salad mates

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You aspire to be the hostess with the mostess (or the host) and dream of throwing charmingly, cosy get togethers that would glide you right on top of the party pedigree. Then you better note that not all foods are friendly with each other, and the relationship between a salad and the main course is particularly strained. While a watery cucumber, tomato and melon salad would be better at paving way for the Mughlai fare you are about to dish out, a Picotia salad which is high on carrot and low on spices will be best suited for the spicy Mexican el alimento.
The dressing takes the cherry of the tomato, when it comes to preparation of a salad. French dressing of vinegar, salt n’ pepper and oil makes a crunchy, healthy mix for the size conscious, a thousand island with its mayonnaise, chopped eggs, oil, pimentos and parsley fills up a tummy like no other. Chef Joshi from Urban Café suggests that a salad could very well be a side dish, an appetiser or a whole meal in itself. “Salads are essential as they provide a variety and contrast of colour to the menu. And summers are even a better time for them due to their essential lightness and ease of fresh ingredients,” he tells us.
Indian food has had a long tradition of consuming raw vegetables before the meal in the form of a pre-cooked raw meal instead of a salad. A raita, where all the vegetables are diced and mixed in curd along with spices works best with heavy north Indian fare. As for the lighter South Indian food, it is eaten with a Pachadi, which is similar to a raita or a pickle, depending on the region it is made in. Chef Madan, head Chef Chalchitra tells us, “The spices added as ingredients to salads help in better digestion of Indian food and bring a sense of balance to the food.”
When the gathering is small and the food, informal and finger fed, then salads do double duty as palate cleansers with the usually oily finger foods. Chef DC Bhatt of Tivoli Grand recommends crudités as the best accompaniment to hand-fed foods. “Vegetables such as carrots, radish, cucumber, beetroot and finger capsicums are dipped in vinaigrette to make them into crudités. They can then be enjoyed with tartar sauce, cocktail or even barbecue sauce,” he tells us.
But when following several recipes off the Internet and cookery books, one often realises that not all ingredients are easily available in the neighbourhood. Chef Narayan Rao of The Aman, Delhi gives easy alternatives for tricky ingredients. “One can easily replace lettuce with cabbage and heavy dressing with simple lemon or citrus juice, with the regular oil and salt-pepper,” he says.

Raw Papaya Salad from The Yum Yum Tree

Ingredients:
Grated raw papaya
Sweet & sour dressing (prepared with soy sauce, lemon juice and sugar)
Lemon
Cherry tomatoes
Boiled beans
Roasted grated peanuts

Method:
In a bowl mix raw papaya, sweet & sour dressing, boiled beans, cherry tomatoes. Squash a lemon on top. Mix. Garnish with roasted grated peanuts.
(Courtesy: Yum Yum Tree)