Salads Recipes With Pictures Biography
source(google.com.pk)Nov 142014
Citrus Salad with Shrikhand
My recipe ‘Citrus Salad with Shrikhand’ was featured in The Guardian (UK) and was winner of the Beat Diabetes Healthy 3-Course Meal Challenge.
Wintertime is prime citrus season and you can find a great variety of citrus fruits in the market these days. I usually stick to clementines, my all-time favorite, but I wanted to incorporate other citrus fruits into my diet as well. This salad forced me out of my comfort-zone to try pomelo (for the first time), grapefruit (after a long time), and navel oranges (I forgot how good they could be!).
My recipe for Citrus Salad with Shrikhand is a wonderful way to make a fruit salad which is more then simply tossed fruit. By slicing up the citrus fruit and laying it out flat, you get to see the beautiful array of colors which each fruit brings. My method for slicing citrus fruit is very quick and easy. Simply slice off the top and bottom. Leaving the rest of the peel on, slice the fruit across horizontally into 1/2 inch (1 cm) slices. To remove the peel and pith from each slice, lie the fruit slices flat on a chopping board and use a sharp knife to cut around the fruit in straight lines (see photo above), so that the slices are hexagons or octagons.
Serving the citrus fruit with Shrikhand, an Indian sweetened yogurt, gives this fruit salad an exotic twist. Serve for breakfast, brunch or dessert.
This looks like sunshine on a plate!
CITRUS SALAD WITH SHRIKHAND
(Serves 4)
Ingredients:
Any variety of citrus fruits (ie. 1 grapefruit, 1 pomelo, 2 navel oranges, 2 clementines, 4 slices of pineapple)
500ml Greek yogurt
4 Tbsp icing sugar
6 cardamom pods, seeds crushed with a mortar and pestle
2 tsp warm milk
1/2 tsp saffron strands
15-20 pistachios, crushed with a mortar and pestle
Directions:
Prepare the Shrikhand (can be made upto 24 hours before serving):
Warm 2 tsp of milk (I poured the milk into a ceramic egg-cup and microwaved it for 15 seconds) and add 1/2 tsp of saffron strands. Mix and let it sit and infuse for 5-10 minutes.
Crush the pistachios with a mortar and pestle and set them aside.
Crush the cardamom pod seeds with a mortar and pestle until very fine.
In a bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, icing sugar, crushed cardamom seeds, and saffron milk. Stir until just evenly mixed. Refrigerate if not using immediately.
Prepare the Citrus Salad:
If using clementines, peel and separate the segments.
For most other citrus fruits, slice off the top and bottom. Leaving the rest of the peel on, slice the fruit across horizontally into 1/2 inch (1 cm) slices. To remove the peel and pith from each slice, lie the fruit slices flat on a chopping board and use a sharp knife to cut around the fruit in straight lines (see photo above), so that the slices are hexagons or octagons.
Arrange the fruit on individual plates.
Add a generous dollop of Shrikhand on top of the fruit and sprinkle with the crushed pistachios.
Posted by totalsalads.com at 3:49 pm Tagged with: best salad recipes, citrus salad, Fruit Salads, Gluten Free Salads, healthy salads, oranges, Pakistani/Indian Salads, shrikhand
Recipe: Seasonal Vegetable Pakoras (Chickpea Flour Fritters)
Recipes 8 Responses »
Jul 102014
Seasonal Vegetable Pakoras
OK, I’m going to be the first one to call myself out on this. This recipe is not a salad at all. It’s not even particularly healthy. BUT, it is a healthier version of an unhealthy treat. It’s what I make when I am just dying for the savory moreishness of pakoras – when nothing else will do.
Pakoras originate from South Asia. They’re spicy fritters made of chickpea batter (gluten-free) and studded with onions, coriander leaves and fresh green chillies. If you buy them off the street, more often than not they have been fried to within an inch of their lives and are really greasy and often too spicy. Home-made versions tend to be less greasy so if you’re lucky enough to be offered pakoras at someone’s house, be sure to try them (you won’t be able to stop at just one).
I’m really not a fan of deep-fried food, but this is my one weakness. A traditional pakora is mostly made up of fried batter. To make it healthier, my version of pakoras uses thick chunky seasonal vegetables coated lightly in a thin layer of batter. I tried baking them – it didn’t work out. They really do have to be fried, but since the batter is so thin they only have to be in the oil for a few moments until the batter is cooked through. You can use any vegetables which can be eaten raw or only need a little cooking (ie. zucchini, spinach leaves, carrots, onions, bell peppers, caulifower florets, etc…). Best served with some spicy green coriander-mint chutney and a hot cup of tea (I will get the recipe up for the green chutney soon!).
SEASONAL VEGETABLE PAKORAS
(Serves 8 as a snack)
Ingredients:
700g / oz seasonal vegetables (You can mix it up with whatever vegetables you have in the house or use just one type of vegetable – as long as it’s a vegetable which requires little or no cooking. Potatoes will not work with this recipe because they require too much cooking.)
2 cups / 200g / 7oz chickpea flour (also called gram flour)
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/4-1/2 tsp red chilli powder or some sliced fresh chillies, according to taste (optional)
1/2 tsp baking soda or bicarbonate of soda
1 & 1/2 cups / 300mL water (you will need to add it slowly to the dry ingredients)
Sunflower oil or some other oil for deep-frying (yikes!)
Directions:
Prepare the batter by combining the dry ingredients (chickpea flour, coriander powder, cumin powder, chilli powder, salt, and baking soda) in a bowl. Mix with a whisk until the ingredients are evenly dispersed.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add about half the water in the center. Whisk the dry ingredients into the water. Whisk in more water as necessary, taking care to avoid lumps in the batter. You are looking for something which is the same consistency as pancake batter – it should lightly coat the seasonal vegetables. Set the batter aside while you prepare the vegetables.
Wash, dry and cut the vegetables into chunky pieces. To test the batter consistency, take one vegetable piece and dip it into the batter. You just want a light coating – you should be able to see the vegetable underneath. If it is too thick, add a little more water.
Prepare a plate with two paper-towels on it to drain the fried pakoras after cooking them.
Now, get ready to fry. Take a small or medium pan and put in about 2 inches of oil for deep-frying. Heat the oil on medium heat until it is hot enough to cook the batter quickly. You can check this by dropping a small dollop of batter into the oil. If the oil immediately starts bubbling around the batter, then it is ready. You will need to adjust the heat as necessary while cooking.
Take your chunky vegetables and toss them in the batter.
Using tongs, lift the vegetables one by one, letting some batter drip off.
Carefully place them in the hot oil and let them cook just until the batter is cooked through. Only put in as many pakoras as will fit comfortably in the pan.
Once cooked, remove the pakoras with your tongs, place them in the plate with the two paper-towels and allow them to drain.
Repeat until all the pakoras have been cooked. Eat immediately.
Pakora batter stays nicely in the fridge for at least 24 hours, so you can use half today and half tomorrow.
This recipe can be made year-round with any seasonal vegetables, but in July one of my favorite vegetables to use is courgette! I am happy to have submitted this recipe to Ren Behan’s ‘Simple & In Season’, hosted this month by My Custard Pie.
Simple & In Season
Posted by totalsalads.com at 6:00 am Tagged with: chickpea flour, Gluten Free Salads, Pakistani/Indian Salads, pakora, pakoras, seasonal vegetables
Recipe: Spicy Indian Bean Salad (for a Crowd)
Recipes 4 Responses »
May 152014
Spicy Indian Bean Salad (for a Crowd)
Every May, my child’s school hosts a lunch for the teachers on Teacher Appreciation Day. Parents are asked to bring a dish which can serve upto 20 people. Although I am not accustomed to cooking for a crowd, I wanted to take part and show my appreciation for the work the teachers do. I will admit that I have a special place in my heart for teachers – both my mother and sister are primary school teachers and I see first-hand how hard they work.
The first thing I had to do was decide what dish I was going to make. It was easy enough for me to decide that my dish would be a salad so I could share it on my blog. The harder decision was choosing exactly which type of salad to make.
I started to think about some of the teachers I have had throughout the years. Some were inspirational, many were very good, and a few were really awful. The inspirational teachers leave an indelible mark in the fabric of your being long after you have left school. The very good teachers help you grow as a person. Even the dreadful teachers have a role in developing you because you learn to deal with adversity. But not all the inspirational people in school are teachers. Some have other roles.
One of the people who influenced me greatly, although I didn’t realise it at the time, was Mrs Lea Rangel-Ribeiro, the Primary School Principal at my school UNIS (United Nations International School in New York). I attended UNIS from Grade 1 to Grade 4 (1983-1987).
UNIS was a very warm and nurturing school and a big part of that was because of the caring ethos which Mrs Ribeiro encouraged. As a student I didn’t have day-to-day interaction with her like I did with my homeroom teachers, but she was an ever-present force in the Primary School. She shaped the school in so many ways, but the thing I remember most vividly about her was that every day, rain or shine or even snow (those New York blizzards can be all-consuming), she would come to school dressed in a beautiful, colorful sari with her hair tied in a bun and a generous smile. As a child from the sub-continent, seeing a woman in a sari was quite a normal thing. In fact, for most of the kids at this school (the majority whom came from UN or diplomatic backgrounds), seeing people in clothes from their home country didn’t seem unusual. It was simply Mrs Ribeiro’s signature look, and countless pictures were drawn by little hands of Mrs Ribeiro in her sari and bun. She never tried to make an exaggerated point about being proud of her heritage. She confidently wore her sari each day, and simply got on with the million and one things which keep all Primary School Principals busy. As an adult, I can now recognise the silent message which was instilled in me from seeing Mrs Ribeiro consistently wearing a sari to school every day in central Manhattan: Yes, you can be a female and achieve success without compromising who you are or where you come from.
Mrs Ribeiro was the Primary School Principal at UNIS for 32 years. I was really happy to find a link to a lovely slideshow of her at the school: Memories of Lea Ribeiro
So it is in honor of Mrs Lea Ribeiro, born in Bombay in 1933 and an inspiration to me and countless other children who walked through the doors of UNIS Primary School in New York, that I decided to make a Spicy Indian Bean Salad for this year’s Teacher Appreciation Lunch.
SPICY INDIAN BEAN SALAD (FOR A CROWD)
(Serves 20 as a side dish – you can cut the recipe in half for fewer people)
Ingredients:
1 Medium-sized onion (about 250g / 8oz), halved and thinly sliced
300g / 10oz / 3 cups onions, finely diced
8 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cinnamon stick
3 tsp ground cumin powder
3 tsp ground coriander powder
1/2 tsp cayenne powder (adjust according to taste or strength of your chilli powder)
1 tsp sea salt
3 Tbsp + 3 Tbsp sunflower oil (or other vegetable oil)
300mL / 2 & 1/2 cups tomato passata
200mL / 1 cup coconut milk
6 cans of beans (chickpeas, red kidney beans, black eyed peas, or a combination), rinsed and drained – I used 6 cans which were 240g (8oz) drained weight each
1/2 a large cucumber, cut into piece which are similar to the size of the beans (optional)
2 handfuls of fresh cilantro/coriander leaves, washed and roughly chopped
Directions:
Take one medium sized onion (around 250g / 8oz), peel it, cut it in half and then slice it thinly. Set aside the sliced onions to fry later.
Take a medium-large onion (around 300g / 10oz), peel it and dice it finely. Set aside the diced onions.
Take 8 garlic cloves, peel them and slice them thinly.
Heat 3 Tbsp sunflower oil in a pot on medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the diced onions and cook until they start to get translucent (about 5-7 minutes).
Add the cinnamon stick, 3 tsp ground cumin powder, 3 tsp ground coriander powder and 1/2 tsp cayenne powder (or according to taste).
Fry for 2-3 minutes to cook the spices. If they start to stick to the bottom of the pot, add sprinkles of water.
Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
Stir in 300mL (2 & 1/2 cups) of tomato passata and 1 tsp of sea salt into the pot. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes to let the flavors come together.
Stir in 200mL (1 cup) of coconut milk. Allow to simmer for another 5 minutes.
Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Remember that once we add the beans and cucumbers, a lot of the chilli flavor will be covered so we are looking for something quite spicy at this point. If it is too spicy, you can add a little more coconut milk.
Pour this spicy tomato-coconut sauce into a bowl to cool down.
Meanwhile, heat 3 Tbsp of sunflower oil in a frying pan on medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the sliced onions and shallow-fry. Reduce the heat to low-medium so that the onions brown evenly without burning. You may need to adjust the heat a little higher once you get further on in the cooking so that they go from light brown to medium brown. Remove them from the oil with a frying spatula or spoon when they are a nice deep warm brown, but before they burn. Allow them to drain on a double layer of paper towels. They should become crispy and not be oily. (NB: These can be made a day in advance and refrigerated.)
Wash half a large cucumber and cut it into pieces which are a similar size as the beans.
Wash 2 handfuls of cilantro/coriander leaves. Quickly dry them on a tea towel or with some paper towels, and roughly chop them.
Take your cans of beans. Pour them into a colander, rinse in water and drain them.
When the spicy tomato-coconut sauce is room temperature, fold in the beans and cucumber. Serve straight away or refrigerate for upto 48 hours (if you refrigerate them, allow the beans 10-15 minutes at room temperature to take the chill off.)
To serve, place the bean salad in a bowl or platter. Scatter cilantro/coriander leaves on top and then the fried onions.
Optional: If the salad is too spicy, it can be served on the side with yogurt thinned out with a little water to get it to a pourable consistency.
Posted by totalsalads.com at 7:33 am Tagged with: Bean Salads, best salads, Dairy Free Salads, Gluten Free Salads, Pakistani/Indian Salads, Spicy Indian Bean Salad, total salads
Recipe: Pakistani Salad with Lemon Dressing
Recipes No Responses »
May 012013
Pakistani Salad with Lemon Dressing
As a Pakistani, I can vouch for the fact that the words ‘Pakistani’ and ‘Salad’ do not go hand in hand. Pakistanis eat meat and (over)cooked vegetables. Salad is always something on the side – if it makes an appearance at all. It is usually either just lettuce leaves or sliced cucumber to be eaten alongside the ‘real’ food, or a medley of ‘hard’ vegetables (ie. radishes, cucumbers) dressed with vinegar or lemon.
I love these Pakistani hard vegetable salads and think they deserve pride of place on a plate. They are a blessing for a cook because they can be prepared and dressed well in advance without getting soggy the way lettuce-based salads do.
My Pakistani Salad usually consists of radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, and anything else I can find in my fridge. I recommend throwing in some raw red onion or scallions/spring onions to add some bite. My dressing usually consists of plenty of olive oil, lemon and fresh coriander leaves.
PAKISTANI SALAD WITH LEMON DRESSING
(Serves 4)
Dressing Ingredients:
6 Tbsp Extra Virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Handful of fresh coriander leaves (around 3 Tbsp), roughly chopped
Generous pinch of salt and black pepper
Salad Ingredients:
1 medium cucumber, quartered and sliced into 1-inch pieces
1 carrot, quartered and sliced into 1-inch pieces
2 medium tomatoes (or 8 cherry tomatoes), cut into 2-inch pieces
1 bell pepper (any color), cut into 2-inch pieces
8 radishes, quartered
Half a raw red onion (or 2 scallions/spring onions), thinly sliced
Directions:
Combine all the Dressing ingredients in a small jar or bowl and mix well.
Cut all the Salad ingredients and toss them together in a salad bowl.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until the vegetables are evenly coated.
Refrigerate and serve.
Posted by totalsalads.com at 6:01 pm Tagged with: best salad recipes, Dairy Free Salads, Gluten Free Salads, healthy salads, lemon dressing, Pakistani/Indian Salads
Recipe: Zucchini Raita with Cumin and Mint (Yogurt Dip)
Recipes 2 Responses »
Apr 292013
Zucchini Raita with Cumin and Mint (Yogurt Dip)
Raita is a Pakistani/Indian yogurt side dish which is usually made by mixing yogurt with spices and grated cucumber. For a change, I decided to use grated raw zucchini instead of cucumber to add a bit more variety to my diet – when was the last time you ate raw zucchini?
For me, raita should be thick and unctious which is why I always make it with a thick yogurt like Greek yogurt. You can just as easily make it with regular yogurt, but remember to strain the yogurt through a paper-towel lined sieve first to remove excess liquid (you don’t need to sieve Greek yogurt). You also need to remember to squeeze the liquid out of the grated zucchini just before adding it to the yogurt.
I grew up eating raita as a side dish with rice-based meals, but these days I use it as a dip for vegetable sticks or pitta bread.
ZUCCHINI RAITA WITH CUMIN AND MINT (YOGURT DIP)
(makes just over 2 cups)
Ingredients:
2 cups Greek yogurt or other thick yogurt (if you use regular yogurt, remember to strain it through a paper-towel lined sieve first)
5oz / 150g grated raw zucchini
2 scallions/spring onions, finely sliced (white and green parts)
3 packed Tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red chilli powder (optional)
Directions:
Measure out 2 cups of Greek or other thick yogurt. (If you are using regular yogurt, strain it through a paper-towel lined sieve to remove the excess liquid.)
Grate the raw zucchini. Pick up the grated zucchini in your hands and squeeze the excess liquid out over the sink before adding it to the yogurt. Mix well.
Slice the scallions/spring onions and chop the mint leaves, and then add them to the yogurt mixture. Stir.
Add the cumin, salt and red chilli powder and stir until evenly mixed. (NB: The chilli powder is not necessary if you want to keep the raita cool and refreshing – it will still taste delicious).
Refrigerate and serve cold with vegetable sticks, bread or as a side dish to a meal.
Posted by totalsalads.com at 5:16 pm Tagged with: best salad recipes, Dips, Gluten Free Salads, healthy salads, Pakistani/Indian Salads, yogurt dip, Zucchini Raita
Recipe: Spicy Peach Salad
Recipes No Responses »
Apr 292013
Spicy Peach Salad
I grew up seeing my father regularly eating fruit with lashings of salt on top. As a child I found it counter-intuitive — if you’re going to eat fruit with salt, shouldn’t you just eat vegetables instead? It wasn’t until I was older that I was able to appreciate the mix of sweet, sour, salty and spicy.
This Spicy Peach Salad is a refreshing way to serve peaches once you’ve gotten tired of the cobblers and pies and peaches ‘n cream. It’s not sweet like a dessert, but tangy like a lemon sorbet… with chilli.
Make sure you use firm peaches otherwise they won’t stand up to the peeling and slicing necessary for this recipe. Through trial and error, I learned that peeled peaches are slippery – I mean, really slippery. The best way to slice up the peaches for this dish is in this order:
Cut the peaches in half
Remove the stone
Peel off the skin using a small sharp knife or potato peeler
Slice thinly
SPICY PEACH SALAD
(Serves 4)
Ingredients:
600g fresh firm peaches (roughly 4 peaches)
1/8 tsp red chilli powder
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (about half a lemon)
pinch of salt
pinch of black pepper
pomegranate seeds or mint leaves to garnish (optional)
Directions:
Prepare the peaches by cutting them in half, removing the stones, peeling the skin off, and slicing thinly. Arrange neatly on a platter.
In a small cup or jar, mix the chilli powder, lemon, salt and black pepper and stir well.
Spoon the lemon and chilli dressing evenly over the peaches.
Scatter with pomegranate seeds or mint leaves to garnish (optional).
Posted by totalsalads.com at 1:46 pm Tagged with: best salad recipes, Dairy Free Salads, fruit chaat, Fruit Salads, Gluten Free Salads, healthy desserts, healthy salads, Pakistani/Indian Salads, peach chaat, spicy peach salad
Recipe: Channa Chaat (Spicy Chickpea Salad)
Recipes No Responses »
Apr 272013
Channa Chaat (Spicy Chickpea Salad)
Chaat (which means ‘lick‘ in Hindi) lives upto its name. It is a spicy-sweet-sour Pakistani/North Indian salad which makes you want to lick your plate clean. In my family, a birthday tea party is not complete without a bowl of chaat served alongside hot milky tea, birthday cake and some good gossip.
There are many versions of Chaat, which can include any of the following: channa (chickpeas), boiled potatoes, aloo tiki (fried potato cakes), sev (dried chickpea noodles), or papri (crisp fried dough).
Here, I’ve put together a quick and easy version of Channa Chaat which requires no cooking. Instead of buying pre-blended Chaat Masala (which is a combination of several spices), I prefer to use a few spices which I always have in my kitchen: cumin powder, chilli powder and salt. Tamarind paste, which is an integral ingredient in most Chaats, can be bought in most large supermarkets or ethnic grocery stores, and has a good shelf-life in the refrigerator.
CHANNA CHAAT (SPICY CHICKPEA SALAD)
(Serves 4-6)
Spicy Tamarind Dressing Ingredients:
2 Tbsp smooth tamarind paste (from a jar)
4 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp brown sugar
1/4-1/2 tsp fine table salt
1/4-1/2 tsp hot chilli power (add more or less according to your taste, or omit entirely) (optional)
2 tsp freshly boiled water
Salad Ingredients:
500g cooked chickpeas (either drain 2 tins of chickpeas, or boil 250g dried chickpeas)
8oz / 200g cucumber, quartered and sliced horizontally
8oz / 100g tomatoes, deseeded and diced (roughly the same size as the cucumber pieces, or quartered if using cherry tomatoes)
4 Tbsp / 4oz / 80g red onion, peeled and finely diced
4 Tbsp tightly packed cilantro/coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1-2 sliced green chillies, finely sliced (deseeded if you want less spice, or omit entirely) (optional)
Directions:
Prepare the Spicy Tamarind Dressing by combining all ingredients together and whisking well. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Remember that it is better to start with less chilli powder and add more if necessary. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.
For the chickpeas, lightly rinse and drain good quality tinned chickpeas (you want around 500g after draining out all the liquid). If you prefer to cook your own chickpeas, this can be done by soaking 250g dried chickpeas in room temperature water for 8-24 hours. Discard the saoking water and then boil in fresh water for 30-45 minutes (uncovered). When the chickpeas are tender, drain them and allow them to cool to room temperature.
Chop the cucumber, tomatoes, cilantro/coriander leaves, red onion and green chillies (optional), and toss them together with the room temperature chickpeas.
Add the Spicy Tamarind Dressing and toss well until the salad is evenly coated.
Refrigerate and serve cold. If it is too spicy, mix some plain yogurt with a small amount of cold water to thin it out, and drizzle it over the Channa Chaat.
Posted by totalsalads.com at 4:00 pm Tagged with: best salad recipes, channa chaat, Chickpea Salad, Dairy Free Salads, Gluten Free Salads, Grain Salads, healthy salads, Pakistani/Indian Salads, spicy tamarind dressing, total salads
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Hi, I'm Erum. Thanks for coming to my blog! If you want to find out more about me, check out my About Me page.
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