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Salads, as the powerhouse of energy, have found their place in all of our lives and the credit goes to our erratic and tiring lifestyles, replete with unhealthy food habits. With the general notion that the idea of conventional ‘salad’ is a western concept, Indians might think that a salad is an expensive dish to eat. Western salads do consist of foods that might be considered expensive to Indians like quinoa and lettuce. On the other hand, Indian salads could be easily made with the most basic ingredients like tomato and cucumber as well as some expensive additions like nuts and paneer.
The fact that the word ‘salad’ comes from the French term ‘salade’ and Westerners are responsible for that word is totally undeniable. On top of that the information, images and salad recipes make them synonymous with lettuce and dressing.
One of the main reasons that salads have started gaining popularity, apart from them being extremely Instagrammable, is that people have started becoming increasingly health-conscious. While earlier salads were normally eaten as a side dish by Indians, people have started consuming new recipes of salads as a proper main course, especially for dinner.
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Always try to find the freshest and most colourful local produce. Salads could include any combination of vegetables, fruits, grains, pulses and nuts. Talking about seasoning options, we Indians have a ton of spices, chutneys and sauces that could be used as salad dressing be it chaat masala, kaala namak (black salt) lemon juice, dahi (yoghurt), dhaniya/pudina chutney (coriander/mint), imli (tamarind) chutney and many more.
While you mull over that, here is a simple and quick Broken Wheat Salad with some veggies. This salad could very well be enjoyed with a chaanch or lassi (buttermilk)
Ingredients:
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp vinegar
• 3 tsp honey
• 1 tsp green chilli
• 1 tsp curry leaves
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp curry powder
• Salt
• Carrots ¼ cup
• Yellow bell peppers ¼ cup
• Red bell peppers ¼ cup
• Beetroot ¼ cup
• 1 cup boiled broken wheat
• Grated paneer
• Chopped almonds
• Mint leaves
Method:
1. We would advise you to put on gloves before starting the preparation.
2. Grab a big bowl and put all the ingredients in it.
3. Mix them well.
4. Check the thickness of the curd and if it is not thick then use it less.
5. Add curd to the mixture and mix it lightly, do not overmix.
6. Garnish with crumbles of paneer, almonds and mint leaves.
7. Serve the salad cold or at room temperature.
Placing salads at the centre of Indian food history might sound bizarre, but if we look back and go deep, they have always been an integral part of our heritage and culture. But yes, they might not always be referred to as traditional salads.
