Classic Comfort Food for a Rainy Day

Have you ever wondered why rains stimulate our cravings to eat fried food? We have science to blame. Serotonin levels fall during the rainy season due to a lack of sunlight, which essentially makes us feel down and melancholy. Fried food works wonderfully to satisfy the body's craving for carbohydrates, which are known to temporarily increase serotonin levels. They are the ideal companion for the often-humid surroundings around us because they have no surface moisture. Since we have more melanin compared to the fairer population, we brown people need to consume extra crispy pakoras’ during the rainy season. 

Doesn't this provide us with sufficient justification to sate our fried food cravings? You will find below a few classic rainy-day recipes to celebrate the splish-splash:

1. Potato Pakoras with a twist

Ingredients: 250 gm boiled and peeled baby potatoes, finely chopped chillies and garlic, sugar, turmeric powder, red chilli flakes, 1 tablespoon semolina, ghee and salt to taste.

Method: In a Kraft’s stainless steel serving bowl, mix baby potatoes, salt (to taste), sugar, chilli flakes, turmeric powder and semolina together. Ensure that the potatoes are fully coated with the spices. Now heat some ghee in a saucepan and sauté green chillies and garlic for about 8 to 15 seconds. Add the coated potatoes and cook on low heat for 5 - 10 minutes while continuously tossing. Turn off the heat when the potatoes have browned. Enjoy it hot with lime wedges.

2. Chicken Pakoras

Ingredients: Boneless chicken, ginger garlic paste, besan flour, red chilli flakes, chopped coriander and mint leaves, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, chicken powder, amchur powder, a pinch of baking soda, oil and salt to taste.

Method: In a bowl, marinate the chicken with salt and ginger garlic paste. Set the chicken aside for 20 minutes. Take a separate bowl, mix all the spices and make a batter by adding water. Once the chicken pieces have rested, dip them in the batter and coat them completely. Deep fry the chicken and serve them hot with green chutney.

3. Pyaaz Pakoras

Ingredients: (i) Thinly sliced onions, green chilli-garlic-ginger paste, chopped mint leaves, curry leaves and salt to taste. (ii) turmeric, besan and rice flour, ajwain, and salt to taste.

Method: In a large mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients mentioned in (i) and set it aside for 15 minutes.

Now sprinkle the ingredients mentioned in (ii) and mix well again to make a dry mixture. Slowly add some water in small proportions to make a wet dough. Now heat some oil in the beautiful black non-stick kadai from Vinod Cookware on medium flame until hot. Dip some onion batter and deep fry them until golden brown. Enjoy onion pakoras with a hot cup of tea.

If you are in the mood to just have a bowl of hot soup, then try grilled cheese and tomato soup.

4. Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Ingredients: Two slices of bread, a slice of cheese, diced onion and garlic, 4 boiled tomatoes, chicken broth, salt and sugar to taste.

Method: To make a grilled cheese sandwich, butter two slices of bread and place a slice of cheese between them. Cook the sandwich in a frying pan over medium heat until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is melted.

For the tomato soup, start by sautéing diced onion and garlic in a pot until tender. Add boiled tomatoes, chicken broth, and a pinch of sugar to the pot and simmer for at least 10 minutes. Blend the soup with a blender until smooth and creamy. Enjoy it hot!

What are you still holding out for? Get into the monsoon spirit by curling up on your couch and drinking a steamy cup of tea/coffee. No matter what your taste preferences are, everyone loves the combination of wet weather and fried foods. So, the next time the rain is pouring down outside, head to the kitchen and whip up one of these classic comfort foods for a day of delicious indulgence.

We hope you get a chance to prepare delectable fried food this monsoon. Do let us know your favourite rainy-day recipes in the comment section below.