As temperatures rise, indicating warmer weather ahead, switch to a special Spring diet for a smooth transition to Summer
Drumstick Soup
Growing up in Mumbai Central in the ’90s, this writer enjoyed nippier winters and you could feel the transition to Basant or the Indian spring on your skin in the form of sweat and milder sun. But mostly, you could also see it with the changing food on your plate. The paya soups and green leafy sabzis, especially shepu (dill), started disappearing from the markets, making way for soups that cooled the tummy, mains that fed your soul sans heat, and sweet dishes that were easy to make and were precursors to welcome the summer holidays. Chef Amrita Raichand counts on Mother Earth to provide the right nourishment. She says, “Just keep your eyes and ears open to what vegetables are available in the market or on your grocery app,” adding, “During Basant, Nature gives us vibrant produce that helps our bodies adjust to the changing season.”
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Amrita Raichand, Gautam Mehrishi and Reetu Uday Kugaji
One of Raichand’s favourites is the drumstick. “A nutritional powerhouse, the drumstick (moringa)—is a seasonal vegetable deeply rooted in Indian culinary traditions and Ayurveda,” she adds. She starts her meals with drumstick soup. A big plus for those who experience diminished immunity during this season, and are prone to infections during this transition, are the benefits to overall gut health. “During Spring, our bodies undergo detoxification as we move from winter’s cold, heavy foods to lighter, more cleansing ingredients. Drumsticks boost immunity as they are rich in Vitamin C and antioxidants; they help protect against seasonal infections while detoxifying the body by supporting liver health that usually accumulates during winter. The high fibre content prevents digestive sluggishness often associated with seasonal change. Ayurveda says Basant Ritu increases Kapha, leading to congestion and lethargy. Drumsticks, with their slightly bitter and warming nature, help balance Kapha and promote overall well-being,” adds Raichand.
The hero of any meal is the main course, especially if it’s hot and you’re hungry but don’t want to eat something that will overwhelm your gut and leave you feeling hungry. This is a difficult balance to achieve, so chef Gautam Mehrishi recommends a dish with a high fibre content of baby parwal, green turai, radish and yams—a dish he calls ‘the curry of goodness’. For Mehrishi, this curry helps you exercise some digestive control in an otherwise haywire climate. “Spring in India is like a warm up to the real warm-up. Sometimes, we tend to downplay just how much the body goes through during this transitional period. It adjusts to changing weather, from cold dry to excess moisture and heaviness,” says Mehrishi. During the season, and even what February feels like with Mumbai’s rising AQI and temperature in the last several days alone, many homes, including those of Mehrishi, have grown cognisant of timely calls for menus in homes and restaurants to reflect this stark change. “The curry I recommend is fantastic to eat with roti, chapati or rice or you can have it by itself—just have two bowls of the curry instead of one,” says Mehrishi, who adds his spin by peeling the radish and turai into ribbons that make it more morsel-friendly and adds a bit of flair to the dish.
For most of us, a dessert is the difference between a good meal and a fantastic one. Then again, keeping the climate in mind, we want to stick to a traditional sweet that your taste buds are familiar with and what your gut has a good feeling about. Chef Reetu Uday Kugaji, culinary expert and chef consultant, recommends something sweet and sticky with a dash of yellow associated with the season of Basant—in other words, meethe chawal. “The significance of these yellow-hued delicacies is also considered to be extremely propitious, as Goddess Saraswati is believed to shower her choicest blessings of wisdom and knowledge on us. Yellow-coloured foods are a symbol of prosperity and knowledge, thus concomitant with the Goddess Saraswati, creating a profound bond between our consuming of these yellow-hued delicacies and our enlightenment spiritually,” says Kugaji. “Which is why the meethe chawal or sweet saffron rice is the quintessential dessert to end your meal with,” she adds.
Meethe chawal
Ingredients
2 cups rice, soaked, preferably Sella
8 cups water
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp salt
For the dum
5 tbsp desi ghee
1-inch stick cinnamon
4 cardamom
2 black cardamom
4 cloves
2 star anise
2 bay leaves
1/2 tbsp coconut (dry, sliced)
1/2 tbsp raisins
1/4 tbsp dates, sliced
1/2 tbsp almond, slivered
1/4 tbsp charoli
1/4 tbsp cashew nuts (chopped)
1/4 tbsp pistachio nuts (slivered)
2 cups full cream milk
50 gm khoya (mawa), grated (optional)
A pinch saffron
1 1/2 cups sugar or as per sweetness required
2 tbsp rose water
1 tbsp kewra water
For the garnish
A few saffron strands
1/2 tbsp mixed nuts
Method
Rinse and soak the rice for 1/2 an hour. Boil the water, add turmeric powder and salt. Drain water from the soaked rice and add it to the boiling water.
Cook rice over medium heat until 80% done. Once the rice is done, strain and set aside. In a heavy-bottomed pan, add the desi ghee; heat it over medium flame. Add whole spices and sliced coconut. Stir for a few seconds. Add almonds, raisins, dates, cashew nuts, charoli seeds and pistachio nuts. Sauté for a few seconds. Now add in the milk and saffron strands. Bring it to a boil. Add in the sugar, rose water, and kewra water.
Stir and mix well. Add in the cooked rice and carefully mix the milk in the rice in a lift-and-drop motion using a spoon. Ensure that the rice grains do not break. Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid; cook it on low flame (dum) for 5 minutes. Ensure that the liquid in the rice is absorbed. Switch off the flame; leave the rice with the lid on for another 5 minutes. Open the lid and mix gently with a flat spoon or a fork. Transfer to the serving plate; serve hot, garnished with fried mixed nuts laced with saffron strands.
Curry of goodness
Ingredients
200 gms yam
120 gms radish
100 gms baby parwal
120 gms green turai
25 gms fresh haldi (raw turmeric)
100 gms fresh tomatoes
4-5 dried red chilli
10 gms mustard seeds
4 gms hing
10 gms coriander seeds
Fresh curry leaves
Fresh coriander
90 ml sesame oil
50 gms spring onions
100 gms hung curd
Salt to taste
50 gms palm jaggery
50 gms chopped green garlic
Method
Boil the yam, cool and peel. Cut into small cubes, roast or fry coated with haldi juice, and brushed with sesame oil until the outer crust is light golden and crisp. Peel and grate the raw turmeric, cook in sesame oil and keep aside. Peel and slice the turai and radish as ribbons, dip in haldi water. Slice the tomatoes and onions into fine slices.
Chop the coriander and keep it aside. Heat a kadhai; add sesame oil, curry leaves, whole dhania, red chilli and hing. Once they crackle, add spring onions and green garlic. Cook till translucent and add tomatoes, cook for 6-8 minutes. Now, add the cooked raw haldi and cook and add the vegetables. Cook for five minutes; when the curd starts boiling, check the colour and add salt and palm jaggery; cook to a smooth consistency and texture, making sure the ribbons do not break and the curry retains all the goodness. Finish with coriander and spring onions.
Drumstick Soup
Ingredients
For the puree
6-7 drumsticks (cut into 3-inch pieces)
3 cups water
1 tsp salt
For the cream of drumstick soup
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup drumstick puree
1 cup drumstick stock
2 tbsp milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
In a pressure cooker, add drumstick pieces along with salt and water, cover and cook till one whistle comes. Once done, keep the cooker aside to release its pressure completely. Now, strain the drumstick and keep its stock in a separate bowl. With the help of a spoon take out the pulp from drumsticks and divide into two parts. Keep aside.
Make a fine puree of the second part of the drumstick pulp and strain it. Keep aside. Melt butter in a saucepan, add ginger-garlic paste and sauté till the raw flavour of garlic disappears. Add flour and mix well. Add the prepared pulp of the drumstick and mix well. Now, gradually pour the stock and keep stirring to avoid any lumps. Add 2 tbsp of drumstick mixture in the milk to temper it. Mix well and pour it into a saucepan. Give a stir. Let the soup simmer on a low flame, season it with salt and pepper. Stir well. Once done, transfer it to a soup bowl. Serve hot along with crisp croutons.
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