West: Aamras

Any summer in mumbai is incomplete without this. Try going to a restaurant and ask for a thali and this delicacy will find its place as a part of the meal. The word aamras is really a combination of two words, aam (mango) and ras (juice). Its thickness comes from high-quality Alphonso mangoes, which is the most famous fruit in this part of the country.

Main dish: What you need is the pulp of one mango, a quarter glass of milk and half a teaspoon of sugar (it really has to be just that little bit since the mangoes themselves will be quite sweet). You then blend all of this in a mixer and what emerges is delectable thick aamras, which is the perfect answer to the humid Mumbai summer.

Accompaniments: To some people, the prospect of having aamras with ice cubes is itself the most exciting thing, but the better way to savour it is with puris. The best thing about aamras is that it can be had at any time of the day. Just in case you thought that having it at 5 p.m. was a bad idea, you could be in for a surprise. The best thing about aamras is that it is easy to make and great on your taste buds.

Note: Remember, aamras has to be served cold if you want the best out of it.

Hint: Be careful about how much you consume as large quantities of aamras can result in an upset stomach.

-Krishna Gopalan

East: Paanta Bhaat

In its purest form, paanta bhaat is nothing but cooked coarse rice left overnight in a bowl of water-this allows it to ferment naturally-and consumed in the morning with onions, chillies, salt and some fried or boiled vegetables. It cools the system and allows farmers to work in open fields in high temperatures. But somewhere along the way, it has spawned a variation that has metamorphosed the poor man's meal into a city slicker's fad. This is how it's done:

Main dish: Cook basmati in a haandi till the water dries completely. After two hours, add curd, lots of grated tender green mangoes and fried curry leaves (10-12 pieces in one tea spoon of refined oil) to the rice, pour water over it, mix well; add a tray of ice cubes and roasted jeera powder and salt to taste. Rice is done.

Accompaniments: Mash potatoes with mustard oil, chopped chillies, coriander leaves and onions; fry brinjals, bitter gourd and drum sticks; fry fish and/or prawns marinaded in onion, garlic, lime and red chilly powder and coated with a thin layer of semolina; green chillies, cubed onions, lemon wedges and pickles. Serve rice and curd-water in a bowl, add three-four cubes of ice (it is had chilled), squeeze lemon wedges to taste, and eat with accompaniments.

Note: Paanta bhaat goes well with any fried dish.

Hint: Squeeze a pod of garlic into a peg of vodka, season with a dash of bitters, top up with tonic water and drink before meal. And yes, don't schedule any activity for the rest of the day.

-Arnab Mitra

North: Aalu Bukhara Koftas

Punjabis are great foodies and voracious eaters of spicy and oily (tadka mar ke) dishes. The only concession to the North Indian summer is in the choice of vegetables. The water-based lauki/ghiya (bottle gourd) is combined with the sour aalu bukharas or aluchas (dried plums) for greater hydration.

Main dish: Grate lauki and squeeze it to drain the excess water. Add grated ginger and salt. Mix besan to bind the lauki. Take a small portion of the mixture and put one aalu bukhara (de-seeded and soaked in water) inside and shape into a ball. Repeat for the rest of the mixture. Deep fry balls in oil and keep aside. For the gravy (which can be either curd- or tomato-based, though the former is recommended during summer), melt some ghee in a karhai, add a few elaichi (black and green cardamoms), dalchini (cinnamon stick), tej patta (bay leaf), laung (cloves) and shahjeera (royal/black cumin). Let them pop; then add grated garlic, ginger and onions. Fry till golden brown. Add turmeric powder, tomato purée/curd and cook till the ghee appears on the side of the vessel. Add chilly powder, coriander powder, salt to taste and a pinch of sugar. Pour water to make gravy; add the koftas. Let them boil, add cream and simmer for some time. Serve koftas garnished with chopped coriander, juliennes of ginger and slit green chillies.

Accompaniments: Can be had with either roti/parantha or rice. And since Punjabis always prefer a lavish spread, the meal starts with lassi or chhachh (buttermilk), with the koftas along with tomato, onion, cucumber and mint raita, and a raw onion and radish salad. End it with a fruit salad of tarbooz (water melon) and kharbooza (musk melon).

Note: As gourmet expert Jiggs Kalra points out, no wedding in Punjab is complete without this dish on the menu.

Hint: This dish goes very well with drinks. All you have to do is keep aside some fried koftas and serve them with tamarind or mint chutney.

-Payal Sethi

South: Curd Rice

It's become a pejorative that can be thrown at anyone south of the Vindhyas, yet thair sadham (curd rice) is a favourite with Indians of all hues who know the merit of cooling off after a typically spicy Indian meal. Enterprising South Indian chefs may have tried to glamourise it with an up-market version exotically labelled bagala bath (made with vermicelli as opposed to the original's rice), but those exposed to its distinctive, slightly salt-waterish taste with cooling undertones, still swear by the original. Here's a quick how-to:

Main dish: Over-cook rice in a pressure-cooker till soft (if using leftover rice from the previous day, which some chefs recommend, re-cook it); do not use basmati (if you can't get your hands on the South Indian ponni, use any thick-grained variety). Cool. Chop green chillies, curry leaves, coriander and ginger (and green mangoes and cucumber if you feel like it; do not mince). Add to rice. Also add chilled curd (should not be watery, and should be neither too flat nor too sour) and a dash of salt. Season with mustard and asafoedita that is heated in a dash of oil.

Accompaniments: There are people who have been known to savour thair sadham with a slice of fried fish or some mutton fry, but the best accompaniments to it remain more molaga (chillies fermented in buttermilk and salt and dried in the sun) or avakkai (mango pickle). The first can be found in any shop that sells South Indian spices and condiments; the second in any supermarket.

Note: Thair sadham can be the perfect end (pre-dessert that is) to any meal, Chinese, North Indian, even Italian.

Hint: Take a day off work; end lunch with some thair sadham; and understand why most people from traditional Tamil Brahmin households swear by their afternoon siesta.