Broths, pickles and fritters: Comfort food gets a monsoon makeover
Times of India | 19 July 2025
Traditional ingredients & memories are finding new life as city food pop-ups are reclaiming the flavours of monsoon.
The greens returnKolmi and kumro shaak are finding place in light sautés, while dumur & kochur loti are being used in fritters & rolls. Pop-ups are also embracing the khamalu, a tribal staple. At one such event, dragon fruit, kachkola, kochi dumur and khamalu starred in a Levant-style broth that felt “contemporarybut firmly rooted,” says chef Sayani Sengupta.
Best of both worldsCurators are also experimenting with global flavours with a local touch:Persian Doogh: Yoghurt made with full cream milkPanko coated Pukurer PabdaFoxtail salad with peach & herbs, Lobia hummus with brown butter and dried roselle chilli oil, Mutton Testi kebab, Charcoal smoked bagda, Maghrebi rose harissa pilav & Tahini creamcheese dipImmunity meets innovationOnce considered as home staples, and immunity-boosting ingredients are now starring in food pop-ups across the city. For instance, indigenous mushrooms like the antioxidant and umami-flavoured dudh chhatu and Puwal chhatu. (below) Simple comfort fare – turmeric stirred into rice, kalo jeere blended with ghee, and chui jhal are being reimagined. These are now featuring alongside global faves on monsoon menus. “Kalo jeere bata, a postpartum must, is now a crowd-puller,” says home chef & food revivalist RohitashwaTurjo.
Fish, reimaginedWith ilish continuing to headline monsoon tables, chefs are turning to lesser-feted fish once tied to recovery diets. Koi, magur, shingi and pabda are being revived in broths and gravies. Chef Sayani Sengupta’s panko-crusted pabda with bahara masala was a hit: “People loved that it reminded them of home, but with a new expression.” In some places, kasundi-laced ilish bharta and mashed koi with mustard oil are replacing boneless cuts, while embracing the dish’s true spirit.
The return of forgotten formatsMakha: Raw mixes like mashed starfruit (Kamranga) with mustard oil, or boiled chhola with lime & saltBata: Pastes such as chicken blended with lemon leaf or jackfruit seed – ground into curry basesBharta: Roasted or smoked and mashed variations such as ilish with chillies, or tomato and ranga alooPickles on pointDried and fermented ingredients are adding depth to monsoon menus:Jackfruit seeds are being roasted, mashed, or stirred into graviesHomemade pickles are being made from Jamrul (rose apple) to Kamranga (star fruit)Fermented tea leaves, preserved in sugar, are turning into chutney-like accompanimentsWhat experts have to sayPop-up menus are not similar to restaurants. We have to balance out pricing, quality & nostalgia. Monsoon food is tricky to curate– Subhajit Bhattacharyya, culinary researcher and food curatorAt monsoon pop-ups, we’re reviving recipes like Kalo jeere bata and Kathal bichi pora, using age-old techniques like chotkan – mashing by hand– Shakyasingha Chakraborty, food heritage researche