The spicy and delicious condiment that peps up mealtimes! Simple to make Gun Powder Chutney uses flax seeds as one of the ingredients. How else do I feed the reluctant family flax seeds?

The spicy and delicious condiment that peps up mealtimes! Simple to make Gun Powder Chutney uses flax seeds as one of the ingredients. How else do I feed the reluctant family flax seeds?
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Monsoon evokes pictures of rains, pakoda and ginger-infused tea!
Monsoon also means festivals, think Ganesh, Raksha Bandhan, Nag Panchmi, Rath Yatra, Teej.
Festival follows food where we gorge on good food. We forget that we have to eat light food and end up with a bloating or worse tummy upset.
The diverse country that we are, even our rains are different in different parts of the country! Like, Central India it pours then it becomes all cool and pleasant. My hometown is Dharwad, a hill station, it drizzles continuously and it gets cold. But in Goa, we get 100 cms of rain! We do not see the sun for 4-5 days and the humidity is extremely high. Because it is humid you do not feel cold at all.
All around the country, there are jobs to be done before the monsoon. The farmer tilling his fields is common but there are other jobs too.
In Goa the work for the monsoon begins well in advance right from unclogging the drains, cutting trees, maintenance works.
The common man in Goa too has an agenda, he is after what is locally called “Ghar shivu Jai” the house is to be stitched. The age-old houses with tiled roofs that are typical of Goa need to be relaid. Of course like the rest of the country the fields are tilled for sowing paddy.
The Goan homemaker is worried she needs to do “Purmet” or storage. Purumet che feast is an old and important fair. In the past villages used to barter goods for the coming rains, people will even now prefer to buy at Purmet. You have the vendors selling small onions braided together, kokum, coconut oil, salt, chillies, dried fish, alsande. Dried fish too is stored as Goan cannot do without fish and there is a ban of fishing activity from June, every year.
Schools reopen and so the scramble for new uniforms, rainy sandals (we were open-toed sandals till September), bags, books and book covers rule the roost. If that is not enough the school bus or rickshaw arrangement!
But from this year onwards I will be missing the noise, as Akanksha is moving to Bangalore. The place will seem more empty now!
This is me and my rant about Monsoon! What about you? Do you also love it and hate it!
Most of my concerns, as usual, are food and what to eat to be in good health.
Most Indians consciously or unconsciously follow Ayurveda. Food habits follow Ritucharya or seasonal guidelines. That means that following the seasonal guideline we can maintain good health and enjoy the season!
So how do you meet the Rainy Season headon?
What you look for in monsoons is comfort food!
During rains, regional food takes a lot of importance.
The season of Hindu festivals starts here in the rain. Am I correct that we start with Ganesh, the Remover of Obstacles, after all, he the first Deity we always worship!
This Monsoon is what I love about Monsoons! Of course, I have painted a rosy picture of it. There are floods, landslides, famines and droughts. Lives are lost as well as livelihoods! I firmly believe that look at positives and that builds up. That is what I am focusing on.
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Do you like this recipe? Have you tried it? In case you do and whenever you do please tag me on Facebook. My Instagram handle is #themadscientistskitchen. You can also use my Twitter handle, Then you are always welcome at my Pinterest page too. I will love to see you there.
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Kalyani says
what a lovely idea to compile the different facets of Monsoon vis a single post.. I am drawn particulary to the Kanda Bhajia & the moong curry 🙂 lovely post, ARch !
ArchanaPotdar says
Thanks, Kalyani.
Renu says
Nice little tips there on ways to enjoy and definitely one needs to boost up the immunity. Monsoon and pakoda goes hand in hand. Love Indian monsoons. I think the temple is Mangeshkar temple right?
ArchanaPotdar says
Renu, yes pakoda and Rains are synonyms. The temple is Maruti Temple, Miramar. We are about 21 kms away.
Chef Mireille says
As we dont have a monsoon season here, it is totally a foreign concept to me. So interesting to learn of the foods and customs of another part of the world
ArchanaPotdar says
True Mir, for us being an agrarian society Monsoon does play an important role. Good Monsoons means a better economy.
blessmyfoodbypayal@gmail.com says
Truly, rains and food go hand in hand. Apart from getting wet, what I love to cherish more during monsoons is having delicious recipes. You have put a great series of recipes worth cherishing.
ArchanaPotdar says
Thank you.
Uma Srinivas says
Love mansoon season and delcious chai along with fried snacks! You have lovely recipe roundups for monsoon season!
ArchanaPotdar says
Thanks,Uma.
Rafeeda - The Big Sweet Tooth says
That is such an exhaustive and detailed post! For us, monsoon means vacation, when all we love to do is sleep inside the blanket, eat, drink chai and stare out of the sit out to the rains… hehe… Delicious list of recipes to try while it is pouring…
ArchanaPotdar says
😀 Love the idea Monsoon means vacation! Thanks Rafeeda.
Vandana says
Monsoon is my favorite season and other than family, I miss it the most in Dubai. Loved your recipes. Can’t wait to try them all. Lovely post and video clip. I am missing India even more now.
ArchanaPotdar says
Sorry, it was not my intention for you to miss home.
Lata Lala says
Love love monsoons but it’s equally tough situation to take care of your overall health. Thank you for the detailed post about monsoons and the lovely food recipes to try.
ArchanaPotdar says
Thanks.
Sandhya Nadkarni says
Hi Archana,
I enjoyed reading your post and visiting Goa virtually! I did not know about purmet. That is so interesting. I do bring my stock of kokum, kaju and alsande from Goa too. the pickles I ate there were amazing. Do you know the recipe for the pickle masala they use there?
ArchanaPotdar says
Thanks, Sandhya. Purmet is these days low key but in Margao a huge fair is held. This year I don’t think it was held but.
Anyway, what pickle are you referring to the vinegar ones or the usual ones?
Vanitha Bhat says
Lovely collection of monsoon delights dear and I loved going through your post on monsoons, the different foods, health tips etc.! I love the monsoons too but because it make the air cooler and I love the pitter patter of rain on my rooftop!
Every recipe in this post is droolworthy and a must try for any monsoon!
ArchanaPotdar says
Thanks, Vanitha.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
I have always dreamed of being in the perfect place during the monsoon season to enjoy some of the delicious recipes that you have mentioned while enjoying the rain. I love your comfort food recipes to make as they are very close to my heart.
ArchanaPotdar says
Thanks, Sandhya.
amrita says
Your post took me back to my Goa days memories…I can truly relate the post…How beautifully you have explained to enjoy monsoon and of course you have also mentioned how we can save ourselves and enjoy festivities…
ArchanaPotdar says
Thanks, Amrita. If you come to Goa get in touch.
Seema Sriram says
Wow!! i am a fan of monsoons and yes food remains the main thought. As you described, building immunity and forming a nutritious pattern of eating is key to keeping healthy during this time. loved the collection of recipes here as well.
ArchanaPotdar says
Thanks, Seema.
Mayuri Patel says
Archana very informative and factual post about the monsoon and what we should eat during this season and why. You are now slowly convincing me that monsoon is a romantic and wonderful season. A wonderful collection of monsoon recipes.
ArchanaPotdar says
Come to Goa Mayuri you can see the fury and the beauty of Monsoon. Thanks a lot. Some comments mean a lot this is one of them.
Lathiya says
Awesime share. Your post is making me want to wait for the rain here to enjoy as you have mentioned. I love to have hot chai with pakoda in the rain.
ArchanaPotdar says
😀 Thanks.
Padma Veeranki says
Thank you for such a detailed post about monsoons and all the lovely monsoon delights to try. I love monsoon season…almost got transported to that feel! It was a lovely video clip too!
ArchanaPotdar says
Thanks,Padma.
NARMADHA says
Wow. You take us through monsoon season and different food associated with it. Such a detailed and very informative write up. I always love your writing
ArchanaPotdar says
Thanks, Narmadha.
sapana says
Such a lovely compilation of monsoon food. I always end up making pakodas whenever it raisns, thanks for all the lovely ideas.
ArchanaPotdar says
Thanks, Sapana.