Ami's Vegetarian Delicacies: Salads

Showing posts with label Salads. Show all posts

Friday, February 22, 2013

Coconut Sambol (Grated Coconut Salad with Chili)

This is a staple dish in Sri Lanka. This salad is served with most of the main meals. Sri Lankans eat lot of rice and food made with rice flour. Typical Sri Lankan main meals are rice, bread, pol roti (flat bread made with wheat flour and grated coconut), string hoppers (steamed rice noodles), pittu (steamed rice couscous with grated coconut) and hoppers (half moon shaped pancakes made with fermented rice flour)

Although coconut is not as big as Ceylon Tea plantations it is also one of the main agricultural crop in Sri Lanka. Hence coconut is used liberally in Sri Lankan cuisine along with locally available spices. All our curries are made with coconut cream and we add grated coconut to our vegetable stir fries and raw vegetable salads to add sweetness and texture.

Sambol is made with freshly grated coconut and is blended along with onion, curry leaves and chili powder. Traditionally it is blended using a mortar and pestle. It is believed that using a stone pestle to blend them gives a special taste.

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Monday, October 8, 2012

Pomegranate and Walnuts Salad

Back then we would eagerly wait to go to our grandma's house, so that we could meet all our cousins and play endlessly. There was a big garden in front of the house with lots of flowers and fruit trees. I fondly remember eating these red pearls (pomegranate) with my cousins.

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Mint Sambol (Spicy Mint Salad with Shredded Coconut)

I wish I could share a seasonal cake or cookie recipe with you. There are seasonal sweets and desserts everywhere and also in food blogging world. Even though I indulge in all of them by buying from outside, I hardly make anything sweet because we are ‘weight watchers’. If I make them at home, it’ll be both of us indulging and it will not reflect well in our scale. So whenever there is craving / tempt we buy small portions. That way our consumption is limited to one piece a day. We satisfy our sweet tooth as well as prevent us from the guilt of over indulgence.

So as usual I’m sticking to a spciy recipe for the season. This time it is mint. Ever since I got to know about this herb, I'm absolutely in love with it. I love mint fragrance, mint tea and mint and lemon infused water and mint in my food. I even started growing them in my balcony. Mint sambol is very similar to pesto or even chutney. Difference is I’ve used shredded coconut to bind the flavors together; hence it is thicker in consistency compared to pesto or chutney.

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Saturday, July 23, 2011

Bitter Melon Salad

I grew up seeing my grandma eating fresh bitter melon salad, juice and bitter melon curry to control her diabetics. As it is in the name it is very bitter in taste. My mom would soak them overnight in coconut water and cook them with tamarind pulp and pinch of sugar to reduce bitterness. Memories of my mum’s delicious bitter melon curry is making me salivate as I’m writing about it.

There are different variety of bitter melons, dark green small ones, green long ones and light green long ones. Some of my Chinese friends like it just in a stir-fry dish with tofu. Small dark green one’s are much bitter compared to other two varieties. Hence I guess you could stir fry other two varieties i.e long green and light green ones. You can also find bitter melon juice in all fruit juice joints in Southeast Asia.

This vegetable is rich in iron and its calcium content is said to be twice that of spinach. Even the beta carotene content in bitter melon is double the amount nutrient in broccoli. It is also a rich source of potassium, phosphorous, dietary fiber, etc.

One of the most important health benefits of bitter melon is its blood sugar lowering properties. So, it is said to be best for diabetics. Bitter melon is also said to be beneficial for those with intestinal parasites. Other benefits of bitter melon is it is useful for cleansing blood, boosting immunity and balancing hormones.

This recipe is something I learnt from mom, when bitter melon is fried with salt and turmeric it’s crunchiness and savory taste overpowers its bitterness. It’s also a very popular side dish served with banana leaf meals in Malaysian Indian Restaurants.

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Saturday, May 28, 2011

Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans) Salad

Whenever I make salads, I add legumes as a protein source. Nutty flavor of chick peas goes well combined with sour green apple and colored peppers.

Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) are a very good source of folic acid, fiber, and protein. They are also a good source of protein, as well as minerals such as iron, copper, zinc and magnesium. As a good source of fiber, garbanzo beans can help lower cholesterol and improve blood sugar levels. This makes them a great food especially for diabetics and insulin-resistant individuals. When served with high quality grains, garbanzo beans are an extremely-low-fat, complete protein food.

Print recipe here
Ingredients

Serves 2-3

100g boiled chickpeas

¼ of each red, yellow and green peppers, thinly sliced

1 green granny smith apple, diced

1 red onion, thinly sliced

½ of Japanese cucumber, thinly sliced

2 red chilies, halved and sliced

50g pitted black olives 50g cherry tomatoes, halved

For Dressing

2 tbsp low fat yogurt (optional)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp minced garlic and ginger

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp dried parsley

Pinch of salt and pepper

Method

Mix all the dressing ingredients, set them aside.

Add all vegetables to a large salad bowl, drizzle dressing over the vegetables. Mix well with wooden spoon, serve immediately.

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Saturday, April 23, 2011

Black eyed peas & Green peas Salad

As part of our diet plan, at least once in a week we try to take salad for dinner. I try to make it a filling meal by adding plenty of legumes. This time it’s black eyed peas and green peas. This is a trick for dieting, since if our diet is based on protein and fiber rich beans and other complex carbohydrates we feel full sooner.

Black-eyed peas provide a number of nutrients. They are a rich source of fiber and can be used in a number of recipes. For vegetarians, such beans can provide a needed source of iron and protein. No matter how you choose to prepare them, black-eyed peas can be a wonderful supplement to your healthy eating plan.

Ingredients

Serves 2-3

100g boiled black eyed peas

100g thawed frozen green peas

1 onion thinly sliced

1 green granny smith apple thinly sliced

Few olives

Few cherry tomatoes sliced half

¼ of red pepper thinly sliced

½ of cucumber diced

100g broccoli florets blanched LINK

Few lettuce leaves roughly torn

For Dressing

1 tsp of chili flakes

2 tbsp low fat yoghurt / soy yoghurt

½ lemon juice

3 tbsp of olive oil

1 tsp of minced garlic and ginger

Salt and pepper

Method

Mix all ingredients under “Dressing” shake well, set them aside

In a large bowl add all vegetables and legumes, drizzle the salad dressing, mix well using a wooden spoon. Serve immediately.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Broccoli Salad

Broccoli, to my knowledge is the most nutritious vegetable. It is rich in vitamin C, which aids iron absorption in our body. The folic acid in broccoli helps to sustain normal tissue growth and prevents hair loss. The potassium in broccoli aids those battling high blood pressure. The vegetable is also fiber-rich, which enhances the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, as well as aims to reduce blood cholesterol levels.

Indole-3-carbinol a component found in broccoli, promotes "good" hormones, while working against destructive ones, hence prevents hormone-related cancers, such as breast and prostate cancer.

Best way to cook broccoli is blanching, spices like garlic, ginger, lemon and chili flakes goes well with this vegetable. I try to take it as salad along with other vegetables and legumes, soups, stir fry (Broccoli with 3 color peppers is a good combination), add to noodles or vegetable fried rice.

Ingredients

Serves 2-3

200g Broccoli Florets – Blanched

50g pitted black olives sliced

100g sweet corn thawed and blanched

1 Onion thinly sliced

100g boiled black eyed peas

1 celery stick diced

100g cherry tomato

For Dressing

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tsp chili flakes

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp minced garlic and ginger

Salt and pepper to taste

(Mix them all and set aside)

Method

Add all grains and vegetables, drizzle dressing over vegetables. Mix them well, serve immediately.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Tabbouleh Style Salad

Slight variation is applied to this Middle Eastern salad by replacing bulgar with pasta. Parmesan cheese and sweet corn is added to enhance flavor and to make it a wholesome main meal.

Ingredients
Serves 2-3

50g pasta
50g de-frozen sweet corn
100g boiled / canned chickpeas
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 Japanese cucumber, diced
1 large tomato, diced
2 tbsp finely chopped mint leaves
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
1 green chili finely chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Handful of roasted pine nuts
50g parmesan cheese grated / Soy Cheese

Method

Boil water in a sauce pan, when water starts boiling add salt and pasta, cook for 15 minutes till pasta is soft. Drain water and set aside.

Mix pasta with all other ingredients with a wooden spoon and serve immediately.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Carrot Sambol (Salad)

Carrot has high content of vitamins A, B and beta carotene which prevents night blindness. Best to take carrots in raw form as salads.

Ingredients
Serves 2-3

1 large carrot grated into thin strips
1 onion diced
Handful of curry leaves thinly sliced
1 of each fresh green and red chili finely sliced
2 tbsp low fat yoghurt (optional)
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt to taste

Method

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, serve immediately with rice.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Salad - Cauliflower, French beans & peppers

Serves 2

Ingredients

50g French beans cut into 2” lengthwise

100g cauliflower florets

¼ of each green, yellow, & red pepper thinly sliced

50g pitted black olives sliced

1 onion thinly sliced

1 Japanese cucumber halved lengthwise, thinly sliced

1 celery stalk sliced

Few Romaine lettuce leaves washed, dried and torn

1 large tomato diced

For Dressing

1 tsp chilli flakes

1 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method

Blanch French beans & cauliflower, by boiling water in a sauce pan, add salt green beans, and boil for 2 minutes. Add cauliflower into the same pan boil for further 2 minutes. Drain the vegetables, wash in cold water & set aside.

Mix all dressing ingredients and set aside.

Put all vegetable in a large pan, sprinkle dressing and mix well.

Arrange lettuce leaves in bottom of the salad bowl, & serve the salad.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Salad

Green pea, sweet corn & crunchy vegetables. This salad is a balanced meal with proteins and carbohydrate from green peas, corn and feta, vitamin’s and minerals from variety of vegetables and greens.

Serves 2
Ingredients

50g de-froze green peas
50g de-froze sweet corn
½ red onion finely sliced
¼ of green, yellow, red bell pepper finely sliced
½ Japanese cucumber halved and finely sliced
1 tomato chopped into cube sizes
30g feta cheese sliced
1 tbsp pitted black olives chopped
1 tbsp capers
5 romaine lettuce leaves washed and torn

For dressing
½ lemon juice
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt n pepper to taste
1 tsp chili flakes – optional
Few coriander leaves chopped

Method

In a large pan/ bowl add all dressing ingredients mix well.

Add all vegetables except lettuce mix well with a wooden spoon.

Place lettuce in serving bowl add salad on top.