Vizag Restaurants Turning Summer Fruits Into Gourmet’s Delight

For example, rather than offering just mangoes, jackfruit, ice apples or watermelons as standalone fruits or juice, the restaurateurs across the port city are turning them seasonings.

The innovation does not stop at beverages and desserts. Restaurants have started serving mango chicken biryani, mango sushi, Bengal-inspired aam kasundi fish with steamed rice, and even mango pizza and pasta. Options include nachos with mango salsa, mango French toast, and the increasingly popular mango coconut latte and mango bambolini.

Apart from mangoes, other seasonal fruits gaining prominence on local menus are ice apples, known locally as tati munjulu, served as dessert, like kheer, panna cotta, and ice cream. Some establishments are using the fruit in pancakes.

Jackfruit, another summer staple, is finding expression in dishes like jackfruit biryani, jackfruit tacos and various desserts, including ice cream and halwa.

Kalyan Vasudev, a private restaurant owner in the city, explains the business philosophy behind these menus. "We change our menu according to customer preferences," he said, talking to this correspondent. "We maintain a social media presence, where our posts featuring these innovative dishes create a reach and interest among people," the restaurateur stated.

He explained that customer engagement drives development of their menu. "During winters, many customers ask for London strawberry chocolate dips and strawberry-related desserts and pancakes, so we adapt our menu accordingly," he said.

While his restaurant previously served standard items like aam pana and mango cakes, this season they are serving mango Boba tea, mango pizza and mango sandwiches.