The odd couple

AS temperatures zoom, the mere thought of an oily mutton curry is enough to make your bheja fry. Chilled fruit is a soother but, if you146...

AS temperatures zoom, the mere thought of an oily mutton curry is enough to make your bheja fry. Chilled fruit is a soother but, if you8217;re the meat and potatoes type, it8217;s also a culinary death sentence. Western chefs solved this one eons ago8212;they just married meat and fruit.

A taste of the exotic East8212;dried apricots, prunes and preserved oranges8212;made converts of the Crusaders. Determined to better the original inspiration, successive generations of European chefs fine-tuned this union with fresh fruit to create classics like Duck a l8217;Orange and Sole Veronique.

Indian chefs may sprinkle the dry fruits and nuts, but that8217;s often as far as they8217;ll go. 8220;Most of our meat dishes are usually bhunaoed or cooked slowly, so fresh fruit cannot maintain its character and just falls apart, which is why it8217;s generally avoided,8221; says Anupam Joglekar, executive chef at New Delhi8217;s Intercontinental-The Grand.

Refinement and culinary adventurism aside, there are solid scientific reasons why meat and fruit are natural partners. Fruit pulp and juices have been used as the base for many meat marinades because the acid in the fruit acts as a natural tenderiser.

Before the convenience of bottled vinegar, meats were treated with generous splashes of lemon juice or raw papaya before cooking. In fact, classics like Beef Carpaccio and Fish Ceviche are simply seasoned and treated with lemon juice.

360 degrees at New Delhi8217;s Oberoi, the hottest restaurant to open in the city in the last six months, does a Ceviche with spin-marinated raw scallops, served with a pureeacute; of fresh green grapes. Another hot favourite is their smoked turkey salad with rocket, that makes generous use of the in-season watermelon. 8220;In European cooking, the meats are simply spiced or seasoned, so aromatic fruit like oranges or melons just enhance the flavours,8221; says Bill Marchetti, executive chef at Delhi8217;s ITC Maurya Sheraton.

The Italians have the ultimate sweet and salty combo: Melon with Proscuitto or Parma ham. All it takes are some melon wedges cantaloupe or honeydew is what you need and the ham. If you can8217;t get your hands on the real thing, air-dried ham from the Oberoi Charcuterie will do the trick.

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Moving east, the Thais have an array of dishes that showcase their tropical bounty. The spicy Yam

Somo salad is a magical melange of pomelo grapefruit, chicken and seafood. Then there8217;s the ubiquitous Som Tham or raw papaya salad which, in its non-veggie avatar, is dotted with cooked shrimp.

The natural sugars in fruit serve as a delicious counterpoint to the otherwise dominant flavours of certain meats, poultry and fish. Imagine Blighty-staple roast beef without redcurrant jelly!

Fruit also goes a long way in pepping up otherwise bland flesh8212;think stewed duck with fresh plums or lamb chops and mango salsa. And anyone who8217;s eaten sweet and sour pork with pineapple knows that the meat is wonderfully improved when combined with fruit. North African tagines often combine lamb with dates or prunes and, closer to home, the Parsis make the fantastic Khubani Chicken chicken with apricots.

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Back outside, the thermometer is creeping up ominously. To hell with curry8212;pass up on the grapes in favour of hapus for a localised Sole Veronique.

Sole with Mangoes
Ingredients
Sole fillets, 750 gm
Minced garlic, 1 clove add some more if you like
Soy sauce, 2 tsp
Chopped ripe mangoes, 1 cup
Grated ginger, 1 tsp
Lemon juice, 2 tbsp
Sugar, 1 tsp
Salt and white pepper, to taste Shake on some chilli flakes or Tabasco for more spice

Method
Preheat the oven to 180ordm; C. Place the fish in a glass bowl a metal dish will react to the acid in fruit. Mix the soy sauce with garlic and spread over the fish. Combine the other ingredients. Cover the fish fillets with the fruit mixture and bake for 10 minutes, or until the fish flakes with a fork.