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From chai to pakoras: Monsoon dishes that stir nostalgia across India
Chefs across India dish out their favourite monsoon comfort foods, each rooted in the traditions of their native regions.
As the monsoon kicks in, kitchens across India come alive with the fragrance of piping hot pakoras and cups of chai. But these classics don’t quite capture the range of rainy-day snacks savoured across India.
Combining comfort with childhood nostalgia, chef Manish Mehrotra, who grew up in Bihar, says monsoon is synonymous with piping hot pakoras, spicy green chutney, chai, and smoky corn on the cob. “On some rainy nights, hot tomato soup with a hint of black pepper and sweet and sour flavours was perfect for monsoon,” he reminisces. His list of rainy season savouries is long, but there’s one regional mithai that he cannot do without: anarsa, a sort of biscuit made with rice and grated jaggery. As he puts it: “Sawan mein anarsa khane ka maza hi kuch aur hai.”
For a northeastern flavour, chef Sneha Saikia tells us about her mum’s signature khar bhaat, nohoru-jaluk bhaat (rice fried garlic and pepper), and fish curry cooked only with ginger juice. “We were fed such dishes like medicine whenever we fell sick during the rain,” she recalls.
Other seasonal dishes from her home state of Assam include a variety of vibrant leafy greens and herbs: “Common monsoon dishes in the state include jalukia paro (pigeon cooked in black pepper), and haanhor maangxo (duck meat).” Elsewhere in the region, Sneha adds, you’ll find pork or beef innards cooked in king chilli or frog and guinea pig meats, along with smoked or roasted tomato chutney with king chilli and mashed brinjal.
Venture towards Maharashtra, where chef Reetu Uday Kugaji recalls misal pav, vada pav, and batata bhajji paired with steaming masala chai from roadside stalls during monsoons, “and long chats under shared umbrellas with friends.” She adds, “On some rainy evenings, my mother used to take out the fresh alu leaves, and I’d be right there beside her, helping roll the alu vadi.” Also not to be missed are Gujarat’s dabeli (a bun with mashed potato masala, chutney and roasted peanuts) and dal vada (split green gram fritters).
In the South, chef Sukesh Kanchan finds that piping hot rasam and rice transport him right back to childhood. Pair this with appalam (papad), milagu kuzhambu (black pepper and tamarind gravy) and masala vadai (crunchy lentil fritters), and you have a classic, comforting south Indian meal. “Monsoon and food are a deep emotional pairing in South India. The season’s cooler temperatures bring up cravings for something warm, spicy, and comforting,” he says.
A spell of rain means an array of different dishes across the south. A Kerala staple, for example, is kanji with payar (rice gruel with green gram), ulli vada (onion fritters), and kappa (tapioca) with fish Curry. Andhra Pradesh, meanwhile, snacks on pesarattu (green gram dosa), gongura pachadi and mirapakaya bajji (chilli fritters). And over in Karnataka, ragi mudde (roundels) with bassaru (spiced broth), akki rotti with coconut chutney, and goli baje (maida and curd fritters) are evergreen monsoon classics.
