Chef Ranveer Brar
Chef Ranveer Brar
Celebrity Chef and Author
Having grown up on a farm in Punjab, monsoons for me were, and are, synonymous with new life for the soil, saplings, petrichor and definitely, interesting food! Taking the buffaloes (and they absolutely love the rain!) out for a stroll during the rains was my job. I was also the guardian of the fodder. I remember alfalfa used to grow very well in that season. Even now, when I close my eyes during rains, it brings back the petrichor, the tinkling of the cowbells, sound of the squelching mud and of course, the taste of gur ke poode or jaggery pancakes Biji, my grandma used to make. She would spread the pancakes on jamun leaves and cook them with ghee. The aroma of ghee and jaggery being cooked would fill the entire home. Priceless memories!
There's a reason why fried foods are popular during the rainy season. In the olden days before the refrigerator was invented, frying foods was a way of increasing the shelf life of cooked foods.
Bhajiya had to be on my list of monsoon recipes. A spicy, well-marinated fish tikka is perfect for that rainy evening. What's special about this preparation is the double marination of the fish.
Kali Miri Chicken is double-fried, first to cook it, the second time to temper it.
I love delicate Dahi Anjeer Kebab, a true test of skill. And Mutton Keema Samosa is an eternal favourite. Monsoon is incomplete without bhutta! Tomato Rasam is one of the most underrated dishes. The combination of spices used in this rasam are perfect for digestion and boosting overall immunity.
So while you rustle up a storm in your kitchens, I am going to do what I love doing when it pours, Snuggle up with a book, listen to soulful music or some shayeri. Or maybe dream; of returning to Koh Kud, a beautiful self-sustained island in Thailand where I went canoeing down on a super rainy afternoon to an island to meet the famous chef 'Mama' Benz at her restaurant! One of the craziest things I have done in my life, but that's how much I enjoyed the rain there.
