Monsoon mushroom recipes in Goa feature a wild mushroom called ‘olmi’, combined with Konkan special rava fry for a delicious snack you can eat as an appetiser as well. The freshly harvested wild mushrooms are washed and coated in the typical Goan marinade of turmeric, Kashmiri red chilli, ginger-garlic paste, tamarind pulp or white vinegar, and salt. This paste is rubbed into each mushroom cap and stem, then left to rest for at least 20 minutes. Just before frying, the marinated mushrooms are coated in rava or semolina and shallow fried. But what makes this mushroom recipe so unique? It is this mushroom’s growth conditions. They are a species of Termitomyces, a genus of edible fungi that grows in a unique symbiotic relationship with termites. They sprout only during the rains from the sacred termite mounds found in the forested areas of Valpoi, Sattari, and Canacona in Goa's Western Ghats. They are available for roughly two weeks, from late July to early August, and cannot be cultivated commercially, which makes this recipe worth trying. The Termitomyces species has a firm, meaty texture and a terrific, earthy flavour with an umami quality distinct from that of the cultivated button or oyster mushrooms available year-round. In Goa, olmi is traditionally cooked as xacuti, tondak, or a masala fry. In Karnataka, where the same mushrooms grow across the Western Ghats border, a rava-fried version is a typical preparation as the mushrooms' firm flesh holds up to the shallow fry without collapsing, and their flavour is amplified by the Goan-style masala.

Dalia pulao recipe is a simple, hearty dish that never gets old. Broken wheat is essentially whole wheat that's been cracked into smaller pieces. It cooks more quickly than most grains and has a good earthy taste. When combined with fresh vegetables and a handful of common spices, it transforms into a hearty and delicious pulao. To make this dalia recipe, the broken wheat is first lightly roasted in oil to deepen the flavour, then set aside. You can definitely skip this step, but roasting gives a nice nutty aroma and non-sticky texture. Add onions, green chillies, and curry leaves in the same cooker and add tomatoes and your choice of vegetables. Add water, place the dalia back in, and pressure cook for a few whistles. This dalia pulao recipe can be easily incorporated into the daily diet, either as a morning meal, a lunch, or a light dinner. It's gentle on the gut, high in fibre, and keeps you full for longer. Prep the vegetables in advance for quick cooking on those busy days. If you have any leftovers, just refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to two days and reheat with a splash of water.

The OG pani puri recipe gets a makeover with the viral rice paper trend entering and taking over the puris! All you need is some water and some rice paper sheets, and soak them briefly, cut them into circles and microwave away. You get the same crispy and crunchy results, which are whiter because this is rice paper, not maida, and there is no deep-frying involved. You can enjoy the same ‘teekha’ water and spiced mashed potato mix with these rice paper pani puris. If you are hesitant to try this pani puri recipe, then you must know it is healthy, as the usual puri shells are made from refined wheat flour (maida) and a mix of sooji in some cases, but rice paper puris are made from rice, making them naturally gluten-free. Rice paper has been used for centuries in Southeast Asian cuisine, especially for spring rolls and fresh rolls, making this pani puri version a fusion of Indian street food and Vietnamese-inspired ingredients. If a pack of rice paper outlasts your enthusiasm for trying pani puri recipes, then you can use it to make healthy snacks like wraps, dumplings, rolls and more. You can have an entire ensemble of rice paper snacks with just one pack. You can also try making them at home with fermented rice, salt and water batter. Enjoy snacking!