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Showing posts with label salads. Show all posts
Showing posts with label salads. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Black rice and Seafood salad

Salads are becoming a regular feature during lunch these days. I am absolutely smitten with 'one bowl' meals and what better than a gorgeous salad to fill up one of these. But with my husband and kid preferring some 'real khana' and my schedule more packed than usual, i have to throw together whatever I can lay my hands. As a result, sometimes the salad turns out to be just plain 'meh' and at other times it is just 'wow'.

Black rice is one of my usual suspects as it is packed with nutrients and delicious to boost. However I have to say that it is an acquired taste. While the nuttiness works really well for desserts, one takes a little time to get used to the savory dishes. Another ingredient that works really well with black rice is seafood. Think shrimps, octopus or even squid. However since I only had shrimps in stock, I made the salad using shrimps and a really amazing gourmet sauce. It turned out really well and hence it is eligible to make it to the blog. 

Read on for the recipe -

















Preparation Time - 15 mins ( I had cooked black rice in stock else add another 15 mins of cooking time )

Ingredients -

  • 1 1/2 cup cooked black rice ( firm to touch )
  • 1/2 cup shrimps
  • 1 red onion (finely sliced)
  • 1 1/2 tsp ginger juliennes
  • 1 tsp lime juice
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • sea salt
  • 2 tsp Sprig Mango Jalapeno Gourmet sauce (or as required)

Preparation - Toss shrimp with a bit of olive oil on a hot skillet till it turns pink.

Prepare a dressing with the thinly sliced red onions, SPRIG Mango Jalapeno gourmet sauce, ginger juliennes, lime juice and a dash of olive oil.

Take the cooked rice and the shrimps in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the dressing and season with sea salt . Toss everything together.

Serve at room temperature.






Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Apple Peppers Walnut Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Salads and more salads !! While it was black rice a couple of weeks back, now it is the turn of salads to capture my imagination. In sync with my fitness resolutions for the current year, I am substituting a bowl of salad for lunch at least 2-3 times in a week. Chickpeas, kidney beans or even tofu is a regular addition to my salad bowl as these ingredients have a high proportion of protein.

However last week, I ended up missing lunch on one of the days. Being caught up with some work, I realized quite late that it was well past 3 in the afternoon. As I did not want to eat anything heavy so late in the day, I skipped the dal-chawal lunch that I had prepared for kiddo. A quick raid on the fridge did not yield my usual protein sources. But I had quite a few apples in stock. And there were the walnuts from goingnuts.in that had arrived the previous day. So, I whipped up a quick salad with the aforementioned ingredients, some leftover colored peppers and a balsamic vinaigrette. It turned out to be delectable and filling to the core

Read on for the recipe -


















Preparation Time -
  • 1 apple (I used Gala, cut into thin slices)
  • 1 cup mixed yellow and red peppers (thin long pieces)
  • A few leaves of lettuce 
  • 1/2 cup walnuts
For the Balsamic vinaigrette -
  • 3 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 tsp English mustard
  • 2 pinch black pepper
  • salt to taste


Preparation - Take all the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a bowl and whisk together till it forms a uniform mixture.

Toss in the apples, peppers, lettuce and walnuts in a big bowl. Drizzle some of the vinaigrette over it as per your taste.

Mix lightly and serve immediately.



Sunday, January 29, 2017

Achari Aloo Salad ( Indian Potato Salad)

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 -
  • 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.


Friday, December 9, 2016

Pumpkin, Black Rice and Sun Dried Tomatoes Salad ( Christmas Special Colab )

These days there is a slight nip in the air, a certain spring in my steps, a smile on my lips and a rather familiar melody keeps playing in my head at all times of the day. And all this is making me feel more generous than ever. Little wonder that they also call Christmas as the 'season of giving'. No prizes for guessing that it is none other than 'Jingle bells' that's been on my mind all this time.

And I suspect that everyone who has been brought up in the sleepy little town of Rourkela also feels the same way about this festival. Giving the thriving numbers of the Christian community in our place, most of us were blessed to have a very special christian friend. For me, Christmas was all about hogging on cakes and more desserts at my special friend's house. And walking through the rows of shops selling all those glitzy stars and baubles! Of course living near a church and studying in a convent meant that those carols too had become an integral part of those days. No wonder Christmas makes me feel so nostalgic !

Coming back to the food, while it is the cakes, breads and pot-roasts which occupy center-stage during the Christmas festivities, the sides are equally important in my opinion as they help in balancing out the entire meal. And with the sugary stuff tipping the calorific scales, a filling salad is all I can ask for. Keeping it vegan is a personal choice though. While I prefer rice or pasta, feel free to use ricotta or feta cheese as a substitute (though I would rather not call it so as the former is carbs while the latter is all protein). And with this being a collaboration post, there are more such savory recipe ideas to help you out with a Christmas lunch/brunch/dinner.

Read on for my rather simple and yet wholesome recipe that boasts of a melange of flavors ( imagine the earthy flavor of spinach, the nuttiness of the black rice, the sweetness of the caramelized pumpkin and the tartness of the sun-dried tomatoes ) that have just been brought together in a manner that invokes sheer delight. And I bet you would calling for the seconds instead of reaching out for that rather sinful cheesecake -

















Preparation Time - 40 mins

Ingredients - 

  • 1 cup cubed pumpkin
  • 1/3 cups black rice
  • 1/2 cup spinach (blanched)
  • 7-8 sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1 tsp EVOO
  • 2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • freshly ground pepper
  • salt to taste

Preparation - Toss the pumpkin cubes with some of the balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Sprinkle salt and put in the oven. Roast at 180 C till it shows signs of browning / caramelization. 

Cook the black rice separately till it is cooked yet slightly firm to touch.

Mix the olive oil, honey, orange juice and remaining vinegar in a bowl.

Take the black rice, roasted pumpkin, blanched spinach, chopped sundried tomatoes in a bowl. Sprinkle the dressing all over it. Toss together.

Season with salt and ground pepper.

Serve warm. Or slightly chilled ( letting it sit in the fridge also allows the flavors to come together which makes it taste better ).

































And there is more to be discovered as my amazing blogger friends share some of their delectable Christmas recipe !! Scroll down for more drool-worthy discoveries - 

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Pumpkin Kidney Beans and Quinoa Salad ( Vegan Lunch Diaries )

In the gastronomic world dominated by upstarts and gorgeous vegetables like the zucchini, purple corn and red cabbage, the humble pumpkin hardly finds any takers. But if you have been following my blog for sometime now, my fascination with the rather out of shape member of the squash family won't come as a shocker to you. I love the vegetable to an extent that one would always find some stocked in my fridge. While it is a rather common ingredient in most of the curries/dal in Odisha, I love to cook the vegetable just by itself. A simple pumpkin fry would do on most days, the spicy Sri Lankan Pumpkin curry is a must-have when I am in a mood to indulge myself.

With kiddo following in my footsteps, our family's love for this vegetable is now widely recognized. Just to ensure that he does not get teased about it, I now have a mission to give this down-market vegetable a sexy new makeover. And this vegan salad recipe, a complete meal in itself, is the first thing that came to my mind. Filling to the core and bursting with fiber, this is something that one must give a try.

Read on for the recipe -


















Preparation Time - 20 mins


Ingredients -

  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 1/2 cup boiled kidney beans ( or use canned ones )
  • 1 cup pumpkin slices
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp chili flakes or crushed pepper
  • salt to taste
  • a sprig of cilantro


Preparation - Take the vinegar, olive oil, sugar, chili flakes/pepper and salt in a bowl to prepare the dressing.

Chop the onion into thin slices and add to the dressing. Keep aside for 20 mins.

Cooking - Wash and cook the quinoa with 1 cup water and a tiny pinch of salt in a saucepan. Once the water is absorbed, fluff it up .

Sprinkle a few drops of oil on an iron skillet. Once it starts to smoke, throw in the pumpkin slices . Sprinkle a tiny amount of salt and cook them on high till brown spots begin to appear. Flip them over and cook on the other side as well. Once they are done ( not mushy ), remove and keep aside.

Add the boiled kidney beans, the pan-seared pumpkin and the dressing to the quinoa. Toss gently.

Garnish with a sprig of cilantro. Serve at room temperature.




Sunday, March 29, 2015

Black Garbanzo Beans Salad ( Kala Channa Salad)

It is Monday and the time to make u for those weekend indulgences. At least, that is the case with me and my family. After two days of eating junk food, high calorie restaurant stuff, pizza or even numerous sweets, we settle for a simple rice and dalma fare on Mondays. Apart from the loads of vegetables that goes into the dalma, we also opt for some variety of stir fried vegetables and a humongous amount of salad. It not only provides a much needed respite to the digestive system but also makes one feel happy about eating healthy.

Kala channa is yet another variety of Garbanzo beans that is very popular in India. This cholesterol free legume is rich in fiber, Manganese, Tryptophan, Fiber, Folate, and Molybdenum and provide essential nutrients like Phosphorus, Iron, Copper and Protein . It helps in digestion, lowers homocysteine levels,  strengthen the heart muscles, benefits women suffering from hot flashes and reduces the chances of gastric ulcers.

This is a simple salad that I prepared with boiled kala channa and lots of veggies . Read on for the recipe -

















Preparation Time - 15-20 mins

Ingredients -


  • 3/4 cup black garbanzo beans/kala channa
  • 1 cucumber ( peeled and finely sliced )
  • 1 medium sized tomato ( finely sliced )
  • 1 medium onion ( finely sliced )
  • carrots/peppers/lettuce (optional)
  • 2-3 green chilis ( finely chopped )
  • 1/4 tsp chaat masala
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • pinch of turmeric
  • salt to taste


Preparation - Soak the kala channa overnight or for 8 hours. Wash thoroughly and cook with 1 cup water, salt and turmeric for 3-4 whistles. Keep aside for steam to escape. Drain off excess water.

Take all the ingredients (listed above) in a mixing bowl. Add salt as per taste. Mix well.


Serve immediately or chill for 10-15 mind before serving.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Avocado Cucumber & Tomato Salad

Another easy salad recipe with avocados !! Given the almost silken texture of ripe avocados, they make for a great addition to any salad even without the use of a dressing laden with oil/mayonnaise. But do add another acidic (tangy/sour) ingredient to balance out the flavors and take the dish to another level.

Read on for the recipe -








Preparation Time - 10 mins


Ingredients -

  • 1 fully ripe avocado
  • 2 large ripe tomatoes
  • 1 small cucumber
  • 1/2 tsp mustard sauce/English mustard
  • a dash of fresh pepper
  • salt to taste



Preparation - Cut, halve and deseed the avocados. Scoop out the flesh.

Chop the tomatoes and cucumber into chunks.

Take all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and toss up.

Serve chilled.





















Note - One can add either finely sliced onions/garlic to this salad.

Avocado & Corn Salsa

An interesting take on the traditional salsa, this one has more of a sweet & buttery flavour!! Gets ready in minutes and goes great with nachos and even as a salad/sandwich filling.

Read on for the easy recipe -








Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -


  • 1 fully ripe avocado
  • 1 sweet con of the cob
  • 1/2 tsp chili flakes
  • 1/3 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp vinegar
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • salt to taste

Preparation - Cook the sweet corn with water and a little salt for 6-7 minutes. Remove it from water and keep aside till it cools down to room temperature. Using a sharp knife, cut the corn from the cob.

Cut, halve and de-seed the avocado. Scoop out the flesh and roughly chop it up.

Take the oregano, chili flakes, vinegar, olive oil and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix it. Add the avocado flesh and sweet corn to the bowl. Toss up.

Chill for 20 mins before serving.

Serve with nachos or even as a salad.





















Note - Do not throw the avocado skin as it makes for a great serving bowl.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Noodles, Red Cabbage & Peppers Coleslaw

The basic definition of coleslaw is a shredded cabbage salad with a vinaigrette consisting of vinegar/lime juice, vegetable oil, sweetener like sugar or honey, salt, and other seasonings. It is commonly served with grilled/fried/barbecued chicken or used as a sandwich filling. While most of the coleslaw dressings make a generous use of mayonnaise, I am feeling a bit bored with it these days. Had a bit too much of it in those sandwiches last week. So, I have skipped it and added some mustard sauce instead.

Read on for the recipe - 








Preparation Time - 15 mins (less if you are using a coleslaw mix off the supermarket shelves)

Ingredients -

  • 2 cups shredded red cabbage
  • 1 cup red pepper juliennes
  • 1/2 cup yellow pepper juliennes
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onions
  • 1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
  • 1/2 cup cooked noodles

For the vinaigrette dressing -


  • 3 tsp vinegar/lemon juice
  • 2 tsp vegetable oil/mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon sugar/honey
  • 1 teaspoon mustard sauce
  • 1/4 tsp salt ( I generally keep it less for salads and sandwich )
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper/paprika or as per taste

Preparation - Take all the ingredients of the vinaigrette in a large mixing bowl. Whisk it a bit to get it mixed up.  Throw in the rest of the veggies and the noodles. Toss together.

Chill for half an hour before serving.



















Note - Vegan Mayonnaise is loaded with fiber and nutrients and has a low GI value.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Roasted Corn - Tofu Salad

By now most of you would be aware that I am into substituting at least 1 lunch per week for a salad. I usually prefer to do it when I have had a heavy dinner the previous day or even when I am feeling plain lazy. Along with the mandatory veggies, I also try to include some high protein stuff which helps me keep full for a long time. And one of the best vegan sources of protein is Tofu. Though I have ignored this ingredient for a long time now, I hope to gradually make it a part of my weekly menu.

This is a simple salad and I wanted the dressing to be something very light and tangy. The corn reminded me of the roadside vendors selling the roasted delicacy during the monsoons. They usually rub it with a mix of lemon juice, chili powder and black salt. I have used the same dressing along with a spot of mustard sauce and very little jaggery to add a hint of sweetness.

Read on for the recipe -







Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -


  • 1/2 cup firm tofu (diced)
  • 1/2 cup roasted corn on the cob
  • 1/2 cup cucumber slices
  • 1 medium sized tomato
  • shredded lettuce (optional)


For the dressing -

  • 1/2 tsp lemon juice
  • 2 pinch red chili powder
  • 2 pinch black salt
  • a dot of mustard sauce (optional)/a pinch of chat masala
  • 1/4 tsp jaggery
  • salt to taste


Preparation - Soak the tofu in hot water for 5 mins. Drain off the water. Allow the tofu to cool.

Using a sharp knife, slice the corn off the cob.

Add all the ingredients for the dressing into a mixing bowl. Whisk together till the jaggery is dissolved.

Soak the cucumber, tomato and lettuce in a bowl of ice cold water to retain their crunch.

Add the tofu, corn, cucumber, lettuce and tomato to the same bowl. Toss together till everything is coated with the dressing.

Serve immediately.


Monday, March 31, 2014

Lettuce-Cucumber-Tomato Salad

Its Monday and time for yet another 'detox recipe'. The detox process puts a lot of emphasis of consuming lots of fruits and vegetables (preferably unprocessed) and any grains need to be consumed only in moderation. Meat and dairy are considered off-limits. Hence along with juices, salads are a very important part of any detox diet.

With Ugadi/Gudi Padwa falling on a Monday, most of you would be busy feasting for the extended weekend. Hence this week's detox recipe comes on a Monday. Quite simple and easy to assemble, it can also multitask as a quick snack.

So, here is an easy and yet filling salad recipe that consists of fruits and vegetables rated highly on the list of 'Detox foods'. Read on for the recipe -

















Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -

1 big ripened tomato (to be thinly sliced)
1 small cucumber (to be thinly sliced)
1 small head of iceberg lettuce (to be torn roughly)
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp pepper powder
salt to taste
1 tsp vegan mayonnaise (optional)

Preparation - Wash the vegetables carefully and wipe of excess water. Cut the tomato and cucumber into thin slices.
Tear the lettuce into small pieces.

Transfer everything into mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, salt, pepper and mayonnaise. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly. Garnish with pomegranate seeds.

Chill for an hour before serving.


















Note - You can also add some shredded red cabbage and blanched broccoli to make it more appealing.

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