The Salad We Love- Unbelievable but true!
The unpopular salad: Salaad
As Kashmiris, we hold the title of undisputed championship in voracious meat eating. So living up to the title, we never really gave the idea of a salad much thought, it just did not cross our minds.
At home in Kashmir, salad or salaad essentially means the plate of sliced vegetables, precisely cucumber, tomatoes and carrots, decorated in concentric circles on a plate, by alternating the limited but vivid variety of colours. It is unenthusiastically prepared for a decorative side occasionally. No question of dressing this insignificant plate of raw vegetables whose sole purpose is to add a splash of colour to the dinner spread full of meat dishes (like dhaniwal korma). The best shot at a dressing it can ever get is a lemon squeezed on top. Even if there is no meat for dinner, our vegetable dishes like gogji, haakh, mounji, etc. are so irresistible that there is no place for the poor plate of salad to leave a mark.
This plate sits on the dinner spread, untouched throughout, in pristine condition, till everyone is done with the main entrées. Only once in a blue moon does it get lucky, when someone eats a few slices of cucumber knowingly or probably unknowingly. Or when those geek parents prompt their children to eat some carrots “because they are good for the eyes”.
The salad platter for maharaz saal (served to the groom and his family at the wedding) gets an upgrade with the addition of pine apple and cherries to make it look more fancy. Yes, it gets fancier than this.
Such an apt meme I found somewhere:
The daring attempt
Long story short, the lack of interest in salads came to me naturally. Speaking for me and my partner, our appetite for raw vegetables is as restrained as it is insatiable for batt’e (rice) and syun (meat or vegetable dishes). However, we must compliment ourselves on being courageous enough to give the idea a try : the profane idea of salad for dinner. Basically in attempts to eat healthy and of course, trying different, previously unimaginable dishes. And to our surprise, we weren’t disappointed. So much that salads like this have now become regular mains at our dinner table.
So what is it?
The salad has everything a balanced meal should have- chickpeas for protein, potatoes for carbs, yogurt for calcium and other vegetables for fibre and other nutrients. Yes, this is the pinnacle of my general knowledge. But hey, in my defense, I was a “non-medical” student. Anyway, the yogurt-based dressing is easy to whip up. And the fact that this vegetarian combination as a whole manages to impress one or two meat lovers (undisputed champions at that), speaks for itself.
Having said that, this salad makes a great side dish too. On a family get together, if you want your usual batt’e and syun to be accompanied by a unique, delicious yet meatless side, look no further. From a desi perspective, it is a cross between a salad and raita, but a few steps ahead of both in terms of taste.
The salad we love
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 sweet potato (diced : ½inch cubes)
- 1 cup cauliflower florets
- 1 cup canned chickpeas (rinsed)
- 1 cup chopped salad greens (e.g., cucumber, lettuce, cabbage )
- 1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds
Seasoning
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp paprika
- ⅓ tsp chilli flakes
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Dressing
- ½ cup yogurt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ cup chopped fresh herbs (e.g., coriander, mint, dill)
Instructions
Method 1
- Preheat the oven to 220°C. Place the diced sweet potato, chickpeas and cauliflower florets on a baking tray.
- Pour the olive oil in a cup. Add in minced garlic, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and the spices for seasoning- ground cumin, ground coriander, paprika, chilli flakes, salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Pour the seasoning mix over the sweet potato, cauliflower and chickpeas on the baking tray. Toss to coat well.
- Bake in the pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes, tossing halfway through.
Method 2
- Boil the sweet potato cubes until tender, about 8-10 minutes and drain well. Boil or steam the cauliflower florets until tender, about 6-8 minutes and drain well.
- Pour the olive oil in a cup. Add in minced garlic, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and the spices for seasoning- ground cumin, ground coriander, paprika, chilli flakes, salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Transfer the sweet potato, cauliflower and chickpeas in a bowl and pour the seasoning mix over. Toss to coat.
Common steps to follow for both methods
- Mix yogurt, lemon juice and fresh herbs in a bowl to make the dressing. Add a pinch of salt, as required.
- Spread the dressing at the bottom of the serving dish. Top it with the sweet potato, chickpeas and cauliflower mix. Add the chopped salad greens and lastly, scatter the sesame seeds on top. (Alternatively, follow the conventional procedure- Mix everything together and pour the dressing on top.)
Notes
- This recipe is quite flexible. Use any vegetables of choice that you think can fit in.
- For a tangy seasoning, use chaat masala.
- Sweet potatoes can be replaced by any kind of potatoes. Only the time taken to cook may vary.