As the last batch of fresh raw mango and ripe mango prepares to depart our refrigerators, leaving behind memories of aamras-poori, mango ice cream, barfi, and tangy, sour kairi sprinkled with chilli powder, we’re already dreaming of next season’s golden harvest. But just as mangoes take a bow, another yellow fruit is waiting in the wings, ready to soak up its moment in the spotlight: the pineapple. Juicy, golden, and packed with Vitamin C and antioxidants, this spiky, cheeky fruit arrives just in time for monsoon.
Pineapple is often tossed with chaat masala for a quick snack, layered into cream-filled cakes, or transformed into jams, squashes, and sherbets. And thanks to its natural ability to caramelise beautifully, pineapple is enjoying a fresh wave of popularity in baked goods, grills, and craft cocktails. But this sweet-tangy fruit has long had a knack for adding its own unique punch to salads, curries, and even hot sauces.
We spoke to four chefs who’ve mastered the art of folding pineapple into unexpected dishes, giving it the moment in the culinary spotlight it truly deserves. So if you’re looking to cook something delicious and a little offbeat this pineapple season, read on.
Chicken Mayo Salad by Chef Zareen Ali Desai
For Chef Zareen Ali Desai, head chef at Bagan Farms in Kolkata, pineapples are a reminder of home, club lunches, and a childhood filled with friendly cousin rivalries. “Pineapples were always eaten fresh in my parents’ home—carefully chosen at the local bazaar, their ripeness judged by scent, skin, and instinct. At home, they were cut with precision, always at a 45-degree angle, following the elegant curve of the fruit. But they were never cooked. Never muddled with spices or tossed into a dish. For reasons unknown, my mother never experimented with pineapple in food. It was a fruit that stood alone,” she recalls.
The first time Desai tasted pineapple in a dish was at 14, at the Saturday Club. “I ordered a Russian salad, and there it was—diced pineapple, sweet and quiet, playing against the salt and cream. I was hooked.” She loved it so much, she recreated it at home, resulting in a chaotic, beloved hybrid of Russian salad, Hawaiian salad, and chicken mayo. “We’re all married now, spread across cities. But that salad? It’s sacred. It appears at every reunion, no questions asked.” Over the years, Desai has continued to experiment with pineapple—tossing it into salads, pairing it with meats on the barbecue, sprinkling spices, drizzling lime, and watching it transform. Today, it’s a regular at the annual Bagan Farms barbecue.
Here’s Desai’s recipe for this delicious salad.
Recipe
Ingredients:
100 gms chicken breast, boiled and chopped into 1-inch cubes
100 gms carrots, chopped into 1-inch cubes and slightly boiled
100 gms French beans, chopped and boiled
A couple of potatoes, boiled and chopped into 1-inch cubes
1 small tin of pineapples (this recipe tastes best with tinned pineapples)
A handful of lettuce
100 gms mayonnaise (Not eggless, please!)
50 gms fresh cream
Salt and pepper – as per taste
Method:
Whisk the mayo, cream, salt and pepper together and toss in the carrots, beans and pineapples and mix well.
Add the chicken and mix until it is coated with the mayonnaise/cream mixture.
Add the potatoes at the very end and mix gently, taking care not to break them. Serve chilled on a bed of lettuce.
Note: You can add boiled peas to the salad if you prefer, a practice followed by many people.
Pineapple and Red Jalapeno Hot Sauce by Chef Akanksha Saigal
Pineapples in curries and salads, you could still imagine, but pineapple in hot sauce? “It’s an interesting story. We ended up with a double order of pineapples, resulting in excessive amounts of pineapple that would have eventually gone to waste. We had been pickling our jalapenos and thought of making a pineapple hot sauce with a similar process. It’s become my everything sauce as it packs the right amount of tang, spice, and flavour. I end up using it for various dishes like my baked corn, chicken wings and even on top of jackfruit tacos,” says Saigal. Here’s her recipe for this fiery hot sauce.
Recipe
Ingredients:
40 gms red onion
8-10 garlic cloves
10 red jalapenos
400 gms pineapple
Brine
450 ml water
15 gms salt
10 ml apple cider vinegar
6-8 black peppercorns
Method:
In a measuring cup, combine water, pepper, vinegar, and salt. Whisk to combine. The salt should be dissolved entirely.
Add the garlic and onion to the bottom half of a glass jar. Carefully pack the fresh pineapple and jalapeno peppers into the jar, pressing down firmly as you fill it.
Pour the salt brine into the jar and cover the peppers. Tap the jar a few times to release any air bubbles. Discard any leftover brine.
Ferment at room temperature for 3–5 days. The longer you ferment, the tangier the sauce will be. The brine may get cloudy, and that’s completely normal.
Strain and blend to a smooth consistency (use brine water, if needed)
Cook in a pan, add salt, sugar and vinegar (if needed). Cool and store in the fridge.
Pineapple Curry by Chef Abhishek Deshmane
Pineapple curry is a traditional Sri Lankan dish, with its roots in the kitchens of the Ceylon Moors—a community descended from Arab merchants and Islamic immigrants from India. The version that Executive Chef Abhishek Deshmane whips up for diners at Slow Tide in Goa is a family recipe that comes from Theresa, a dear friend of Neil D’Souza, Slow Tide’s founder partner. “Of all the recipes she shared with us, she was insistent—this one had to be on the menu. And we understand why. When we travelled to Sri Lanka for a pop-up at Gini in Colombo, pineapple curry greeted us at every table. We had it during lunch at the Gini owner’s home, and again at dinner with Palinda Kannangara—Slow Tide’s architect and close friend—who told us it’s a dish that usually appears at special gatherings. For us, it’s become more than a curry. It’s a memory, a gesture of hospitality, and a shared story served warm,” says Deshmane.
Deshmane explains that the flavour balance in this recipe is what makes this curry a special treat, “The tart sweetness of ripe pineapple simmered in a rich coconut milk base binds the spices beautifully. It’s gently fiery, thanks to bird’s eye chilli, and deeply aromatic from the use of roasted curry powder, a signature spice blend that brings warmth and complexity. Traditionally, it’s served with pol roti (coconut roti) or fragrant yellow rice, but I personally love it alongside a meat biryani—the contrast is bold and beautiful,” he explains. Here’s the recipe for this beautiful dish.
Recipe
Ingredients:
Pineapple 9pcs & curry 170gm
58 gms pineapple
10 gms pineapple paste
20 ml oil
2 gms mustard seeds
2 cloves
1 gms curry leaves
2 gms green chilli
50 gms chopped onion
9 gms garam masala
3 gms red chilli powder
120 ml coconut milk
14 gms sugar
10 gms tamarind
3 mint leaves
Method:
Cut the pineapple into 1-inch cubes and make a paste of the trimmings.
Heat oil in a small, flat-bottomed pan. Add mustard seeds, followed by cloves, curry leaves, and green chilli. Prepare a tempering.
Add the chopped onion and sauté till golden brown. Add the pineapple paste and cook for 2 minutes on a low-medium flame.
Add the pineapple cubes, sauté for 2 minutes, and then add just enough water to cover the pineapple.
Add the garam masala, chilli powder, and tamarind, and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste.
Add the coconut milk, sugar, tamarind and cook (don’t boil) to get the desired consistency. Check for final seasoning and garnish with mint leaves.
Paneer, Pineapple Curry & Pumpkin Caramel by Chef Gresham Fernandes
Chef Partner Gresham Fernandes of Bandra Born doesn’t consider himself a creative person. Instead, he enjoys discovering new ideas, whether from old food journals, recipe books, or his grandmother’s kitchen. “There’s this ebb and flow with me, so I keep going back to older ideas to come up with new things,” he says. That’s exactly how his Paneer, Pineapple Curry & Pumpkin Caramel recipe came to life. It’s a melting pot of influences from different sources. “It’s based on a dish I ate at Avo’s Kitchen in Goa a few years ago—it was a Pineapple Sasav, and the fact that it was a well-balanced pineapple curry was amazing. Then, when we opened Bandra Born, we collected ideas from different conversations—smoked pineapple with ham, smoked pineapple with salsa. The pumpkin caramel was added to enhance the sweetness of the dish, and it also balances the tamarind and coconut flavours,” he says. Here’s Chef Fernandes’s recipe.
Recipe
Main Components (Per Portion):
150 gms pineapple curry
140 gms marinated paneer
30 gms red pumpkin caramel sauce
200 gms pandan-flavoured rice
30 gms banana chips
5 gms fresh mint
5 gms fresh coriander
Method :
Marinate malai paneer in a blend of mustard paste, ginger-onion juice, green chilli pickle, grated coconut, and kasundi. Then grill or bake until golden.
For the pineapple curry, cook the pineapple cubes with mustard seeds, curry leaves, and tamarind, then finish with a coconut-based sasav masala made from fresh coconut, jaggery, mustard seeds, and red chilli, for a rich texture.
To make the pumpkin caramel sauce, simmer red pumpkin and carrot with butter, maple syrup, orange juice, and spices until it forms a smooth, sweet-savoury sauce.
For the pandan rice, boil gobindobhog rice with ghee, pandan leaves, and salt to create a fragrant base.
Plating :
On a plate, spread the pineapple curry as the base and place the grilled, marinated paneer on top of the curry. Pour a light drizzle of the pumpkin caramel sauce over the paneer and around the curry. Top it with crispy banana chips, a few sprigs of fresh mint, and coriander leaves. Serve the pandan-flavoured rice in a separate plate on the side.
