Summer harvest: Chefs celebrate Mumbai’s seasonal fruits and veggies

Saurabh Udinia, culinary director, HOM in Bandra, looks forward to the raw mangoes every summer. “My father makes an aam pickle for the family that we use as a butter in our seabass at the restaurant,” he says, adding, “We use a two-year-old batch as it ferments beautifully.”

Fresh harvest of mangoes at Crawford Market last year. FILE PIC

Their Veggie Chop, a patty made from seasonal veggies, is “packed with amaranth, green peas and edamame. We make the sauce using burnt cauliflower,” he explains. His top picks include Dadar Phool and Sabji Mandi, and Crawford market.

(From left) Veggie Chop; Seabass; Saurabh Udinia. Pics courtesy/HOM

The sunny season also brings gourds, greens and kokum. The bottle and ridge gourds are at their best. “They behave really well on the fire. Even the humble drumstick is thick with tender seeds. We steam it lightly, and then fire them for a charred aroma.”

Chutney on the rocks

Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal, curator and editor of Chutney: A Compendium of Stories and Recipes, says, “Every part of a plant can be converted into a chutney — leaves, flowers, roots, stem; even peels, especially those of the ridge gourd, are preferred options. Turai or ridge gourd peels, with their rough and fibrous texture, make for delightfully rustic chutneys.”

Flowers, like the gongura, Hibiscus, moringa, tamarind, coriander, and banana flowers, are also popular options. For Maharashtrians, red and green thechas, with chillies are added to the menu for their internal cooling features. “In my mother’s Gujarati household, we still have a Kanda Kheri made by blending mango chilli and gourd,” she says.

Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal

Bhaji and bhakri

Shival Shah, co-founder of Tillage, local produce online store, points out that the onset of summer marks a shift in produce suited to the climate. “At Tillage, we are going to be shifting away from berries, and towards more tropical produce like avocados, mangoes, and mangosteen.

Mangoes and avocados. PICS COURTESY/TILLAGE

Cooling flours like Jowar, Khapli wheat etc are preferred in this season.  The market is filled with spinach, amaranth and a few varieties of salad greens. I love an amaranth (Chauli) leaves bhaji paired with a jowar bhakri,” Shah concludes.

Drinks galore

Summer specials

Jasleen Marwah of Folk in Kala Ghoda says summer is a respite from the heavy eating of winter. “It lightens you up, and you crave cooling drinks,” says Marwah, hinting at aam panna, kokum sharbat, sol kadi, kanjis and chhaas.

Sindhi Kadhi

She uses all the fresh kokum, mango, and beetroot for the coolers. “From chillies to tamarind, the season brings colour to the markets. My favourite is the Goregaon station market,” she says.

Topli Nu salad

Juicy lemons are used for Sindhi kadhi, while curd rice and khichdi get an addition of veggies — the green gourds, cucumber and palak. “We serve jowar instead of bajra, to ease digestion too,” she reveals.

Jasleen Marwah. PICS COURTESY/FOLK

Market research

A fisherman unloads the day’s catch at Sassoon Dock. FILE PIC

“I am especially excited about working with ripe local tomatoes, tender gourds like lauki and turai, and plenty of cucumber; ingredients naturally suited to the heat. Apart from mangoes, pomelo or bael offers freshness and gentle acidity.

Chef Gaurav Yadav

In warm weather, the ingredients do most of the work. It is all about letting their natural flavours shine,” shares Gaurav Yadav, chef de cuisine at The Bombay Canteen.

Seasonal produce at The Bombay Canteen. Pics courtesy/The Bombay Canteen

Take a walk down your local market, and you will understand. “The Grant Road Market has a very distinct character: One finds smaller vendors, interesting regional produce, and ingredients that are not always easy to come across in bigger markets. For seafood, it’s Sassoon Dock, especially for squid and bombil during this time,” he says.