ARF/ 5-a-day - Salad a la Dad
The credit for this one goes entirely to my father. As far back as I can remember, my dad has been in charge of the dinner salad in our house. Perhaps because of the abundance of vegetables in our main course, Indian cuisine has a limited repertoire of salads; these are usually in the form of raitas - chopped onions/ tomatoes/ cucumbers in a yogurt dip. In any case an elaborately prepared salad on the table is rare. Which is why, my dad took it upon himself to whip up something for us.
The routine went something like this - after my mother was done cooking dinner she watched a bit of television while my father headed into the kitchen and put together a salad. He would then offer it to everyone at the table, firmly holding the plate before you till he felt you had taken an appropriate helping!
Up until a few years ago, we didn't get a lot of salad vegetables in Bombay, but my father still managed to make something delicious with what was available - left-over vegetables, nuts, fruit, basically anything in the fridge that caught his eye! This ensured that we had a 'new' salad practically every day. Now that romaine, peppers and herbs are easily available in the market, he has a lot to play with, and my mother complains that the salads have gradually become so exotic, they overshadow the meal!
1 pomegranate deseeded
1/2 cup seedless black grapes halved
1 mandarin/ orange diced
1 cup shredded cabbage + carrot (I used a coleslaw mix)
3-5 almonds slivered
some finely chopped cilantro
1-2 teaspoon lemon juice
a pinch of cumin powder
salt & pepper to taste
Combine the lemon juice, cumin, salt and pepper. Mix salad ingredients in a large bowl and top with dressing. Dig in!!
Could there be a more appropriate entry for Sweetnicks' ARF/ 5-a-day Tuesday?
The routine went something like this - after my mother was done cooking dinner she watched a bit of television while my father headed into the kitchen and put together a salad. He would then offer it to everyone at the table, firmly holding the plate before you till he felt you had taken an appropriate helping!
Up until a few years ago, we didn't get a lot of salad vegetables in Bombay, but my father still managed to make something delicious with what was available - left-over vegetables, nuts, fruit, basically anything in the fridge that caught his eye! This ensured that we had a 'new' salad practically every day. Now that romaine, peppers and herbs are easily available in the market, he has a lot to play with, and my mother complains that the salads have gradually become so exotic, they overshadow the meal!
1 pomegranate deseeded
1/2 cup seedless black grapes halved
1 mandarin/ orange diced
1 cup shredded cabbage + carrot (I used a coleslaw mix)
3-5 almonds slivered
some finely chopped cilantro
1-2 teaspoon lemon juice
a pinch of cumin powder
salt & pepper to taste
Combine the lemon juice, cumin, salt and pepper. Mix salad ingredients in a large bowl and top with dressing. Dig in!!
Could there be a more appropriate entry for Sweetnicks' ARF/ 5-a-day Tuesday?
Labels: salad indian style coleslaw
Posted By Ashwini | Permalink |
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