Unless you’re among the lucky few living on the hillsides or in cities like Bengaluru, summer is the time for heat, perspiration and the sun unflinchingly beating down on you. Being a chef, I actually enjoy the summer months — it’s a great time to focus on vegetarian fare. The summer vegetables actually pose a challenge to my creativity and it’s just the time to turn things around. There’s one rule that I have — control but don’t stop or eliminate the intake of carbohydrate-based food during summers as they provide instant energy and prevent heat exhaustion. Just skip pooris and paranthas and bring potatoes, multi-grain breads, bananas, pastas and even rotis back into your life.
Unlike the common food myth, breads are not an enemy in summers — open sandwiches with cold vegetables and cold cuts provide the perfect afternoon lunch. The open format balances the carb intake while cold greens, boiled eggs and cold cuts have a visual appeal and a complementary taste. This is the season to bid adieu to heavy cheeses like mozzarella and cheddar, and find comfort in chevre, goat cheese, feta and other lighter variants.
That said, summers are also a good time for chilled soups. They’re wholesome and nourishing. So, the sweet corn and minestrone can be replaced by rustic gazpacho, chilled zucchini with creme fraîche or avocado-cucumber soup. A gazpacho or berry-yoghurt soup requires a simple food processor or hand blender and needs to be chilled while the spinach or avocado base ones require cooking but only minimal.
Summer’s warmth makes dal, chana, rajma and the likes unappetising. But who says one needs to be deprived of their versatility and nutritional value? They are a rich source of vitamins and proteins, and low content of dietary fat gives them a thumbs up, especially during the hot weather.
The trick lies in having them cold and that’s where the Middle-East’s cold mezze and dips come in handy. Most popular among them is the adasi, a lentil-based dip made using green lentils, which are traditionally one of the least favourite dals in one’s growing up years. They are soaked, boiled and then mixed with fragrant spices and caramelised onions ground to a suitable dip-like consistency and chilled.
Another option, and probably more popular, is the hummus. An interesting variation of the dish includes pistachio, beetroot, chilies or chickpeas. But a summer without salads is unimaginable, and for weight watchers and others for whom the greens are uninteresting, salads can be made tastier by being perked up with interesting, chilled homemade dressings. A home-made strawberry vinaigrette, a basic balsamic made to your specific taste preference or a pineapple-orange dressing with the fruits in abundance go very well with a preferred mix of greens. And if the salad is just not enough, enhance it to a salad wrap with ready tortillas or even a plain old roomali with the homemade dressing and greens tossed in it.
Another myth one shouldn’t get caught in is that one should eat only cold foods in summer. Hot foods still remain comforting and wholesome. The variety of summer vegetables largely dominated by squashes and gourds, though, makes for fairly interesting stews, tagines and oven-baked one-dish meals. I highly recommend a zucchini and tomato stuffed with herbed goat cheese bake, or even a summer vegetable tagine with cous cous. Happy eating in the warm weather!
ADASI (Ingredients)
- Green dal 750 gm
- Extra virgin olive oil 30 ml
- Garlic 10 gm
- Fresh coriander 60 gm
- Flour 30 gm
- Water 30 ml
- Lemon juice 60 ml
- Turmeric 20 gm
- Onion 100 gm
Method: Cook dal in a large pot of salted boiling water for 15 minutes. Add onions and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the onions and dal are tender. Heat oil in a large pan and sauté the garlic for three minutes. Stir in the dal mixture. Mix the flour and water separately and add along with turmeric, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Garnish with lemon juice and coriander. Chill and serve cold.
CHILLED GAZPACHO (Ingredients)
- Large tomatoes 6
- Onions 2
- Capsicum 1
- Cucumber 1
- Red wine 120 ml
- Extra virgin olive oil 60 ml
- Tabasco sauce 5 ml
- Chopped green coriander 1/2 cup
- Garlic 3 cloves
Method
Blend all ingredients in a processor.
Add wine half-way through the blending process.
Blend further till you achieve a pulpy consistency.
Chill in the refrigerator for an hour.
Garnish with coriander and serve cold.
The writer is a chef and founder, Under One Roof Hotel Consultants P Ltd
