From Odisha to Goa: Here are monsoon dishes that chefs from different states relish

Two weekends ago when the capricious rains arrived in Mumbai and the silent lull of the overheated summer was replaced by the thrumming of water drops chef Marina Balakrishnan welcomed a bunch of drenched folks to her Chaya Kada popup at Unit 27 Shree Laxmi Woollen Mills in Mahalaxmi The rain was hardly a dampener she tells us now with people streaming in and out of her tea stall through the day scarfing out on hotoffthepan achappams and kozhi kaal cassava fritters finishing it with garamagaram chaiBalakrishnan who is the face behind thatthalasserygirl on Instagram has Malabar flowing in her veins For years she has nursed a dream to kindle a love for the food of her home state Kerala in her adopted city Mumbai She sowed the seeds for this with Oottupura serving homestyle plantbased Keralite meals This monsoon Balakrishnan brought her food to the streets with Chaya Kada a project which has been in the making for the last three years Her next popup will be held at the same venue on July 16East Indian home chef Sybil Rodrigues makes umber during the monsoon The deepfried treat is made of wheat rice flour jaggery and ripe pumpkin PicsAnurag AhireIn Kerala the chaya kada much akin yet antithetical to Bambairsquos chai tapri is a dugout for the intellectual and argumentative Malayalee ldquoItrsquos a place where people read their newspapers and talk and debate politics while endlessly sipping on glasses of chairdquo she says ldquoItrsquos a culture thererdquo The heavy downpour during the monsoon months is always a good excuse to stay put at the chaya kada That also means making sure therersquos a lot of food on the table be it the parippu and keerai vadas pothi tea cakes or Balakrishnanrsquos personal favourite pazham pori a sweet banana fritter that for her brings back many memoriesThe pazham pori is a popular teatime snack made with ripe bananas The 4 pm teatime palahaaram says Balakrishnan is a ritual in most households of Thalassery and Kannur ldquoGrowing up teatime every single day included a speciality made at home or a hot palahaaram that would be bought from the nearby chaya kadardquo she sharesPlantains grow by the dozen in Kerala and hence make a regular appearance in most dishes especially in the snacks For pazham pori the bananamdashthe nendrapazham varietymdashis cut lengthwise and dipped in a batter of maida rice flour and sugar before it is deep fried ldquoIt has a crispy outer coating with the fleshy ripe plantain giving it a tinge of sweetnessrdquo The snack is best served hotAs a child Balakrishnan who was raised in a large family of over 20 people in Thalassery says her grandmother would make pazham pori at least twice a week ldquoWe would sit on the cold kitchen floor with our small steel plates While my aunt would be slicing bananas on the side my grandmother would be working the wood fire She would very deftly put the bananas inside the batter and then into the hot cast iron pans Once they were ready shersquod pile them on a banana leafrdquo she recalls adding ldquoWersquod eagerly wait for her to put them on our plates They were piping hot but we didnrsquot care much We would polish them off within minuteshellip I would eat seven at a timerdquoMarina Balakrishnan and Swayampurna MishraGoan chef Emma DinizRyanrsquos earliest memories of fried fritters were also courtesy of her grandmum Emeliana ldquoDespite growing up in the UK I was exposed to Goan food from a young age as my grandmother lived with us throughoutrdquo says the Londoner ldquoWhenever Irsquod return home from school she would have filos ready for me I didnrsquot know what they were at the time just that they were delicious and had a distinct sweet flavour which I now know to be cardamomrdquo Filos are made of bananas jaggery flour eggs cardamom and often coconut and are panfried Needless to say they are perfect for a rainy dayRipe banana is the star ingredient of most monsoontime fritters eaten across the country Shreyas Shetty who runs the South Indian joint Krishnarsquos Cafe in Dadar says that the Mangalore buns sell like hotcakes during this season A staple in every Mangalorean home the buns are a popular allday snack ldquoIf paired with filter coffee the buns make for a perfect teatime treat If had with chutney it can be enjoyed for breakfast you can also have it for lunch with a leftover curry from the previous dayrdquo At Krishnarsquos Cafe the buns are served throughout the day A dough made with overripe bananas plain curd and maida is greased and refrigerated overnight the dough is then rolled and deepfried While the bun has a poorilike texture on the outside inside it is soft and chewy like bread with a delicate sweetness that comes from the ripe bananaNerulbased culinary consultant Reetu Uday Kugaji says gulgule either made plain or with ripe banana is popular in north India PicsSatej ShindeWhile one would imagine that the fruit is primarily a southern addition as it is grown abundantly in the region up north in Punjab gulgule which is made using ripe bananas makes for a perfect accompaniment with chai on rainy eveningsNerulbased Reetu Uday Kugaji culinary expert and chef consultant says that the deepfried gulgule is traditionally prepared for karva chauth and is placed on the pooja ki thaali It is a constant at every wedding in Awadh as well ldquoPunjabi households prepare a batter of a dropping consistency with sieved wholewheat flour strained jaggery syrup and crushed fennel seeds small portions of this batter are deepfried till golden and crisp in mustard oilrdquo she says ldquoSome Punjabis add mashed ripe bananas in the batter along with other ingredients and sugar instead of jaggery Sometimes milk is used instead of waterrdquo Kugaji learnt the recipe from her mum who would treat her to the dish on gloomy overcast evenings ldquoIt would quickly lift my spiritsrdquoIn Maharashtra Kugaji says that kohlyache bonde ripe red pumpkin fritters a dish from the Vidarbha region is a big hitmdashldquoIn Nagpur itrsquos called kaddu ke gulgule The sweetness comes from the jaggery and pumpkin but you have to cook and soften it wellrdquoLast Sunday Sybil Rodrigues a home chef from Santa Cruzrsquos Kolivery village and member of the Mobai Gaothan Panchayat made a batch of umber for her family An East Indian Catholic Rodrigues says the dish is not elaboratemdashthe community would traditionally eat what they grew on their farmlands and their deepfried treats while delicious best represent that ldquoThe is made of wheat and rice flour jaggery and sesame seeds and waterrdquo Some add the juice of tadgola or ice apples available during the season or ripe pumpkin that is boiled and cooked The dough is rolled into pooris and then friedMangalore resident Louvina Andrade says sanjeera a crunchy and crispy sweet poori made with semolina is best enjoyed hotldquoThey can be stored in airtight jars but in the rains itrsquos delicious when hotrdquo In Odisha the suji manda a popular pitha which is the common name for sweet breads pancakes dumplings and fritters has the biggest takers this season says chef Swayampurna Mishra ldquoThis is a suji semolina ball stuffed with a coconut raisins and jaggeryrdquo It can also be steamed but Mishra says when deepfried it turns nice and crispy The reason we turn to hot and deepfried foods especially during the monsoon feels Mishra is simply because our body craves it ldquoWhen it is pouring outside you want to have something warm and comfortingrdquo The more scientific explanation is that the lack of sunlight causes the levels of serotoninmdashalso known as the feelgood hormonemdashto dip which in turn increases cravings for carbohydrates Eating carbs causes a momentary spike in serotoninMangalore resident and food enthusiast Louvina Andrade understands this craving best Just a stonersquos throw away from her home is a small eatery Rajeshwari Bhavan thatrsquos popular for its sanjeera a crunchy and crispy sweet puri ldquoIf you are hungry or just low on energy you should eat this poori It gives you an instant sugar rushrdquo she says ldquoItrsquos extra perfect in the monsoon especially with a cup of coffee You just feel happier even though itrsquos not the healthiest sweet aroundrdquo The dough is made of maida and very fine suji ldquoWe call it Bombay suji hererdquo she says The filling has suji roasted in ghee sugar coconut cardamom powder saffron and fennel seeds ldquoYou have to bunch the stuffing in the dough roll it out gently and then deep fry it in coconut oil on mediumhigh heatrdquo she says A day after our call the pouring rain drew Andrade to make a hot batch of sanjeeras ldquoThey turned out superrdquo she texted The smiley emojis that followed had serotonin written all over themMangalore Buns1 overripe banana1 tablespoon sugar80 gm of plain curd should not be sour12 tablespoon cumin coarsely groundedPinch of baking soda1 cup or 350 gm of maida OilMETHODIn a mixing bowl add banana and sugar and mash it smooth using a fork Add in the curd cumin soda and salt and mix well Add maida and prepare the dough knead till smooth Grease the dough with oil and cover Refrigerate overnight Knead the dough lightly and make six ballsized portions Roll it while dusting with maida ensure it is slightly thicker than a puri Deep fry in hot oil on medium flame till golden brown and fluffyBy Shreyas ShettyFilosINGREDIENTS1 egg1 overripe banana65 gm sieved flour50 ml milk12 tsp ground cardamom30 gm Goan jaggeryPinch of saltCoconut oil for fryingMETHODHeat milk and jaggerysugar with a pinch of salt in a small saucepan until it melts Pour into a bowl to cool down With a fork smash the banana until it is completely smooth then add the egg and whisk together thoroughly add ground cardamom Add the cooled milk mixture to the banana and egg Sieve in the flour and whisk everything togetherHeat a few teaspoons of coconut oil in a frying pan and ladle in some mixture to the pan Cook these for about a minuteandahalf on medium heat then flip them over and cook for another minute or so Enjoy them with a cup of teaBy Emma DinizRyan