Zucchini Apple Salad

The word Salad sounds boring to many. And then there are some i know who only survive on Salads, who make special Salad diet plans, not just for the purpose of diet or to lose weight but simply for the love of eating fresh. I myself was never a salad person, like i would never order a salad when at a cafe or restaurant. The reason also being, most of the "usual" restaurants here served only cucumber,tomato and onion as salad. Its off late that people are exposed to different types of salad ingredients and the sauces and dressings. Moreover, the easy availability of these fruits and vegetables has also helped a-once-termed-exotic-salad reach everyday menu in homes.

Cost factor : Buying broccoli, zucchini, baby corn, purple cabbage or even coloured peppers as everyday buy for a middle class person was not affordable a while back. But the same veggies are available at Farmer's market or wholesale markets these days, for nearly the same price as french beans or lady's finger. 

Exposure due to Internet :Social media and Google has also helped a lot of good salad recipes made available for women to try at home apart from just Garden Salad. There are so many good YouTube videos and blogs available showing easy, less time-consuming and tasty recipes of salads.

The love of trying something new : People these days are willing to experiment, have a taste of different cuisines and try different palates. This love and curiosity has upped Salad's position from "Oh, so boring" to "It looks delicious". Not to mention all the health benefits that eating any fresh vegetables or fruit provides us. So, all in all, it's a win-win situation that people are enjoying eating raw.

Last evening, this bug of "trying something new" bit me too. I had fresh zucchini and fruits at hand. So, made this easy-peasy salad for dinner and it turned out great. I didn't use any sauces or any difficult dressings and the simplicity of it made it more tasty. At times, dressings overpower the salad taste, so i used just 5 basic ingredients and let the taste of veggies and fruits remain. 

Moreover, it's a quick meal. Just chop, assort and mix. That's it. No sauteing, no crushing, no tossing.

Ingredients:

Zucchini - 1 medium sized

Apples - 2

Yellow bell Pepper - half

Red bell pepper - half ( You can also add onions or green capsicum but i didn't)

Olive oil - 1/4 cup

Pepper - to taste

Salt - to taste

Sugar - 1 tsp ( Substitute with honey if preferred )

Vinegar - 1- 2 tsp ( Use apple cider or red wine vinegar )

Herbs of your choice - I did sprinkle oregano and dried parsley on top but it's optional

Method:

Chop zucchini, apples and peppers and combine in a bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, pepper, salt, vinegar and sugar. Pour this dressing over the zucchini-apple mixture.

Toss and sprinkle herbs of your choice

Please note: Serve this salad immediately after tossing. Don't let it rest for long.

Happy Cooking :)

 

A bowl of goodness

Salad is a very important part of a diet. Every nutritionist or a dietitian would advise you to include raw vegetables, fresh fruits and nuts in your diet. A very interesting book that i am reading now by the name of "Curry" talks about how food culture evolved in India. Though there was a significant influence of the Portuguese who invaded the southwest India, the Great Mughals who invaded the North of India and the British Raj who ruled us, the importance of "Ayurveda" and "vegetarianism" was very much rooted in the country who preferred and ate "Saatvik" food. Saatvik food is basically "pure food" - that which doesn't impure your body, and is hence able to improve your thoughts making you more kind, generous and calm. It was also believed that growing vegetables or fruits and eating them raw was much more beneficial, as it captures the essence of the soil and water and connects you to your roots.

So, a normal saatvik diet would consist of seasonal foods, fruits, vegetables, oil, dairy products, nuts, whole grains and legumes - basically a non-meat diet. It becomes a little difficult to follow a saatvik diet when we are overpowered with the cravings of eating "masaaledaar" and "lajjatdaar" food :) But to maintain a balance, having a salad is always helpful. Even if one or two fruits a day, and a simple cut vegetable salad is added to our meals, it balances out all the sinful cravings that we indulge into otherwise. 

Normally, i always have a koshimbir in our meal. Some of the koshimbir posts from before : Kakdichi koshimbir, Tomato carrot koshimbir, Fruit salad .

But at times, i make a wholesome salad which serves as a complete meal. Here i have added boiled peanuts and boiled chana, but you can get as creative and replace/add/reduce the nuts and other ingredients according to personal preference.

Ingredients:

Peanuts - 1/2 cup

Kala chana (Black chickpea) - 1/2 cup

Lettuce leaves - to garnish ( or you can even chop them and add to the salad)

Walnuts - 3-4 chopped (optional)

Almonds - 3-4 chopped (optional)

Onion - 1 small chopped

Tomato - 1 small chopped

Green chilli - 1-2 chopped

Red chilli flakes - to taste (Add red chilli powder if you don't have flakes)

Oregano - to taste

Black salt - to taste

Pepper - to taste

Lime juice (optional) - 1/2 tsp

Pomegranate - 1/4 cup (optional)

Recipe:

Wash the black chana and soak it overnight.

Drain the water, pat them dry and keep it in air tight container at room temperature or in refrigerator if you want them to sprout. 

Even if they are not sprouted, they taste great.

Wash the peanuts.

Boil the black chana and peanuts till they become soft. The peanuts will start losing colour and become pale. Alternatively, you can also pressure cook them for one whistle.

In a mixing bowl, mix the boiled chana and peanuts. Add the chopped tomatoes, onions, green chillies, salt, pepper, pomegranate, walnuts, almonds and mix it all well.

Line the serving bowl with washed lettuce leaves. Add the salad into the bowl. Now sprinkle oregano and chilli flakes and finish it with some lemon juice.

Mix it all well and enjoy the bowl of goodness as one wholesome nutritious meal.

Happy Cooking :)