Last week I happened to find some really good freshly harvested baby potatoes at the local vegetable market. Coincidentally I had been craving for some Kashmiri dum aloo for sometime. So, it was the first dish that I cooked up with the lot. The next dish to go on the table was my favorite fish head curry with mustard paste. And I was still left with a sizable lot !
That is when I realized that I havn't had a decent salad bowl for almost a week. Eeeks !! I needed to do something about my eating resolutions. It has been just a month into the new year and I am already lagging behind. A potato salad with some protein and veggies seemed like the right choice for the next day's lunch . A few minutes of browsing threw up quite a few gems like the Mediterranean potato salad, an English potato salad and even a Russian one among all. Sadly I couldn't really find anything like an Indian version.
That was it ! I decided to make one on my own. But what flavour could encompass the entire width and breadth of a country that is better known for it's diversity ? Of course, the humble 'achar' or pickle. Though pickles from various regions make use of different ingredients, there are a few basic ingredients that are quite common. And using these very ingredients that are common to every Indian kitchen, I mustered up a yummy and filling bowl (actually two bowls) of potato salad !
Read on for the recipe -
Preparation Time - 10 mins
Ingredients -
That is when I realized that I havn't had a decent salad bowl for almost a week. Eeeks !! I needed to do something about my eating resolutions. It has been just a month into the new year and I am already lagging behind. A potato salad with some protein and veggies seemed like the right choice for the next day's lunch . A few minutes of browsing threw up quite a few gems like the Mediterranean potato salad, an English potato salad and even a Russian one among all. Sadly I couldn't really find anything like an Indian version.
That was it ! I decided to make one on my own. But what flavour could encompass the entire width and breadth of a country that is better known for it's diversity ? Of course, the humble 'achar' or pickle. Though pickles from various regions make use of different ingredients, there are a few basic ingredients that are quite common. And using these very ingredients that are common to every Indian kitchen, I mustered up a yummy and filling bowl (actually two bowls) of potato salad !
Read on for the recipe -
Preparation Time - 10 mins
Ingredients -
- 2 cups of boiled baby potatoes
- 1 cup boiled kidney beans (rajma)
- 1 cup of chopped veggies (tomato and cucumber)
- 1 small red onion (chopped into thin long pieces, optional)
- 1 tsp lemon juice (use more if required)
- 1 tsp mustard oil
- 1/6 tsp mustard powder
- a pinch of fennel powder
- a pinch of roasted fenugreek powder
- 1/4 tso chili powder ( use a little hot unless you like it really spicy )
- salt to taste
- fresh cilantro for garnishing
- a few drops of pickle oil ( optional )
Preparation - Peel the potatoes and cut each one into two halves.
Take all the ingredients (except salt) in a big mixing bowl. Toss them together . And let it sit for 15-20 mins for the flavours to come together. Season with the salt and garnish with chopped cilantro .
Serve at room temperature.
Note - If you do not want to use the powdered spices, go directly for the pickle oil which has already imbibed all these spices.
