Salads — healthy and delicious

HEALTHY AND DELICIOUS: Potato and Chickpea Salad.    Photo by the authorSalad is an integral part of our diet which is often ignored or eliminated while we plan our everyday meals. Salad is derived from the word ‘sal’ which means salt and holds the same status as that of salt in our food.  Adding a salad to your routine will definitely payoff with its health benefits and is one of the healthiest habits to adopt immediately.  Not only the salads are healthy but they are cool, crunchy, colorful and fun to eat. You can add fresh fruits as well in your salad bowl to customise it to your taste buds.  I usually come up with different salad while planning or cooking my meal so that I never feel bored of eating the same greens every time. I combine a variety of beans, vegetables, fruits, green leaves, herbs and dressings to make it more interesting and appealing. There is plenty of health benefits associated with salad eating— the following are the important four of them:Salad a rich source of fibre Salads are a rich source of dietary fibre, which helps regulate cholesterol and prevents constipation. Consuming salad makes you feel full and actually consume less food and thus helps you to reduce weight as well.No nutrients lost due to cooking The nutrients of fruits and vegetables are completely transferred when you consume them as salad, which is very beneficial for our overall well-being. Consuming fruits and vegetables also ensures that our body is safeguarded because of the antioxidants they provide us.Good fatSalad dressings containing mono saturated fats like olive oil, avocado and nuts provide us with good fat which is essential for our body.Eat more, lose weight When your target is to lose weight, dieticians recommend one common food – the “great green salad” with lemon juice as dressing. Salad actually fills up your stomach and gives you the satisfaction of having a complete meal and at the same times does not burdens your body with tons of calories as compared to other foods.  Potato and Chickpea Tossed SaladIngredientsServes 2Chickpea, boiled 1 cupPotato 2 noOnion 1 noTomato 1 noGreen chilli 1 noCoriander leaves Few sprigsLemon juice 1 tbspSalt To tasteChat masala ½ tspYoghurt 4 tbspFor tamarind chutneyTamarindSeedless tamarind ½ cupWater 2 cupCumin seeds ½ tspGinger powder ½ tspRed chilli powder ¼ tspJiggery    80 gmCooking oil 1 tspBlack salt To tasteFor mint chutney    Mint leaves 50gmCoriander leaves 50gmShallot 2 noGinger    ½ inch cubeTomato 1 noLemon juice 1 tbspChat masala ¼ tspBlack salt To tasteCumin powder 1/3 tspDry mango powder ¼ tspYoghurt 2 tbspMethodFor the mint chutney, wash coriander and mint leaves thoroughly.Combine chopped shallot, ginger, tomato, lemon juice, chat masala, lemon juice, black salt and dry mango powder and few ice cubes and blend to a smooth paste.Add whipped yoghurt to the paste to adjust the sauce consistency and keep refrigerated. For the tamarind chutney soak the tamarind in Luke warm water for 2- 3 hours.Squeeze the tamarind pulp to extract the tamarind juice and strain in a bowl.Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, add ginger powder, red chilli powder and tamarind pulp.Stir continuously and simmer for 4-5 minutes, add the dissolved jiggery in water and adjust the seasoning and cook for another 5 minutes.Once the mixture thickens remove from flame and allow to cool down. For the salad, rinse and drain the boiled chickpea in a bowl.Boil the potato until soft and tender, drain the hot water and allow to cool down.Cut the potato in big dices and deep fry to make them crispy from outside.In a bowl combine potato dices, chickpeas, chopped onion, tomato, green chilli, coriander leaves, lemon juice, chat masala, salt and toss gently. Place the prepared salad in a salad bowl and drizzle with the mint chutney, tamarind chutney and whipped yoghurt and serve cold.Note: you can prepare the tamarind chutney before hand and store in air tight container in refrigerator for later use as a condiment for salads, starters, samosa or crisp fried fritters. The method of salad preparation sounds a bit lengthy but once you prepare the two sauces- mint and tamarind the salad can be prepared very easily and quickly without much effort.