Itsy-misty bites
Monsoon,the season for romance, also brings a yearning for good food, served leisurely. And what can be better than piping hot chai and some teekha pakoras and mint chutney, served while raindrops burst into a million crowns on concrete. Palate season food expert, Jiggs Kalra says monsoon doesn’t really call for an elaborate fare and recommends black pepper and fennel flavoured maalpuas, dipped in a saffron syrup, or topped off with rabri for an exotic touch.
The food you have should be in keeping with the weather, says Gunjan Goela, food consultant. For a perfect monsoon platter go in for seasonal veggies — snack out with a crisp alocasia leaf (arbi) preparation. Making this delicacy is quite easy — a coat of thick spicy gramflour barter is applied on alocasia leaves, which are then made into rolls, steamed and fried to a reddish hue.
Besides, you can go in for ghia ka palao, bharwa tinda, tori and pakori ki sabzi. Ghewar and feni make for great desserts. Goela also recommends a plum sherbet to soothe the stomach. Eating healthy dietician, Shikha Sharma feels vegetables like bitter gourd that have an astringent, bitter quality, do you good. Besides, onion, ginger, etc. which have warming /drying qualities, are good for monsoons when there is too much moisture in the air. They help in maintaining the body water balance. Leafy vegetables, besides seasonal fruits are good options too. But a word of caution before you go and indulge those taste buds — maintain hygiene to steer clear of tummy troubles. Pampering the taste buds. Hotels and restaurants too are doing their bit to welcome the rains, with foods that pamper. The Claridges is offering the desi taste buds some cutting chai and street foods like pakoras, bhajias, etc. Besides, they serve up a variety of risottos. Uppal’s Orchid recently held a Coorg food festival. Coorg, gets heavy rains and has a meat-heavy cuisine with full bodied spices, explains an executive chef. Monsoon goodies Perennial favourites: Bite into plump kachories, amraties, jalebis, and let the weather take care of the guilt pangs. Kitchen-happy: There are many home-made preparations like steamed cake made of ghia, curd and gramflour, tempered with sesame seeds and green chillies. Besides kheer and maalpuas are also relished. Corn delight: A walk down the street on a rainy day is never complete without biting into a bhutta.
HT Media Ltd
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