Monsoon in India brings with it food cravings, love, and happiness. Everyone drools for hot, delicious, and spicy munchies to pair with a piping hot cup of tea or coffee.
It is the ideal season to take out your frying-pans and saucers and prepare snacks that you can binge on sitting out in your balcony or garden.
The snacks can either be bought from the nearby hawkers or prepared at home. Even if you are exhausted or stressed out, a plate of hot appetisers with tea or coffee can help you recoup and come out of your shell.
Have we got you thinking about your favourite combination of pakoras and chai? Well, there are many more options to indulge in besides pakoras in monsoon that do the same work as pakoras. However, the best picks for us are given below.
Medu vada
This South Indian fried appetiser is a favourite among foodies and tastes great with a cup of hot filter coffee in monsoon. It can be either purchased or ordered from a nearby joint or if you have time and patience, you can make them at home. Some retailers and hawkers also supply readymade pre-mixes that need to be added with water and salt and straight away fried in a pan.
Crispy corn
This simple and delicious snack is something that everyone would relish. Golden sweet corn kernels deep fried and stir-fried with finely chopped onion, capsicum, and garlic (for those who enjoy the flavour of garlic) with salt, pepper, and chillies, could be a considered option for monsoon lovers.
Onion rings
Onion rings are a scrumptious snack, especially when it is pouring outside. Combine it with a cup of tea and you can make the most of the season. Think crispy fried onion rings with a sweet chilli dip, have we got you drooling already? They can be coated with egg for the extra crunch and consistency.
Spring rolls
A popular Chinese appetiser would make your monsoon more loved and the choice of filling is totally yours as you can stuff them with minced vegetables or meat of your choice. Another fried snack to combine with a cup of tea or coffee that can again be made at home or taken from outside.
Chicken wings
If you have had enough of vegetarian options and need some meaty stuff, you can gorge on hot fried chicken wings and if you like sauces, you can douse them in barbecue, chilli, schezwan, or hot garlic sauce. Pair them with dips like cheese, mustard, or mayonnaise and you are all set for the season.
Fried fish and chips
Though they say, you should avoid fish in the monsoon, buying it from a good butcher shop around should be fine and rather than ordering the dish from outside, better would be to fry it at home, so that you are sure of the quality, oil and other ingredients used. Though, fish should be avoided with milk, on its own, fried fish and fries on the side would sizzle your monsoon completely.
Jalebi
If you thought we would end at savouries, it is not true! We cannot miss that crispy fried thin jalebi with hot milk in monsoon. Can you? So, make your monsoon sweet with jalebi either before or after your meal.
Gooey chocolate brownies
Monsoon desserts don’t just mean Indian sweets, you can also enjoy sizzling gooey chocolate brownies topped with dripping hot chocolate sauce, and if more, you can garnish them with nuts of your choice. If you need something to soothe you down with the brownies, a scoop of vanilla ice cream would do the job for you.