Poha is trending on the internet and do you know why?
Because IndiGo Airlines labelled one of their onboard offerings of poha as a 'fresh salad' in an advertisement.
So why is poha trending because you folks are craving a salad with poha in it? That's a tough call because poha doesn't lend itself to salad exactly.
But here's two salads, one with a homemade dressing, to kill that salad urge.
The first is a simple Swiss Grune Salat or green salad that goes with everything or can be had by itself as a wonderfully healthy meal.
The second is an Indian-Style Potato Salad.
Zurich Grune Salat
Ingredients
- 1 large perfect tomato, chopped into 6 pieces
- 4 tsp chopped chives or else 3 tbsp chopped greens of a spring onion
- 2 cups lettuce leaves torn into bite-sized pieces, ideally mixed iceberg lettuce, lollo rosso lettuce and other greens like baby spinach
Dressing
- 1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
- 4-5 tbsp mayonnaise or a vegan mayonnaise
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tsp mustard paste
- Pinch salt
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp black pepper powder, freshly crushed
- 4-5 leaves fresh basil
Add on croutons
- 4-5 slices bread, chopped into 1-cm cubes
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp garlic paste, optional
Method
For the croutons
- In a glass bowl, add the bread cubes and drizzle on the olive oil.
- Microwave on high for 3-4 minutes and then stir and microwave for another 3-4 till nicely browned and crisp, taking care not to burn the croutons ie keep checking on them.
- Then stir in the garlic paste and toss and microwave for another minute.
- Take out of the microwave and cool and keep aside.
- Alternately fry up the bread cubes with the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over low heat, tossing all the time.
- In the final minute or 2 of cooking add the garlic paste and fry another minute or 2.
For the dressing
- In a blender whip up all the ingredients and keep aside.
Assembly of the salad
- In a large bowl, toss the ingredients of the salad with the dressing.
- Serve sprinkled with the croutons.
Zelda's Note: You might consider adding 4-5 tbsp grated carrots, ½ a cucumber, peeled, cubed to the salad and topping the salad with a 2 tbsp grated cheese.
Zelda's Potato Chaat Salad
Ingredients
- 3 large potatoes, boiled but firm, peeled, chopped in 1-inch pieces
- 2 tsp imli or tamarind paste
- ½ kabuli chana or chickpeas, soaked overnight
- ½ tsp icing sugar
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 3-4 tbsp chopped green dhania or coriander or cilantro
- 1 tomato chopped fine
- 1 tsp chaat masala
- Salt, about a pinch, since chaat masala also has salt
- Squeeze of lime
- ½ tsp lal mirchi or red chilly powder
For serving
- 2 handfuls nylon sev
- 4-5 flat puris, like used in sev puri, crumbled
Method
- Boil the drained and washed kabuli chana with 3-4 cups water in a pressure cooker for 5-6 whistles over medium heat.
- Chana should be firm but cooked and not mushy.
- Open the cooker and cool.
- Mix the cooked chana with all the other ingredients
- Sprinkle the sev and crushed puris and serve.
Zelda's Note: You could consider adding 100-200 gm paneer cubed, especially if you don't like or eat potatoes and ½ a cucumber peeled and cubed and 1 tbsp finely chopped raw mango. Sweet potatoes can also replace potatoes.
