Summer salads

Potato salad

Ingredients:

Potato – 4 large no.s
Coriander – 1/2 cup chopped fine
Oregano – 1 tsp
Chives – 1 tsp
Peanuts – ½ cup roasted and salted cut into half
Lemon juice – 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Mint leaves – 10 no.s
Green chilli – 1 small chopped fine( or half a capsicum chopped for children)


Method:

Boil potatoes with 2 tsp salt and peel and cut into cubes
Mix all other ingredients.
Serves 6

Lettuce and ham salad

Ingredients:

Lettuce – 1 small
Ham – 4 slices cut into strips
Red onions soaked in vinegar and salt – ½ cup
Leek – 1 no. snip in small rounds with kitchen scissors
Pumpkin seeds – ¼ cup roasted and salted
Sweet corn – 1 cup steamed
Salt to taste
Olive oil – 2 tsp

Method:

Slice red onions lengthwise and soak for half an hour or overnight in 1 tbsp vinegar and ½ tsp salt
De vein the lettuce and snip leaves into squares or strips
Add all the ingredients and toss the salad.
Serve with mayonnaise or thousand island dressing

Carrot and cucumber salad

Ingredients:

Carrots – 3 grated
Cucumber – 1 med sized grated
Capsicum – yellow or red cut into thin strips
Garlic – 1 crushed
Ginger – ½ inch piece cut into very thin strips
Sprouted Green gram – boiled with salt
Lime juice – 2 tsp
Pepper – ½ tsp
Basil – 1 tsp
Olive oil – 2 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:

Mix all the ingredients well.
1 tbsp mayonnaise can be used instead of lime juice.
Serves 6

Crunchy-munchy salad

Ingredients:

Cabbage(purple or green) – 1 small deveined and cut into pieces
Carrots – 1 cup grated
Capsicum(green) – 1 cup cut into strips
Sausages(grilled) – 5 no.s cut into cubes
Peanuts(roasted and salted) – ½ cup
Kabuli channa(Boiled) – 1 cup
Salt to taste
Vinegar – 1 tbsp
Olive oil – 1 tbsp

Method:

Mix all ingredients together and serve.
Serves 4

Scoop a soup

1. Potato and peas soup

Ingredients:

1. Potato – 1 big boiled and mashed
2. Milk – 1 cup
3. Maida – 1 tbsp
4. Oil or ghee – 1 tbsp
5. Cheese spread – 1 tbsp
6. Pepper – 1 tsp
7. Peas – frozen or fresh 1 cup
8. Salt to taste
9. Mint – few leaves
10. Oregano – a pinch
11. Water – 2 tumblers

Method:

1. Heat oil or ghee and add maida stir till it is not sticky on a slow fire. Add half a cup milk and cheese spread. Stir till there are no clumps and a thick, smooth sauce is made.
2. Add mashed potato, peas, water, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer till peas are cooked.
3. Add the balance milk and simmer. Remove from fire and add oregano and mint.

2. Spicy tomato soup

Ingredients:

1. Bangalore tomatoes ripe – 3 large
2. Onion – 1 chopped fine
3. Hill garlic – 3 pods chopped fine
4. Ginger – 2 inch chopped fine
5. Green chillies – 2 chopped fine
6. Cornflour – 1 tbsp
7. Olive oil – 1 tbsp
8. Coriander – 1 tbsp chopped fine
9. Salt to taste
10. Water – 1.5 tumblers

Method:

1. Boil onion and tomatoes together in 1 tumbler water. Blend in a mixie and keep aside
2. In a wok, heat oil and add ginger, garlic and green chillies. Fry till raw smell disappears.
3. Add the tomato puree, salt and if more spice is required, add pepper. When it is about to boil, add cornflour and stir till a thick, smooth mixture is obtained.
4. Bring to a boil and add chopped coriander.

3. Chicken noodle soup

Ingredients:

1. Chicken – 300 gm boiled with salt in 1 tumbler water, a pinch of turmeric powder and shredded.
2. Rice noodles – small packet
3. Lemon grass – 1 stalk finely minced
4. Coconut milk – 1 cup thick extract
5. Spring onion – 2 stalks chopped fine
6. Garlic - 2 pods minced fine
7. Red chillies(4-5) soaked in 1 tbsp vinegar and ground to a fine paste – 1 tbsp
8. Salt and pepper to taste
9. Olive oil – 1 tbsp
10. Mint and coriander – few leaves chopped for garnishing

Method:

1. Boil water and soak noodles in the water after shutting off the heat. Soak for 10 min.
2. Strain into a colander and hold under cold water to prevent noodles from sticking
3. In a soup pot, heat olive oil and sauté garlic and spring onion for 2 min.
4. Add chicken stock, chilli paste, chicken, lemon grass, salt and pepper.
5. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a little more than sim. Add the coconut milk and simmer.
6. Serve hot with chopped mint and coriander garnish.

4. Carrot and leek soup

Ingredients:

1. Carrot – 2 carrots boiled in 1 tumbler water and liquidized
2. Leeks – 3 stalks chopped fine
3. Onion – 1 small chopped fine
4. Garlic – 1 pod chopped fine
5. Green chilli – 1 chopped fine
6. Olive oil – 1 tbsp
7. Cheese spread or fresh cream – 2 tsp
8. Vegetable or chicken stock – half a cube
9. Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. In a soup pot or wok, heat oil and sauté onions, green chilli and garlic till onion is transparent.
2. Add the leek and the stock cube and sauté for 2 minutes.
3. Add the pureed carrot and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes
4. Remove from fire and stir in the fresh cream or cheese spread.
5. Garnish with coriander.