Your Favourite Monsoon Grub, Wine Paired!
Don’t dare diss the rainy season as an inconvenience and instead, celebrate the generous showers with an unapologetic binge of delicious comfort foods paired with some great rainy day wines
The monsoons are well and truly upon us and needless to say, stokes the appetite for heartwarming fare that just goes swimmingly with the rains. There’s no rational volume of reference that explains why this niche of snacks and dishes are so desired during the months of downpour except perhaps they make for delicious company. Anyhow, this seasonal craving’s long been baked in and what a welcome craving it is, right?! Hanker for a platter of unapologetically fried and highly unhealthy onion pakodas, steaming hot momos that pack a wallop of flavour and that most accessible albeit highly processed staple, Maggi noodles. This platter of comfort fare makes the rains worth waiting for and we’re adding to the good news by pairing each of these lip smacking snacks with some cracking good wines.
Vada Pav & Pakodas Paired With Man Family, Sauvignon Blanc, Warrelwind 2021
Vada Pav is India’s proud vegetarian answer to the hippy trend of sliders and yeah, we owned it before they did. The working man’s snack to go is also the top of mind snack when it really starts to come down. These spicy deep fried potato balls stuffed inside the slit of white bread puff along with dry spicy chutney just call for sinking the teeth into delivering a nice punch of flavour. And don’t forget about them piping hot pakodas containing spicy batter and onions that are the stuff of Bollywood legend, mentioned with genuine longing in many a rainy day film scene . Both of these heartwarming local snacks can be amped up with the acidic, easy drinking Man Family, Sauvignon Blanc, Warrelwind 2021, an acidic Sauvignon Blanc that softens the sharp spice and elevates the local snack with a rush of tropical fruits and herbs.
Roasted Bhutta (corn cob) With Susana Balbo, Crios, Rosé 2020
Corn cob isn’t an American thing. Your’s truly grew up roasted ‘bhutta’ through the 80’s when in fact it was only available street side during the rainy season. That restriction and the charm may have been sadly dispatched by its perennial presence these days but hell, it’s a still the best edible companion on a wet afternoon. Be sure give the toasted ‘bhutta’ a good rub of salt and red chilli laden chunk of lime before sinking the jaws into the scrumptious carbs and pair it with the crisp cool climate Susana Balbo, Crios, Rosé 2020, crafted in the misty hills of Argentina’s Mendoza region.
Momos with Saint Clair, Pinot Noir 2020
You can gladden just about anyone with momos. These sumptuous steamed dumplings inspired by Tibetan cuisine (the name is derived from Tibetan lingo) are bite sized delights loaded with intense flavour. A whole platter of piping hot momos is just what the soul calls for on an incessantly rainy day. Be it mushroom, veggies, chicken or pork, everyone has their favourite momo and story to go with it. Momos delivers the senses to comfort food heaven and gets a further bump with a soft and elegant Saint Clair, Pinot Noir 2020 from the cool, sunny climes of New Zealand that absorbs and softens the indigenous dumpling’s taste and more than holds its own unique, elegant style.
