Right from Salad Nicoise to feta cheese salad and the humble kosambari closer to home, salads have always been a part of our meals. But an increasing number of people these days are choosing to have this as a main meal instead of just a side, and it doesn't have to be ghas-phus any more, take an old classic

and jazz it up with some pasta, toasted bread or even grilled chicken for a light but filling meal.

Greek salad with watermelon
Ingredients:
100 gms of cherry tomatoes, sliced into half
1 medium cucumber, peeled, deseeded and diced
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced (soak this in some vinegar and lime for 2-3 hours to get rid of the pungent raw taste)
2 bell peppers, use different colours — deseed and dice them
1 clove garlic, minced
7-8 black olives, sliced into half
1 cup of watermelon, diced
3/4 cup of Feta cheese, crumbled
Lettuce leaves

For the dressing:
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
Pepper
Oregano
Mint leaves to garnish

Method:
Place all the vegetables and watermelon in a bowl, mix the ingredients for the dressing together and toss it in with the vegetables. Arrange lettuce leaves on a plate and put the salad on this, add the crumbled feta cheese on top. Garnish with mint leaves and serve chilled with warm bread.
To jazz up the salad, use a mini scooper to scoop out melon balls from the watermelon and use these instead of the diced watermelon.

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Italian roast vegetable salad with spaghetti
Ingredients:
2 bell peppers (use different colours), cut into strips
1 large onion, sliced
1 zucchini, cut into strips
100 gms of mushrooms, sliced
1 small broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets
1 tomato, sliced
1 aubergine, sliced and cut into strips
150 gms of spaghetti, cooked as per instructions on the packet and seasoned with salt

For the dressing:
4-5 tbsp of olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
½ tsp of pepper
11/2 tsp of dried herbs
Salt to taste
To garnish: 4-5 basil leaves, shredded and 1 tbsp of grated Parmesan cheese

Method
Mix the vegetables with some salt and about one-and-a-half spoons of the olive oil, allow this to sit for 15 minutes and then roast them in the oven at 160 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes. Let them cool down.
Meanwhile, mix the ingredients for the salad dressing and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
In a salad bowl add the vegetables and the spaghetti together, pour in the dressing and toss well. Garnish with the basil leaves and grated parmesan, serve warm.

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American potato salad with curry dressing

Ingredients
4-5 large potatoes
75 gms of sausages, chopped
1 small onion, chopped

For the vinaigrette
¼ cup of white vinegar
1 tbsp of mustard paste
2 tbsp of olive oil
½ tsp of black peppercorns, crushed
Salt to taste

For the dressing:
1 cup of mayonnaise
½ cup of skim milk
2 tbsp of sour cream
½ tsp of red chilli powder
¾ tsp of curry powder or garam masala powder
2 celery stalks, finely chopped

To garnish: 1 tbsp of spring onion greens, finely chopped

Method:
Boil the potatoes with salt and water for about 10 minutes, remove from the heat and allow it to cool down. Peel them and dice into one-inch pieces.
Mix the ingredients for the vinaigrette and add this to the potatoes. It’s best if the potatoes are a little warm at this stage because it helps to absorb the flavours better. Once this has cooled down, add the sausages and onion to this.
As the potatoes are cooling, whisk together the milk, mayonnaise and sour cream to form a smooth paste. Add the red chilli powder and curry powder to this, adjust the salt according to taste and mix in one spoon of olive oil to make the dressing smooth. Add the celery and mix well.
Now add this to the potatoes, when they have completely cooled down, and toss well. Garnish with spring onion greens and serve chilled.

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Russian salad with grilled chicken
Ingredients:
1 potato, boiled and diced
1 cup of cabbage, shredded
1 red apple, diced
1 carrot, peeled, boiled and diced
1 green capsicum, deseeded and chopped
A handful of green peas, boiled
A handful of sweet corn, boiled
1 cucumber, deseeded and diced
1 cup of grilled chicken (cut chicken breast into strips, marinate with olive oil, salt and pepper for an hour, grill this for 20 mins), chopped*

For the dressing:
1 cup of fresh, thick yogurt
1 cup of fresh cream
1 cup of eggless mayonnaise
1 tbsp of olive oil — this makes the dressing very smooth and you can preserve the leftover for up to a week
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp of pepper powder
A pinch of mustard or even mustard powder
Some fresh parsley to garnish
*Vegetarians can substitute this with paneer or tofu, mushrooms are a good idea too

Method:
Mix all the ingredients for the dressing together to form a smooth paste and allow this to chill in the fridge for about half-an-hour. Place the rest of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir in the dressing. Garnish with the parsley and serve chilled.