Best Indian Summer Recipes to Beat the Heat

Unique and refreshing summer recipes in India
A refreshing Konkani summer drink, you can taste solkadi in one of the many regional food outlets in India. Mostly popular as kokum curry, the recipe of Sol Kadi includes kokum and coconut milk, which hydrates the body and cools it down fast. Moreover, after a hot day outside, a glass of solkadi feels like nectar.

1.SolKadi
A refreshing Konkani summer drink, you can taste solkadi in one of the many regional food outlets in India. Mostly popular as kokum curry, the recipe of Sol Kadi includes kokum and coconut milk, which hydrates the body and cools it down fast. Moreover, after a hot day outside, a glass of solkadi feels like nectar.

The drink acts as an effective digestive agent and helps digest spicy Indian food. A glass of this cool drink protects you against heat flashes and acidity. People enjoy it in states like Goa, Maharashtra and nearby areas. In fact, it is a very simple but delicious drink to have in summer.

2.Jaggery and Mint Sharbat 

Jaggery (gur) or molasses is easily available in Indian markets and households. Gur is a natural sweetener and is healthier than sugar. The drink includes mixing around 50g gur, a handful of mint leaves together with black salt and a splash of lemon in the cold water as per the requirement. The resulting drink will replenish your energy and cool down the body easily.

The humble gur sharbat will delight you and bring back childhood memories. The Indian farmers also love drinking this easy to prepare concoction almost every day after coming back from the fields.

3.Spicy Watermelon Soup 

The spicy watermelon soup is a unique dish that you can get easily across the restaurants in India. Watermelon is a sweet and watery tropical fruit available in India in the summer season.

People usually make juice and salads with this fruit. However, the spicy watermelon soup is an out of the box recipe for the fruit. The dish not only excites your taste buds but also delivers a cooling effect to the gut. It is a perfect summer recipe to try.

To prepare this soup, you would need chopped and deseeded watermelon, ginger-garlic paste, chopped mint, chilli flakes and olive oil (for cooking), all in appropriate quantities. Here is the quick recipe

  • Fry the ginger-garlic paste with the chilli flakes in a small quantity of olive oil
  • Blend the watermelon and the mint in a blender to get the puree
  • Add the puree in the pan along with the sautéed chilli flakes and ginger garlic
  • Heat the mixture gently to let it become thick
  • Wait for 1-2 hours before taking it out for serving
  • Make sure to consume it in the same day of preparation

4. Stuffed Lauki 

Lauki or Bottle gourd is a water-rich vegetable that grows in abundance in India, and people use it in many recipes. Bottle Gourd recipes are usually very simple. However, stuffed lauki or bottle gourd tastes delicious and it is great as a starter or appetizer as well. You can experiment with the masala stuffed in the gourd and make it tastier. Many people stuff the bottle gourd with cottage cheese to give the dish a creamy, rich flavor.

5. Mango Curry 

The immensely famous mango curry is quintessential Indian food made from mango – the king of fruits and the most famous fruit of summer in India. If you have not tasted it yet, you have simply no idea of what you have missed so far.

Starting from late spring to summer, this beautiful fruit rules the taste palates of Indians. Mango chutney and mango drinks are very popular in India. However, mango curry is also very popular in many areas. The main ingredients used to prepare this summer recipe include yogurt, jiggery, gram flour and of course, mango.

Many regional restaurants in the country serve this dish to their visitors and patrons. Apart from being tasty and tangy, the curry is very nutritious.

Takeaway

Summing up, summer foods are very interesting and unique in India. They help people to enjoy the season throughout. The restaurants in India and food outlets also care to serve vivid delicacies during summers.  It would be great to know the recipes of these delicacies so that you could prepare them in your home itself to get away with the pinching heat.