Asma Khan

Where’s the best place to dine in the sun?

We eat a lot in the courtyard at my father’s house in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. And even though it’s quite hot, there’s something quite wonderful about sitting under the warm sun and eating yoghurt- and milk-based cooling dishes. So, when it’s hot you’re eating salads and raitas, with hot bread — paratha — with the whole family there. I grew up in Kolkata; in summer, you can’t really sit outside because of the humidity. Summer in the north of India is dry. It’s a dry heat, which allows you to sit outside because you’re not perspiring.

What do you like to drink in hot weather?

Lassi is still one of my absolute favourites — we have three kinds in my restaurant. I love every kind: the salty one, the sweet one and the mango one, when mangoes are in season. And traditional nimbu pani — Indian lemonade, made with fresh lime, with a touch of Himalayan rock salt and a bit of pepper and sugar. One of the things you lose when you perspire is salt.

What are the mangoes like in India?

I think you get as good, if not better, mangoes in London now than you do in India, because the best quality is exported. You don’t get the variety, so what you get in the West is mangoes that travel well, that don’t bruise. So there are beautiful, beautiful mangoes that will never come to the West; you don’t even get them outside the region in which they’re grown.

What’s street food like in Kolkata?

Street food in Kolkata is dynamic, layered and dramatic. A lot of the people who eat it aren’t wealthy — it’s not trendy people turning up to have street food. They want bang for their buck. The textures, the flavour, the theatre is just incredible. The guy who’s serving will hit the spoon on the cover in a rhythmic beat to catch your attention because he wants you to look back, so he’ll beat out rhythms we all grew up listening to. It’s busy, so for someone to stop, you’ve got to either have an amazing aroma or a great display. I miss that magic.