Archive for Salads

Simple Egg Salads 1001

April 13, 2009 at 4:47 am · Filed under eggs, Salads

Egg Salads – A Primer:  A mix of eggs with fresh veggies make protein packed, filling salads. Eggs cooked in numerous ways can go into the salad. With a few simple rules, you can easily create delicious salads.

1. Choose fresh fruits/leaves/ veggies / sprouts.

2. Shake off excess water after washing fruits / veggies

3. Mix in the dressing just before serving to avoid salads becoming soggy.

4. Cut fruit / veggies/ meats into uniform, bite sized pieces.

6. Always tear leaves, as cutting them would cause them to wilt.

  7.  Hollowed out fruit / vegetable halves / bowl shaped cabbage leaves  make great       salad serving bowls .Small cabbage leaves / grape leaves make cute spoons.

All these salads make great sandwich fillings too !  For low calorie salads, choose dressings like lemon juice / yogurt / vinegar and replace the nuts with croutons as a garnish.

 

Try replacing eggs with other protein sources like a handful of baked beans / cooked chicken / canned tuna, cooked ham, cooked lobster / crab / prawns for a range of exciting salads.

 

Full meal Salads:
When you add the following to any of the salads above, the salad becomes a complete meal.

1. Half a handful of cheese (paneer, feta etc) : Cheese &       Egg Salad.

2. Half a handful of cooked rice or half a handful of     cracked wheat (Bulgur wheat) soaked in boiling water     for 10 minutes. : Grain & Egg  Salad.

3. A handful of cooked couscous / pasta   : Pasta/     Couscous  & Egg Salad.

4. Half a handful of chopped and boiled potato: Potato &     Egg  Salad.

5. Half a handful of chopped bread: Bread& Egg Salad.

Soy sauce, oils, vinegar have been used as dressings for thousands of years. Creamy emulsions like vinaigrette & Mayonnaise are some of the most popular dressings.

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Full Meal Salads

March 16, 2009 at 1:29 am · Filed under Breakfast, Full Meal, Salads


This cookbook lists 1000 simple salads that can serve as a full meal. Ten different bases are paired with ten different additives and ten different dressings to create a thousand different salads. Easy salads like Panzella (recipe # 023), Tabuleh (recipe # 343):: Pasta Salad (recipe # 612) :: Corn Salad (recipe # 412) :: Couscous Salad (recipe # 228) can be quickly created using this cookbook.

The base:
A variety of cereals / cabbohydrate sources like beans & potatoes as listed in column 1 can be used as a base
The additives :
Almost anything edible can go into a salad. Some common additives are listed in column 2.
Dressing :
Dressing acts as the sauce and makes the salads extra delicious. A variety of simple dressings listed in column 3 can be used.

Cooking Couscous (Semolina granules) Pour one cup of boiling water to one cup of readymade, quick cook couscous. Cover for five minutes. Fluff up with a fork.
Cooking Bulgur (steamed, dried & crushed wheat). Add three cups of boiling water to one cup of bulgur. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes. Drain water.
Cooking Corn: Microwave whole corn with husk, on the highest setting for 2-3 minutes. Let cool. Remove husk and silk. Use a sharp knife and cut down the sides, cutting out the kernels.
Cooking Potato: Peel and chop potato into cubes. Microwave covered for 3 – 5 minutes or add to boiling water and cook for 3 – 5 minutes till they are tender. Drain water.
Cooking Pasta: Add a handful of pasta in a liter of boiling water with four pinches of salt. Stir. Cook for 4 – 8 minutes, stirring occasionally till it is done. Drain and rinse in cold water.
Cooking Rice: Add a cup of rice and two cups of water to a pressure cooker. Pressure cook on medium flame for two whistles. Let cool. Puffed rice / rice flakes need no cooking.
Cooking Millets : To three cups of water, add three pinches of salt and a cup of hulled, ready to cook millets ( Pearl / Foxtail / Proso / Finger millet). Cook on medium heat for 30 minutes till all water is absorbed. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and let cool.
Cooking Barley: To three cups of water, add three pinches of salt and a cup of pearl barley ( hulled, fast cooking barley). Cook on medium heat for 10 – 12 minutes till all water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and let cool.

Salad Tips :
• Mix in dressing just before serving
• Hollowed out fruits like water melon / squash serve as great salad bowls.
• The base should not be cooked very soft as it will absorb the dressing and become mushy. A slightly undercooked base is perfectly okay.
• New potatoes are perfect for salads.
• Remove as much water from the base as possible before mixing it into the salad. You can use large paper towel lined pans for this purpose.
• All salads above can be served cold or at room temperature.

The ‘Indian fried dressing’ or Tadka adds a lot of crunch and a burst of extra flavour to any of the salads above. Heat a spoon of oil, add a pinch of cumin / mustard. Mix in with the salad just before serving.

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Simple Salad Dressings

March 10, 2009 at 1:56 am · Filed under no cook recipe, Salad dresing, Salads

This cookbook lists 1000 no-cook salad dressings by combining 10 bases with 10 flavouring techniques and 10 additives. 

Salad Dressing – A Primer : Salad dressings are Salad Sauces, which make a salad taste extra delicious. Oil / lemon juice / vinegar / Soya sauce & Salt were some of the earliest salad dressings.  Later, a variety of spices were mixed into these basic dressings. Sesame seed paste ( tahini) is used as a dressing and dip across the Middle east,  Soy sauce is used across the far east and soy sauce mixed with mayonnaise is popular in Japan. Lemon Juice is India’s favourite salad dressing.    Emulsions (like Mayo, vinaigrette) were perfected in France and have become the most popular dressings in the western world. Buttermilk based Ranch dressings, Vinaigrette based Italian and French dressings, & Mayonnaise based Thousand Island dressing, are some of the most popular salad dressings. Salad dressings need not be limited to vegetables, but can also be used as dips or spreads.   

Emulsion is a mixture of liquids, which normally do not mix – like oil and vinegar. They can be temporarily mixed by whisking them together – but they soon separate. If whisked together using a ‘glue’ like egg yolk, mustard powder, agar gum etc, they remain ‘stuck’ as a creamy emulsion. Mayonnaise and vinaigrette are emulsions.   

Mayonnaise Variations :
Local oils / vinegars / additives are used across the world to produce variations of mayonnaise. Rice vinegar & soy sauce is added to mayo in Japan, safflower oil in Russia, sugar in Australia, ketchup in Argentina, garlic and olive oil in Europe etc., See 1001 Mayo cookbook for more.

Tips :
1. Mix in dressing just before serving as most dressings make salads wilt .
2. If you plan to store the salad, do so without dressing.

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Simple Non-Veg Salads 1001

February 23, 2009 at 2:58 pm · Filed under no cook recipe, non veg, quick meals, Salads

Non Veg Salads – A Primer:  A mix of ready to eat meats / sea food  with fresh veggies make easy, protein packed, filling salads. Almost any cured, ready to eat meat/ sea food can go into a salad. With a few simple rules, you can easily create delicious salads.

1. Check packaging to ensure that the base is ready to eat. 

2. Shake off excess water after washing fruits / veggies to avoid watering down your salad. Use a tissue to soak excess water.

3. Mix in the dressing just before serving as dressing makes salads soggy after a while.

4. If you plan to store the salad, do so without dressing.

5. Cut  veggies/ meats into uniform, bite sized pieces.

6. Always tear leaves, as cutting them would cause them to wilt.

7.  Avoid over stirring the salad, which makes it soggy. Instead add everything to a closed container and toss well to mix.
8.  Hollowed out fruit / vegetable halves / bowl shaped cabbage leaves  make great salad serving bowls .Palm sized cabbage leaves / grape    leaves make cute spoons.

Salad dressings with oil, however can have almost   100 calories per spoon. For low cal salads, choose dressings like lemon juice / yogurt / vinegar and replace the nuts with croutons as a garnish.

Classic Dressing: Soy sauce, oils, vinegar have been used as dressings for thousands of years. Creamy emulsions like vinaigrette & Mayonnaise are some of the more popular dressings.

 Full meal Salads:
When you add the following to any of the salads above, the salad becomes a full meal.

1. Half a handful of cheese (paneer, feta etc) : Cheese Salad.
2. Half a handful of cooked rice or half a handful of cracked wheat (Bulgur wheat) soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes. : Grain Salad.
3. A handful of cooked couscous / pasta   : Pasta/ Couscous Salad.
4. Half a handful of chopped and boiled potato: Potato Salad.
5. Half a handful of chopped bread: Bread Salad.

Always check packing to ensure the base is ready to eat.

 

Sausage : Ground meat mixed with fat, flavouring, usually shaped into cylinders. Pork is most common, but beef, lamb, veal (calf meat), goat, turkey, chicken or game meats are also used. Corn starch, whey, Oatmeal or rice flour are also mixed in as fillers. Many sausages are cured / precooked and are ready to eat. Hundreds of sausage varieties exist. Sausages were invented as a way to preserve meat without refrigeration.

Corned beef : Beef cured with salt and is ready to eat. (Corn refers to the grainy salt crystals used for curing. Corned beef is mixed with pepper and smoked to produce Pastrami.

Prosciutto : Salted, air dried ham (dried for up to two years). It is ready to eat and is usually sliced into wafer thin pieces.

Salami – Fermented and air dried sausage.
Kippered Herring – Gutted, salted and smoked herring.

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1001 Simple Veggie Salads

February 22, 2009 at 9:42 am · Filed under no cook recipe, quick meals, Salads


Salads – A Primer : Salad (from Latin salata : Salt) is usually a mix of various vegetables / fruits with seasonings. Almost anything can go into a salad. With a few simple rules, you can easily create delicious salads.
1. Choose fresh fruits/leaves/ veggies / sprouts.
2. Shake off excess water after washing fruits / veggies to avoid watering down your salad. Use a tissue to mop off excess water.
3. Mix in the dressing just before serving as dressing makes salads soggy after a while.
4. If you plan to store the salad, do so without dressing.
5. Cut fruit / veggies into uniform, bite sized pieces.
6. Always tear leaves, as cutting them would cause them to wilt.
7. Dipping chopped apples / banana / avocado in lemon juice prevents discoloration.
8. Avoid over stirring the salad, which makes it soggy. Instead add everything to a closed container and toss well to mix.
9. Hollowed out Fruit / vegetable halves, bowl shaped cabbage leaves, etc make great salad serving bowls .Palm sized cabbage leaves / grape leaves make spoons.
A handful of chopped fruits / veggies have only about 25 calories. Salad dressings with oil, however can have almost 100 calories per spoon. If you are weight watching, go in for low cal dressings like lemon juice / yogurt / vinegar and replace the nuts with croutons (toasted bread pieces) as a garnish.

Salad varieties :
Garden salad (# 010) has fresh seasonal vegetables as the base.
Green Salad (# 211) uses fresh leaves as the base.
Lentil Salads (#611) use soaked lentils as a base.
Bean Salads (#704) used cooked beans as the base.
Sprout Salads (#856) are built on sprouted beans.

Full meal Salads :
When you add the following to any of the salads above, the salad becomes a full meal.
1. Half a handful of cheese ( paneer, feta etc) >> Cheese Salad
2. Half a handful of cooked rice or half a handful of cracked wheat soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes. : Grain Salad
3. A handful of cooked couscous / pasta / : Pasta/ Couscous Salad.
4. Half a handful of chopped and boiled potato: Potato Salad
5. Half a handful of chopped bread: Bread Salad

Classic Salads :
Caesar Salad – Greens (romaine lettuce) with garlic and vinaigrette dressing. (recipe # 208)
Coleslaw – Shredded cabbage mixed with mayonnaise. (recipe # 186)
Panzanella – Italian salad in which chopped up stale bread is mixed with tomatoes, onions and vinegar.
Salad Nicoise – Italian salad with potatoes, olives, beans with vinaigrette dressing.
Waldorf Salad – American salad with apples, lemon juice, celery, walnuts, and mayonnaise.
Indians are not big fresh salad eaters. However, two unique Indian salads stand out – the Karnataka Kosambari ( soaked mung dal mixed with cucumbers, pepper and lemon juice) and the North Indian Kachumber ( A finely chopped mix of onions, tomatoes, chilies and lemon juice)

Classic Dressings : Soy sauce, oils, vinegar have been used as dressings for thousands of years. Creamy emulsions like vinaigrette & Mayonnaise are some of the more popular dressings.

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