to a lot of different varieties of pickle, but honestly, I might be the only one who makes aloe vera pickle. It was my grandmother who taught me that you can cure the aloe vera husk of the quality that makes your mouth itch if you wash it with running boiling water. The husk or the "skin" of the aloe vera will get a completely different taste & texture to the "meat" of it, and that's the secret to the aloe vera pickle tasting so good. This is the reason my brother wanted the aloe vera pickle while there was a curry leaves, chilli, peanut, and papadam fry(deep fried mix) was already on the table. If we left it for a couple of more days, the pickle would've tasted even better! Love U all, Nadee
