Come monsoon and the yearning to quench your parched throat with iced juices and stuff are drowned. What raises its head instead is the urge to warm your body inside out with some piping hot drinks and also your appetite, which had lain low so long during the scorching summer. While hot tea and hot coffee with buns, biscuits, vadas and bhajis are all-time favs, here’s a look at some less common but no less mouth-watering drinks and dishes that you can try out this monsoon.
First and foremost on our list is the lip-smacking Mulligatawny soup. Don’t get dissuaded by the name, this is our own comforting rasam. It can keep colds and fevers at bay and also warm the heart, the stomach and the soul. We’re not joking. Just try it out and see for yourself. To make the Mulligatawny soup, you need to heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan and add a teaspoon of mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds crackle, add 10 to 12 curry leaves, 3 broken red chilies and 2 pinches of asafoetida and fry it for 30 secs. Next, add one chopped tomato and sauté till it softens. Then, add 3 teaspoons of cumin powder, 2 teaspoons of whole black pepper, 6 pods of roughly chopped garlic and half a teaspoon of turmeric powder. Stir it well and then add tamarind juice. (To make the tamarind juice, soak one tablespoon of tamarind in warm water, then squeeze and strain the juice.) Stir well, add 2 cups of water and let the rasam come to a slow boil. Once it starts boiling, add the chopped coriander leaves and you’re all set to pour the rasam into a cup and drink it or have it with some lovely steamed rice.
From a light and spicy appetizer drink, let’s move on to something more filling. An easy-peasy Cauliflower soup (for the soul [yeah, we’re quite taken by what food can do for the soul]). All you have to do for this soup is to cut one whole cauliflower into florets, boil it in 2 cups of water mixed with 2 Maggi soup cubes (or any similar flavouring) and then blitz it all once the cauliflower is well cooked. Then, take one cup of warm milk, add one or two tablespoons of corn flour (or maida), mix well so that there are no lumps, and add it to the soup. Heat the soup again on a low flame till it thickens. Season with salt and pepper and your hot soup is ready.
When it rains, the mood is all set to munch into something crunchy. While chips, fries and the like have been done to death, why not try out something new like a cheesy garlic bread toast? First off, combine 5 tablespoons of soft butter and one tablespoon of grated garlic. Apply this evenly on 10 slices of bread. Now, sprinkle some grated cheese and chilli flakes on top of the bread slices. Next, set them on a baking tray and bake at 200oC for 10 minutes. When done, cut the slices diagonally and your hot and crunchy cheesy garlic bead toast is ready.