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When I was a child, the rainy season essentially meant vegetables drowning in a bowl of besan (gramme flour). It didn't stop there. To make it memorable, flavoursome spices, herbs and, of course, salt would blend along. A bit of water resonating with the rain would pour into this bowl and let all the ingredients absorb each other's essence. Finally, this mix would drop and pop up as crunchy pakodas or fritters into the wok with hot oil. Watching the downpour while munching the piping hot fritters have been a sense of nostalgia for many of us. It isn't just me alone. Serotonin levels fall during the rainy season due to a lack of sunlight, making us feel down and melancholy. Additionally, it causes a decline in the body's production of vitamin D. Animals only photosynthesise vitamin D utilising a certain wavelength of ultraviolet light.
Pakodas work wonderfully to satisfy the body's craving for carbohydrates, temporarily increasing serotonin levels. The lack of surface moisture (the technical definition of crispness) makes them the ideal companion for the typically damp surroundings around us, in addition to being carbs deep-fried in more carbohydrates.
Heat, specifically capsaicin-based heat, is another monsoon-related remedy for lifting our spirits. Spicy, hot snacks are more effective than bland ones because the brain reacts by making us sweat and releasing dopamine into our bloodstream to help us metaphorically deal with the "pain" of eating a crispy mirchi bajji. This is because the capsaicin in chillies tricks the nerve receptors in your mouth into thinking that you have consumed something actually physically hot (in terms of temperature).
pakodas/ pinterest.com
For similar reasons, a hot cup of ginger tea also works wonders. The ginger molecule gingerol does the same function as capsaicin in chillies, and the contrast between a hot cup of tea and the ginger's fictitious burn is ideal for the rainy season. Naturally, the heat in our bodies rises when we consume fried foods. Likewise, rainy weather slows down our digestion process. Therefore, eating fried foods stimulates the digestive system, improving its performance.
