“If it is summer in Mumbai, it must be Alphonsos!” runs a popular line. Mango season it definitely is, with the aroma permeating every nook and cranny of the city. The presence of the Alphonso mango and its more modest cousins (in raw and ripe forms) are evident everywhere as freshly cut fruit, shakes, squashes,pickles,preserves,ice creams,soufflés,aam raas,aam panna….. The list is never-ending.
Many a food lover, however, finds himself caught in the crossfire between traditional beliefs and newer findings in the fields of diet and nutrition. “Reading make a man but too much reading might end up confusing a man,” rules 55-year-old Srikanth Misra.While one magazine informs him that a mango a day through summer will take care of his immunity for the year, his elderly neighbor warns him that mango is a “heat producing” food that is often difficult to digest.” Dividing food into ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ categories is an age-old custom in India. While Western schools of nutrient might pooh-pooh these beliefs, there is definite wisdom in making sea-son-related food choices”, says Mumbai-based nutritionist Vinita Arin.
While mango may be way up there in nutrition and taste, weight watchers must be aware of its calorie-rich nature (both in green and ripe states), She eruptions and painful boils. Just soaking the fruit in cool water for a couple of hours (a practice followed by our grandmothers) could make the fruit safe for consumption, she says. Refrigerating the fruit could prove equally effective.
“Dehydration, lack of appetite, lethargy, a slowing down of the digestion process and constant thirst are symptoms that crop up in hot sultry weather. To counteract these, the best option in to choose foods that are light, hydrating and easy on the stomach. Food eaten at room temperature or a little above it is preferable to eating piping hot food, “she says. She recommends melons (watermelons, musk melons), berries (mulberries, gooseberries), gourds (snake gourd, bottle gourd, bitter gourd) and green salads made from cucumber, lettuce, raw cabbage, spinach, coriander leaves and spring onions as ideal summer choices. A dash of fresh lime juice and a sprinkling of rock salt could be added for taste.
Hot soups, tea, coffe, rich gravies, barbeques and biriyanis are best reserved for winter and monsoon months as are dishes loaded with ghee, cream and spices. Cold coffe, iced tea are good options to revive flagging energy however, as are yoghurt based drinks and dips.
“The health benefits of yoghurt can never be stressed enough and these are especially relevant in summer,” says diet expert Vipula swaminathan.Flavoured yoghurt, plain creamy yoghurt, the Maharashtrian srikhand or the Bengali favourite mishti doi are all high on nutritional value, she elaborates.
The south Indian tradition of eating fluffy steamed rice and using curry leaves, curd and tamarind in their cooking help make a summer friendly meal, while the patent cuisine of north India (rajma, chole, parathas etc,) is the trouble maker.Fortunately, we live in times of cultural osmosis with each region adopting food habits of the other effortlessly and the mix-and match menus of this age work out very well.
“Though we are typical Punjabis, we often have multi-cuisine meals cooked at home and believe in picking the seasonal best from every region,” says home-maker Kuljeet Randhwa.Wary of chemical preservatives used in commercially produced fruit juices and ice-creams,Kuljeet encourages children in the family to extract juice from fresh fruits and make their own ices and lollies.”They are healthy, nutritious, colourful and fun to make; so much better than factory made stuff, “she says.
Interestingly, nearly every region has summer food specials. While the Gujaratis thrive on dahi Kadhi, chaas and aam raas, the Bengalis insist on a runny sweet-sour green mango chutney and bitter gourd with their meals. The ubiquitous rasam with its stomach-friendly ingredients is an appetizer and digestive rolled into one for those in the south while the Maharashtrians resort to Kokum Kadhi.Traditionally prepared digestive pills with asafetida, pomegranate seeds, cumin seeds, and dessicated mangoes rolled in honey, sea salt or jaggery are delicious to nibble on after a meal and can hold great health benefits.
The age old philosophy that you are what you eat seems to hold true in these summer months. Looking and feeling good in the sweltering heart is possible as long as you eat right, say the experts and with grandmother’s homespun remedies to choose from backed by advice from the world of science, keeping one’s cool was never this easy.
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