Experience McDonald’s In Monsoon

Monsoon is one of the most beloved seasons in India. After 3 months of tremulous and scorching heat, the monsoon is a redemption and signals the start of something new. Fresh crops, the smell of the soil lingering in the air, strong winds and the clouds are just a few of the things that makes monsoon so desirable. Monsoons are also a time of feasting. Pakoda and chai are a must in every house during monsoon as you bask in the glory of the rains.

McDonalds India (South and West) has been in India for 20 years now and has been serving a wide variety of items to the diverse customer base in the country. While you most certainly enjoy your pakoda and chai, this monsoon give McDonalds a whirl to fulfill your snack cravings with these five awesome-sauce products. And as always, these items have been curated keeping health and nutrition in mind so you can trust them to be wholesome and healthy, all at the same time.

McDonald’s Veg Pizza McPuff- Bringing the best of pizza and wrap, this fun combo takes the best of both to give you an incredible eating experience. The wrap is crisp on the outside, soft on the inside and is filled with carrots, bell peppers, beans, onion, and peas, topped off with mayonnaise and tomato sauce. This heavenly dish is a treat for the monsoon and is best topped off with some steaming hot chai or a glass of filter coffee. Delicious right?

Paneer Salsa Wrap- Paneer or Cottage Cheese, as it’s more popularly known globally, is a signature vegetarian item in India. McDonald’s Paneer Salsa Wrap is made of a single slab of paneer that is coated with a Mexican and Cajun fusion sauce, fried till its golden and then wrapped and topped with lettuce, red cabbage and celery. The wrap is filled with vegetarian mayonnaise, salsa and cheddar cheese for the perfect flavor. A truly delightful meal for a truly delightful weather.

Filet-O-Fish- One of McDonald’s signature product across the globe, Fillet-O-Fish isa fun burger with a fish patty covered in tartar sauce. In India, the burger is made from locally sourced Andhra fish and comes with an extra cheese option. Nothing better than a rainy day to enjoy a nice protein filled meal.

Smoothies– Perfect for a rainy day, McDonald’s smoothies are a great beverage to have along with any of the burgers and wraps on the menu. Available in three different flavors- Mixed Berry, Passion Fruit and Mango, the smoothies are made with real fruit puree, milk and ice to combine the best of nutrition and deliciousness. All the flavors are incredible to drink so try all three because there is no one favorite.

French Fries- While rainy day is just an excuse, there is really no day when you can’t enjoy our French fries. Crisp and salty, French fries are the best way to enjoy the rains and to snack on. It’s the equivalent of pakoda.

Piri Piri: When French Fries Went On An African Safari

When McDonald’s launched its Piri Piri fries, the restaurant’s loyal clientale immediately took to the new taste of their favourite fries. Although they couldn’t believe that the well-known fries could get any better, they hadf to admit that the Piri Piri spice and the McDonald’s french fries made for an irresistible combination.

One could see people waiting patiently in long queues to get their pack of French fries along with a sachet of Piri Piri spice, which they tore open and poured its contents into the pack. Then, you could see them shaking the packs as they walked back to their seats, in a bid to evenly coat the fries with the special spice.

What makes the spice perfect for the French fries is it being used coarsely grounded, allowing it to coat the fries better than a finely ground spice.

McDonald’s French fries themselves are thankfully always bright golden brown, thin, and crisp, made of wholesome potatoes of a very special variety. Their tender exterior and moist interior make these fries a hit with most people. Once they get coated with the Piri Piri spice, they turn a deep brown colour.

Of course, if you’re not sure of how much of the spice you need to lather your fries with, the very first time round, you might pour the spice slowly, taste the fries, and then add more if you want. This is just so the fries don’t get too pungent or spicy by pouring the entire spice sachet into the fries. Especially as the spice in India has large amounts of garlic. You might wish for a dipping sauce to take away the overwhelming taste of garlic.

McDonald’s Piri Piri is a simple mix of spices, not too elaborate, and all the ingredients are natural. There’s tamarind of course, adding a much needed sour flavour to the seasoning. 

The ad for these fries called them “periperilicous”! Undoubtedly, once you tasted these fries, you knew you had to have more. Seeing the popularity of this dish, McDonald’s changed this temporary promotional offer and made it a permanent one.

Just pay Rs 15 extra on your regular McDonald’s french fries to upgrade to the Piri Piri French fries.

So what exactly is this Piri Piri? Let’s find out!

My heart goes Piri Piri

“Piri piri” is a tweak of the African word peri peri, in Swahili language. It literally means, “pepper, pepper”, as if one was exclaiming after finding it too spicy or else, one was going into raptures at the mere taste of it.

Piri Piri is made using a combination of various spices, much like the garam masala in the Indian spice cabinet. It blends many grounded spices such as salt, chilli powder, black pepper, garlic, tamarind, onion, sugar, citric acid and various herbs.

In Africa, they know the spice as “bird's eye chili”. It belongs to the family of capsicum frutescens, one of the sources of chili pepper. On that continent, the chili grows both in the wild as well as grown at home. A member of the capsicum genus, and a native of Angola, Uganda, Malawi, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Sudan and Ethiopia, it was the Portuguese who brought the special spice to India via Goa.

The Oxford Dictionary itself describes piri piri as "a very hot sauce made with red chilli peppers".

The piri piri grows as a bush, its fruits turning from green to bright red or even purple.

Though Piri Piri is African, Piri Piri sauce is Portuguese in origin, made using crushed chillies, citrus peel, onion, pepper, salt, lemon juice, bay leaves, paprika, pimiento, basil, oregano and tarragon.