As fruits generally shake off their eat-as-a-whole reputation, innovative ideas in cooking using fruits are pitched in to add a little spice to our life -- aka -- plates. One such idea toiled at during the exclusive healthy summer culinary demonstration, which was organised by Godrej Nature’s Basket recently.
It was hosted by Monika Manchanda, who earlier worked in the IT field before she discovered her passion for food. The food blogger, consultant, home baker and amateur food photographer created appetising summer treats during the workshop.
Pointing out that all fruits grow seasonally for a reason, Monika finds that the best slice of summer is fruits. She explains: “During summer, we hold back on food which drains our body of nutrients. Using fruits balances the palette. They also help make summer easy on us.” She adds: “The idea is to promote fresh summer foods. In India, what we usually do is either eat them whole or include them in desserts. It is highly unlikely that we include fruits in main courses and salads.”
Making summer fruits exciting, Monika allured her audience with Asian prawn and mango salad, a sesame tofu and pineapple stir fry and a Labneh cheesecake with mango peach compote. “I thought of presenting a side dish and a salad, along with a dessert, all inclusive of fruits. Fruits can be consumed in various ways instead of taking it as a whole which, by the way, is also great.”
With over seven years of experience in the food industry, Monika encourages foodies to experiment with a wide range of summer supplements. “I have received startling responses about mixing prawn and mango in a salad. But only when they tried it did they realise that sweet, sour and spicy flavours go well with fruits. Keep trying new flavours and try not to be discouraged.”
