From desserts to cocktails, make the most of lychee season
Lychees aren’t a traditional Indian fruit used in desserts the way mangoes or bananas are, but it adds a lightness and fragrance to otherwise heavy Indian desserts
There are fruits that languish on the kitchen counter or in the crisper drawer of your fridge. Boringly reliable and waiting obediently for their turn. But the lychee arrives in style, like a summer fling—brief, heady and unapologetically juicy. It makes you question your loyalty to any other fruit. This one doesn’t wait around. You either catch it when it’s in season or you suffer the consequences. And no, tinned lychees aren’t worth consideration. A pale imitation of its original sexy self, floating listlessly in sugar syrup. No, thank you.
The lychee season in India typically spans May to June, making this the perfect time to enjoy this luscious fruit. Living in Mumbai or Bengaluru, we often had to settle for subpar lychees. These stone fruits grow best in the northern belts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. If you’re looking for the finest lychees in India, pick the ones from Muzaffarpur in Bihar. The district is famed for its premium shahi lychees, known for their generous size, juicy flesh and subtle rose-like fragrance. A few online platforms now do an excellent job of delivering these lychees under optimal conditions, so even those of us in southern India can savour them at their seasonal best
Nutritionally, lychees offer a decent amount of vitamin C and antioxidants, but no one’s calling them a superfood. And maybe that’s a good thing. You don’t need to justify eating them with a wellness angle. It’s a distinctly flavoured seasonal fruit and that’s a good enough reason to enjoy them.
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Lychees are best eaten as is, no dressing up required. That burst of juicy sweetness does all the heavy lifting. But they’re also delicate. Leave them out too long, and they lose their freshness. Refrigerate them for too many days, and they start tasting like they’ve given up.
When buying, look for ones with a supple, pinkish-red skin. Avoid the dull brown ones. Cut off the stems and leaves, wash the lychees, pat dry and keep them refrigerated. The juicy flesh tastes even better when cold.
In Asian countries, lychees aren’t given the VIP treatment, they’re just another familiar fruit. Tossed into cold drinks, packed into school tiffin, even used in syrups and squashes. In Thailand or Vietnam, they might show up in salads or chilled desserts, often paired with lime, herbs or coconut milk. That sharp-sweet contrast suits them well.
In India, foodies are finding ways to put them into desserts. Lychees aren’t a traditional Indian fruit used in desserts the way mangoes or bananas are, but the Instagram trends have made it feature in fusion-style recipes in Indian kitchens—lychee rabdi, kheer, kulfi or rasmalai. I must say that it adds a lightness and fragrance to otherwise rather heavy Indian desserts and it is a trend I approve of, unlike chocolate modaks.
Beyond desserts, there’s one place they really shine—in drinks. In the days before I turned teetotaller, I had a soft spot for fruit- and botanical-forward cocktails. Lychee found an easy fit in highballs, martinis, spritzes and mules. Long dismissed as the mushy fruit in canned syrup beside artificial cherries, lychee is quietly becoming the “it girl" of cocktail menus.
Its floral, juicy sweetness plays beautifully with lime, vodka, gin, even chilli, making it the perfect canvas for both minimalist and maximalist drinkers. Its dewy, pearly look is made for Instagram, pairs well with botanicals (think: smoked rosemary), evokes the nostalgia of Indian summers, and hits that sweet spot of feeling fancy without ever tipping into pretentious territory.
LYCHEE FETA SALAD
Serves 2
Ingredients
12 lychees
1 cucumber
1 small onion
Mint leaves, handful
50g feta cheese, crumbled
Half tsp black sesame seeds (toasted)
For the dressing:
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Juice of half a lemon (1 tbsp)
1 tsp honey or maple syrup (optional)
Pinch of chilli flakes
Pinch of salt and pepper
Method
Peel and pit the lychees. Split the flesh into halves. Peel and cut the cucumber lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and dice into bite-sized pieces. Halve the onion and cut into paper thin crescents. Wash and dry the mint leaves.
To assemble the salad, combine the lychees, cucumber, onion and mint leaves in a bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients.
Pour the dressing over the salad. Top with crumbled feta and garnish with a sprinkle of black sesame seeds. Serve chilled.
LYCHEE CHIA PUDDING
Serves 4 small portions
Ingredients
600ml coconut milk*
Half tsp lemon zest
4-6 tsp sugar or sweetener of choice like monk fruit
Half tsp vanilla extract
6 tbsp chia seeds
10 lychees, peeled and chopped
Edible flowers for garnish
Method
In a pan, warm the coconut milk with lemon zest and sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Mix in the vanilla extract. Add the chia seeds, half the chopped lychees and stir well. Divide this mixture between 4 glasses covered with aluminium foil or in glass jars with lids.
Refrigerate for 2-3 hours to allow the pudding to set. Top with the remaining chopped lychees. Garnish with an edible flower. Serve chilled.
*You can also use vanilla-flavoured sweetened almond milk instead of coconut milk and omit the sugar.
Also read: Puranpoli baklava and bombil tacos add fun and flavour to Marathi dining
Double Tested is a fortnightly column on vegetarian cooking, highlighting a single ingredient prepared two ways. Nandita Iyer’s latest book is The Great Indian Thali. She posts @saffrontrail on Instagram and X.
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