Potato Ham Salad with Homemade Mustard Dressing

Potato Ham Salad with Homemade Mustard Dressing 

My idea of a delicious summertime salad is quite endless but since we are almost reaching the end of our week of Celebrating salads here is sharing a favourite of mine which is easy enough to be whipped on days when you are drop dead tired.

The cold potato with cubed ham with a mustard dressing works beautifully for me. Here is hoping it works for you as well.

I like using fresh ingredients and hence I used fresh lean ham from the local cold storage and requested that they slice the ham a bit thick keeping this salad in mind.

Makes 2 servings

2 large potatoes boiled and diced
100gm diced ham
Fresh thyme as per taste

For the dressing :-

I used 1 tsp of my homemade Mustard
2.5 tsp Extra Vigin Olive Oil which you may replace with butter
Salt as per taste

Chill the potato and ham . Right before serving toss the ham and potato with the whisked mustard dressing , a bit of fresh thyme and voila its ready.

You may want to add a bit of honey to your dressing. I personally did not want any other flavour to interfere with the sharp taste of mustard and hence I did not add any other flavouring agent.

Chickpea Tahini Salad

Chickpea Tahini Salad 

Since I am celebrating salad weeks and its coming to an end here is a very simply Chickpea Tahini Salad.

For the Tahini please check out the recipe here. Recipe for Tahini

Makes 2 servings :-

I usually boil and keep aside chickpea cooked from 1 cup of dried chickpea and I used 6 tbsp cooked chickpea
2 cups of shredded iceberg lettuce
1 tbsp finely minced parsley
Tahini as per taste ( I used 2 tbsp as dressing)
Salt as per taste

Here is a quick tip on boiling chickpea. Till this year's January I have always soaked chickpeas and then cooked it. Then a blogger friend, Rhea shared an article which actually stated that chickpea cooked without soaking yields better flavours. A lot of people who are part of the food group said that ever since they had switched over to this no soak business of cooking chickpea they have not looked back. I tried the method out of curiosity and also because many people swear by it and as it turns out they were 100% correct. Chickpea cooked without pre-soaking it is much more tasty than when soaked and cooked. Please note that the dried chickpea used must not be too old and it does take a bit of extra time for cooking which is completely worth it. I usually use 1.5 cups of dried chickpea and simmer it for over an hour with 7 cups of water, a pinch of salt and a tiny pinch of bi-carbonate of soda which fastens the cooking process.

For the salad simply toss everything together and let the diner top his or her salad with the tahini sauce as dressing.

Green apple Rocket Salad with chili garlic dressing

Green apple Rocket Salad 

with chili garlic dressing 

If there are two things for which my dedication and passion stays constant it is preparing dishes and working for Market Research.

Quite often my aunt and my husband complain about my sense of punctuality . They say other than something that involves food or my work where I would be earlier than required  I am not at all punctual when it comes to meeting them at a certain time and I am quite ashamed to say that I am guilty as charged. I am working on my sense of time when it comes to matters other than work or food but as for now I am one hundred percent dedicated to my week of celebrating salads.

I love tangy taste and when tangy flavour meets the flavours of chili and garlic it makes me even more happy. As a child I enjoyed mixing raw mango slices with cayenne pepper and salt and would spend each afternoon throughout my summer holidays with a book in my room.

When it comes to Green apples also known as Granny Smith Apples I love the tangy flavour and the crunch hence this salad is a perfect summer time treat for me.

Have it for brunch, lunch or dinner its ultimately healthy and delicious. I have intentionally used rocket leaves for their peppery taste and I feel that the other lettuce leaves would not do justice to this salad because they would not have the unique flavour of rocket leaves. The pimiento stuffed olives gives a Mediterranean touch to the salad and the flavour of the olives with the apples and rocket leaves with the hint of garlic and chili is fantastic.

I usually make my condiments as much as I can and hence my chili garlic paste was homemade but you may use some chili oil if you do not have the inclination to make it at home.

Serves 1

1 Green apple
Half a cup of rocket leaves
10 Pimiento stuffed Olives

For the Dressing

1.5 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4th tsp Chili garlic paste
1/4th tsp fresh thyme leaves
Salt as per taste


Chop the apples. Mix with the rocket leaves and sliced stuffed olives.

I make my chili garlic paste and keep it in the refrigerator for about 2 months to 6 months. What I do is soak 1 head of garlic with 80gm hot dried red chili in enough vinegar to just about soak them. At times I use Rice Wine Vinegar and then there are times that I would go for White wine vinegar or red wine vinegar or any other vinegar of my choice. I let it soak for 2 hours and blend it to make a paste with some salt. This comes handy when I am cooking Chinese dishes as well.

Whisk the dressing with a fork. Pour over the salad and enjoy.

Creamy Potato Dried Fig Salad

Creamy Potato Dried Fig Salad 

For me the best feeling in the world is breaking bread with friends and family over laughter at the dinner table. I would happily spend the entire day in the kitchen preparing dishes and if my guests like what they are served that does make me happy but at the same time it gives me equal pleasure to prepare a dish for myself alone.

As a freelancer who works from home I am not required to step out of my home unless for that trip to the market or a quick visit to the bank or courier service . Then there are times when I want to go out and enjoy a cup of coffee with a friend.

Anyway the point is I would put in the same amount of effort when I am cooking for myself as I would when I cook for 8 guests.

So on a mundane Wednesday afternoon with Lana Del Rey's songs to keep me company I made this salad for myself which includes some of my favourite ingredients. I somehow like a sharp tart taste more than anything else . Hence I used hung curd for this salad and its not just to make the salad healthy. Another favourite ingredient is the humble potato. The softness of the boiled potato alongside the crunch of iceberg lettuce and the sweet taste of dried figs with the creamy dressing made this mundane Wednesday a little less mundane. I do not like overcrowding my dishes with too many flavours hence I used one herb alone.

My father did take a  small serving and he liked it mostly for the yogurt which is quite cooling for this sultry weather.

Here is some absolute random thought from my end :-

"Just because I appear to be a blank page

Do not take the liberty to think that you may scribble all over it 

For I have written all over it with my invisible ink " 

Makes 2 servings :-

Cup used holds 210ml liquid

1.5 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
2 large boiled potatoes
6 to 8 dried figs

For the dressing :-

200gm curd which you make into hung curd by tying it in a cloth and letting the excess liquid drip away for 2 hours
1 tbsp finely minced fresh parsley
Salt as per taste
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil


Boil the potatoes but take care not to over boil the potatoes because if its over boiled it breaks easily and you would be unable to chop them up to a shape of your choice. Cube the potatoes. Chop the figs.

Shred the lettuce and chill the lettuce , figs and potato cubes.

Just before serving make your dressing by whisking the hung curd, EVOO, salt and finely chopped parsley and pour over your salad and enjoy a healthy meal.

Grilled Chicken Litchi Salad with Molasses mustard dressing

Grilled Chicken Litchi Salad with Molasses Mustard Dressing 

There is that time for celebration when you are perfectly happy with a particular method of cooking and as long as the results seem perfect to you that is all that matters. Having said that I still believe there are a few rules to be followed when it comes to cooking dishes. For instance its all well and good to make mistakes while baking your tart shell but passing off a soggy bottomed tart shell as perfect just because one has put in the effort in his or her kitchen is a tad too sad. Then again if you like soggy bottomed tarts you should perhaps dance around a bit.

Anyway moving on to my week of celebrating salads. This one is close to my heart because I am finally 100% satisfied with my grilled chicken leg. A few months ago I had shared with you how I had followed this method of basically steaming the chicken for 5 minutes and then grilling it which does give very good results but  while I was more or less satisfied with the result somehow in my mind I still wanted to grill chicken without creating excess steam in my oven.  I wanted to master the technique of grilling in my oven without a shortcut method.

Here I have to mention that I do not own a barbecue stove so my grilled chicken is not fully cooked the way it is supposed to be since it does not involve cooking over coal which gives it that smoky flavour and while there is another method that I have been told about which creates the smoky flavour this whole faux pas method seems a bit like cheating to me.

So here is the most juicy chicken legs that I have ever made in the oven.

Since we are celebrating salad week I rested the chicken for 2 minutes and then sliced the meat, kept the bones for stock to be made later on and tossed it with my greens. The other point is that I simply adore pairing meat with fruits. Give me some Kebabs and fresh fruits and I am a happy girl. In this salad I have used some tropical summer fruits , 'Litchi' and the fleshy sweet fruit was a delight with the fresh salad.


Serves 2

2 cups of mixed salad greens (I used a mixture of Romaine lettuce and red leaf lettuce)
7 to 8 plump litchi skinned and de-seeded
1 chicken leg (thigh and leg)

To marinate the chicken :-

1/3rd tsp fresh rosemary
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt as per taste
2 tsp balsamic vinegar

For the dressing :-

3/4th tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/3rd tbsp Molasses
1/2 tsp mustard
Salt as per taste


I used skinless chicken so I made some slits on both sides and marinated the chicken for 18 hours with the ingredients mentioned for marination.

Preheat the oven at 180C. Place the rack on the top most part of the oven and grill the chicken for 5 minutes per side brushing the chicken with a bit of olive oil when you turn the chicken and then increase the oven temperature to 230C with the mode where the heat comes from the top alone and grill for 4 minutes per side and then let the chicken rest for 5 minutes.

In the meantime toss your greens with the litchi and then slice up the chicken leg and throw in the meat . Whisk the dressing and enjoy a healthy and satisfying lunch or dinner.

Very important tip

1. If your greens have drooped a bit simply fill a bowl with ice cold water and plunge in the greens for 5 minutes and voila you have beautiful crisp salad greens.  
2. The summers of India are terrible and preserving your freshly bought salad greens can be a pain. So here is a tip to store greens and herbs. The day you buy them wrap them in cloth and put them in the refrigerator. they stay fresh for a week. This tip was shared by my kind vegetable vendor and it works very well. 

Walnut Pesto Salad

Walnut Pesto Salad 

I am whimsically disciplined. If there is a routine I want to follow I would do that no matter what and if I feel like it I would let myself go and let things flow in any direction that it wants to flow. Take for example my love for waking up early in the morning. I love it when I wake up early in the morning before the cacophony of the world takes over. I like sitting with a cup of coffee in absolute silence while the earth slowly and steadily wakes up.

At the same time if I want to I would stay awake all night and sleep till 12 in the afternoon.
At times I feel like writing random sentences which cannot be linked together except that the thought behind those sentences have at some point made an impact on my life whether small or big.
So just recently I discovered that there are two singers whose songs I absolutely adore. One being Lana Del Rey and the other is Ellie Goulding. Their songs make me happy as does this celebration of salad week. This helps me stay focused on a healthy diet.

Take a day such as today. Usually on days like these where I would get an invitation to taste a very elaborate delicious spread and have a long chat afterwards I would usually end up eating something unhealthy for dinner but thanks to my dedicated 1 week to salads I came back and put in that wee bit effort and voila here is a healthy hearty salad.

A somewhat course and delicious pesto 

Cup used holds 210 ml liquid

Serves 1

1/2 cup whole walnuts
30gm Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt as per taste
2 cups of shredded iceberg lettuce
3 to 4 small sized garlic cloves
1/4th cup fresh mint leaves


Shred the lettuce and chill it in the refrigerator. Start making your pesto by pounding  the garlic to a smooth pulp and then add the mint leaves and continue grinding and slowly add a bit of oil salt and walnuts and keep grinding and finally add the Parmesan which you might want to cut into small pieces for easy incorporation. Keep grinding till you get a coarse  pesto. Add on the chilled iceberg lettuce and have a hearty meal. If you want your pesto to be creamier add more EVOO.

Bacon Parmesan Rocket salad to Kick start my Salad Week

Bacon Parmesan Rocket salad 

to Kick start my Salad Week 

When it comes to  blogging I follow my heart more than anything else. While there are weeks when I might blog everyday of the week there might be days on the end when I would cook and even click photographs for documentation but not blog about it at all.

Just the other day I was talking with a friend and a blogger about how its our passion for cooking which is actually what keeps us going even on those days when we would just want to drop dead or are tired and then comes the blog for documentation.

Anyway when I met Pritha who blogs from Guilt-Free I remember exactly what had impressed me about her blog and firstly it was this coffee cake. I am a complete coffee lover not an addict though. Well I do need my one cup per day but that's only after waking up otherwise I am good. Anyway so a coffee flavoured cake immediately caught my attention and then when I took out time to read some of her earlier posts. I usually have this habit of going back to a blog's posts when it had taken its baby steps. Anyway the moment I did that what impressed me most was this discipline that she follows when it comes to her blog at times. Her blog itself started on a dessert a week note which impressed me to no end.

And then as the story goes like minds met over an event. We had a potluck . We talked and talked for hours. I went to Mumbai and yet we would talk endlessly about food and in-between she actually took a one month Bengali food marathon project and low and behold she stuck to her promise.

I for one do not have that kind of discipline . In fact when I joined her for her Christmas event I was the one who actually lagged behind. And she is the one who holds a full time job and there I was well working of course and as a freelancer I was swamped with work but still the point is I got inspired by my friend. Do take a look at her blog for possible exciting events this June and there is also a possibility of a joint venture Event by 2 insane girls who love to cook and eat and click .

Anyway so inspired by my friend I decided I should do an event one that is close to me and quite honestly I love salads. My point is salads can be beautiful. They are just not part of diet food projects, In fact a hearty salad can actually fill your stomach and emotions so that you actually do not end up eating a lot of unhealthy food.

So let's kick start my Salad Week with a Bacon Parmesan Rocket salad. The beauty of this dish is that the 3 ingredients used in the dish is all that you need for this beautiful salad. Personally speaking I don't use a dressing for the salad because otherwise the beauty is lost. Its the peppery taste of rocket leaves along with the crisp bacon a bit of crisp fatty portion and a hint of that glorious Parmesan cheese that makes it one of the best salads ever. In fact I don't even use salt since I get all the salt that I require from the bacon and I leave out freshly crushed pepper because the peppery taste of the rockets provides that superb bite to my salad.

Salad that serves 1 person

1 cup to 1.5 cups rocket leaves removed from the stem
100gm bacon cut into bite sized pieces
Parmesan shavings as much as you need


Here is an important tip to make sure your rocket leaves are absolutely crisp and fresh if they seem a bit wilted due to the heat. Plunge them in ice cold water with a few ice cubes and let it soak while you fry the bacon its on absolute low heat turning them once one side has become golden brown. In my experience if you start frying the bacon on low heat it becomes crisp without any burnt parts. Once the bacon is fried drain it well and then assemble the salad.

Simply drain the rocket leaves, arrange them in a salad bowl top it with bacon and Parmesan shavings and voila its that easy to whip up this gorgeous salad.

If you want you may drizzle the salad with a bit of Extra Virgin Olive Oil  but I would steer clear of vinegar or any wet ingredients which would hamper the crisp characteristics of the bacon.

Soft Homemade Cottage Cheese Salad

Soft Homemade Cottage Cheese Salad 

Indians do not traditionally use a lot of cheese in their food but there is one cheese which is used extensively in India and that is Homemade cottage cheese aka Paneer in India. The truth is most people buy the readymade paneer these days but then again readymade paneer can never match up to a well made homemade paneer. Basically it is split milk clustered together and then drained of all its water to make firm cheese.

In Bengal people are more specific with this homemade cottage cheese for Bengal has an intense love affair with cottage cheese as is proven by the extensive use of cottage cheese known as 'Chana' not 'Chena' in Bengal. Not only do they make the softest chana ever they use it in one other form which includes kneading the cheese really well.

Now recently there has been an increased popularity of flavoured Paneer which I love but quite frankly paneer as a whole is firm in nature and on this particular day I wanted a soft melt in the mouth cheese without the calories that come along with most good cheese.

I was struck by this idea and I put it to good use with a very satisfactory result. Basically everything remains the same except for the technique.

So here is the recipe :-

Serves 2

For the Cheese:-

1 litre toned milk
1.5 tbsp vinegar diluted with 2.5 tbsp water
Wooden platform for kneading

For flavouring :-

Herbs of your choice, I used rosemary
Salt as per taste
Chili flakes or freshly ground pepper

For the salad :-

4 cups of assorted shredded lettuce
2 green apple

For the dressing

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tsp white wine vinegar
Salt as per taste
1 large clove of garlic finely minced

Bring the milk to a roaring boil and then lower the heat and add the diluted vinegar. Within 2 minutes white cheese will be floating about in green whey. Now switch off the stove, cover the pot and leave for 5 minutes.

Now gather all the cheese in a cheesecloth or muslin cloth and wash it under cold water squeezing out all the water after you are done washing . If it still feel too hot for sqeezing out the water let it hang for 15 minutes.

Now start kneading the crumbly cheese , knead it well for 5 minutes , add the flavouring and keep kneading for another 10 minutes to 15 minutes (Remember that the more you knead the softer your cheese will be) and then make a fat roll and tie the cheesecloth after squeezing it well so that it is moist but not wet and leave it to rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Now toss your salad. Whisk the ingredients for the dressing to make an emulsion and carefully slice the cheese. It is ultra soft and as a result it may break a little bit but its so soft that you can make perfectly shaped cheese cubes or balls or discs using clean hands, something which I did not do.

Enjoy a healthy meal.

Tips

1. Kneaded on a wooden surface does result in a softer texture. I can vouch for this from experience.
2. When you are kneading the cheese try rubbing it well against the wooden surface and then gathering the cheese with the sides of your finger and palm. 
3. Since you are using your hands make sure its absolutely clean for hygienic purpose 

Poached chicken breast salad

Poached chicken breast salad 

Most people who love chicken love a tender moist juicy chicken breast but most of us have gone through that time when we have cooked breasts and the end result was dry and stringy chicken breast.

I have personally misunderstood chicken breasts and when it turned out dry and stringy had made it worse by cooking for some extra time. Then at a point when I was frustrated and considered myself a failure with chicken breasts I decided to read up a bit and the information stunned me.  I was completely wrong. Truth is chicken breasts are delicate and they need the minimum of time to give you juicy succulent results.

Even after reading about it I did not get immediate success because the time given in most recipes was too much time for the chicken breasts I was cooking leaving them a bit stringy. Finally after a few attempts I understood what can always result in that juicy tender result and haven't looked back since then.

Here are a few important points to be remembered when dealing with chicken breasts :-

1. Chicken breasts are very delicate and they need very little time for cooking
2. Resting the breasts is as important as cooking it right. Truth is it is full of fibre and when you are cooking it the fibres stand out which when rested clubs together to give you tender results. 
3. Lastly if you keep the two points mentioned above in your mind you shall soon discover how easy it is to know the amount of time required.  
4. You may poach, saute , bake, grill or coat the breasts with flour and saute it.
5. No matter how you are cooking the chicken the pan you use must be as small as possible to just about fit the chicken. (This tip was given by a lovely lady who is a great cook indeed, Claudia Barbara Tanna who runs My Continental Kitchen which gives you a chance to interact with other passionate cooks who love European, American and World Cuisine )  

Here is a salad which is tasty and healthy 

Serves 1 

Half of a chicken breast weighing about 120gm to 150gm
Half of a red bell pepper
Half of a yellow pepper
1 cup torn iceberg lettuce

1 tsp olive oil
1 large clove of garlic
1 tsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1 finely chopped  ripe red chili
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt as per taste

Lightly smash the garlic , peel it and then take a small pan and place the chicken, fill it with enough water to just about immerse it and add salt, crushed pepper and the smashed garlic and put over medium to low heat and simmer covered for 3 minutes to 5 minutes. Timing is very very important. Take it out  and place it in a small bowl and cover it and let it rest for 5 minutes. You can also let it rest by wrapping it in foil or a kitchen towel.

Here I must admit that at times I let it rest in the same pan in which it is cooked and it usually still leaves the chicken moist and tender but for that you have to make sure that the pan can be covered well and has no gaps and in these cases I have cooked the chicken for exactly 2 minutes to 3 minutes and then let it rest  for about 7 minutes to 9 minutes after turning off the stove because here the trapped steam cooks it from inside out but doesn't over cook it.

In the meantime shred the lettuce and chop the bell peppers. Take out the garlic used for poaching and mine it.

Now slice the chicken. Heat the olive oil and add the garlic and chicken breasts along with salt and the chili and saute for 50 seconds and mix with the greens and your salad is ready after you drizzle it with the extra virgin olive oil and add the finely chopped parsley.

Have a healthy meal

Roasted garlic dressing

Roasted garlic dressing 

Don't you just love it when you accidentally discover a recipe which you immediately love and what more its a bonus when you tweak it to make it absolutely healthy. 

I am tired of vinaigrette. I mean I like a healthy low calorie dressing for my salads and the usual common easy option are different  vinaigrette and so I was browsing through Martha Stewart's website when I suddenly came across this Roasted Garlic dressing. Ah for a garlic lover such as myself I knew it was the right recipe but the original recipe had sour cream among other ingredients and so I tweaked it and had a fabulous salad . You can use this as a great dip as well.

Serves 1 to 2

200gm curd which you have to drain by hanging
1 head of garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt as per taste

For the salad :-

1 wedge of iceberg lettuce

Start by first hanging the curd to drain it of all the water. Preheat the oven to 200C and then take a foil and place your garlic head and lop off a bit from the bottom and pour the olive oil wrap the foil and roast for 40 minutes to 50 minutes. Once done let it cool down and squeeze out the creamy roasted garlic and smash it with a fork and then add the hung curd and whisk well and add salt.

Pour it over the ledge of iceberg lettuce for a delightful creamy garlicky meal

Balsamic Honey Paprika Bell Pepper Salad

Balsamic Honey Paprika Bell Pepper Salad 

For me a salad's success largely depends on the dressing. I don't mean that I would want my salad to be drenched in the dressing but a good dressing can definitely make a boring salad extremely delicious. 

I believe it is only balance alone which keeps everything in its place. Just like you vcan't simply keep on indulging in unhealthy fattening food you can't go on eating low calorie salads without a break. A break I did take last Saturday with an indulgent meal which included a cheese tart and brioche au chocolat so it was time for a nice healthy low calorie salad again . With a tangy sweet and sour dressing this salad is a keeper for me. The dressing is a classic one with a tiny twist

Serves 1

2 small tomatoes
Half a red bell pepper
Half an yellow bell pepper
1 tbsp dried cranberries
2 dried prunes

For the dressing

1 tsp honey
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp paprika
Salt as per taste
1/2 tsp finely chopped mint leaves

Chop your salad to make long stripes and chill it for 1 hour. Just before serving whisk together the ingredients mentioned in the dressing to create an emulsion and pour over your salad and enjoy this tangy sweet delight.

Poached Chicken Okra salad

Poached Chicken Okra salad

I love okra. Now usually we have them in a curry or fried and then there is this one Bengali dish where the okra is simply boiled with garlic and eaten . And then I wanted a fiery poached chicken with  a filling salad and wanted to use okra so this is what happened next

Serves 1 :-

1.5 cups torn iceberg lettuce
7 to 8 okras as fresh as possible
1 breast of chicken weighing 110 to 120 gm
2 cloves of garlic
A small piece of ginger
Green chilies as per taste - I used 3 of them because I knew I could handle the heat you can even use half a green chili
Salt as per taste
Pepper as per taste
1 tsp vinegar

For the vinaigrette dressing

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp finely chopped chives


Start with the okra. Bring a bowl of water to boil and add a bit of salt and the 1 tsp vinegar. Now lop off the heads and immerse the okra and boil for 3 minutes to 4 minutes. Take them out with a slotted spoon and plunge them in a bowl of ice cold water. This process prevents the okra from becoming slimy.

After 15 minutes tear the lettuce and drain the okra and chill them.

Now if you want a cold salad you might want to poach your chicken and chill it as well else you can add it at the last moment. Smash the ginger garlic and chilies and place them in a bowl, place the chicken breast , fill with enough water to just cover the chicken , add salt and bring to a boil and immediately lower heat cover and simmer for just about 2 minutes to 3 minutes and turn off the heat and let it be for another 2 minutes. Now take out the chicken and leave it to rest for 5 minutes and then slice em up.

To arrange the salad make a bed of the torn lettuce and arrange the okra and add salt and pepper then place the chicken breast on top and make your dressing by adding all the ingredients in a small bowl and whisking them till they emulsify and add it and enjoy a healthy meal. If you can take the heat you might want to add the chilies used for poaching with the salad

Poached Chicken salad with Plum Sauce

Poached Chicken salad with Plum Sauce 

I love salads and I love soft tender chicken breast and I love combining the two of them together but the major problem I have usually faced is getting a perfectly soft succulent chicken breast which is melt in the mouth and not stringy. I searched and followed many many tips until I hit upon the right recipe and there is this one crucial advice from my friend Claudia which helped me immensely. 

This post is not only about the salad but about the delightful plum sauce which makes for a wonderful tangy dressing.

Basically its very simple

Serves 1

What you need for poaching :-

1 breast of chicken weighing anywhere between 110gm to 120gm minus the bone
1 clove of garlic if the clove is fat or 2 cloves of garlic in case they are of the medium size
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp finely chopped spring onion
Enough water which covers the chicken
Salt as per taste
Freshly ground pepper

For the salad

1 cup of shredded iceberg lettuce
1 cup of bell peppers (A mixture of yellow bell pepper and red bell pepper)
1 small onion
1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh basil

For the plum sauce

The plum sauce serves 3 to 4

Now when I made this plum sauce I had a big bowl of leftover plum sauce and you can always store it in the refrigerator for 2 days to 3 days

4 to 5 medium sized red plums
3 cloves of garlic
1 onion
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp honey
Salt as per taste
Pinch of chili flakes

Start by chopping your vegetables for the salad and chilling it. Now make your plum sauce by grilling the plums, onion and garlic for 5 minutes on each side with a tray beneath the racks which collects all the jucie that bursts out. You can also use the Microwave cum grill mode for 6 minutes at 600W to cook the plums with garlic and onions.

Now wait for it to cool and skin the plums , garlic and onion and then blend it with the extra virgin olive oil, vinegar honey, salt and chili flakes.

For the chicken breast here are some important tips

Use the smallest possible pan to fit the breast in

Now add the garlic, thyme , salt and freshly ground pepper and cover it with water and bring to a boil and then simmer covered for exactly 2 minutes and then cover and walk away letting it cook in the steam for 5 minutes and then take out the chicken and wait for 5 minutes and then slice it. That's it soft succulent chicken breast

No simply arrange the vegetables, chicken with the plum sauce on top.

Peach Plum Tangy Salad

Peach Plum Tangy Salad 

To be fair there are people who love fruits and then there are people who do not. Well its not that simple, I know people who hate some fruits and love others. Well I fall under the simple category of people who love fruits. I love fruits and I especially like jazzing them up and using a nice fruit salad with some grilled meat.

Now I generally love fruits but there are some fruits which I adore and as it happens India which is so versatile offers such a range of fruits grown in the country itself it amazes me. So you have tropical fruits such as Mangoes, lichies etc then there is the winters when the markets are coloured orange with oranges from the hills but my personal favourite is the season of plums and peaches. It starts somewhere in June and continues to paint the markets peachy and a loving red wine colour till September.

I just love plump juicy peaches and plums and so here is a salad. The dressing is the icicng of the salad

Here is what you need for 1 serving

2 plump juicy peaches
2 to 4 plums depending on the size
1 tbsp finely chopped spring onion the green part

For the dressing

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pinch of salt

Slice the fruits and chill. Just whisk all the ingredients for the dressing together , add the chopped spring onion and serve with some grilled meat.

Never ever use the dressing and store the salad else it becomes soggy.

Mashed Fish salad

Mashed Fish salad 

I dedicate this recipe to my friend Surupa. Strange thing is you never know when you meet a beautiful human being.  This dear lady is someone who has encouraged me ever since I became an active member of a culinary group and to be fair there was something in the way she would write her sentences which made me look forward to her encouragement. After a while we quite obviously became friends and that is when I actually was glad to know someone as elegant as this lady. From the few photographs of hers I did see she was a lady who was gorgeously beautiful but behind that beautiful face and amazingly volumnious hair there is a witty, charming , compassionate person and one who sees beauty. I didn't ever tell her but those posts of Claude Monet's work always puts a smile on my face. So she posts a few pictures of some gorgeous dishes she has had from a newly opened cafe this morning and just by looking at them I suddenly was struck with my idea for lunch .

I knew it had to be something creamy and fishy but the only fish I had was the humble 'Pona' a fresh water fish with tiny needle like bones all over. I have always hated this fish with a passion because it neither has that exotic taste of some varieties of fish we get in this Eastern part of the country such as 'Tangra' 'Parshe' 'Gule' etc nor is it boneless but I suddenly knew what I wanted so begun the hanging, the chopping, the pounding, the boiling the mashing and I must say the result was quite nice. And the best part is it is 100% healthy and completely low calorie in nature.

So here is what you need for 2 servings :-

150gm to 200gm fish with bones or boneless
6 to 7 garlic cloves
 1 inch ginger
4 green chilies
1 large tomato and 1 small tomato
1 medium sized potato
1 onion
Chives 1 tsp
1 tsp xtra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp vinegar (any kind will do , I used Apple cider vinegar)
Juice of lemon (About 2 tsp)
200gm curd hung
Salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper

Hand the curd in a muslin cloth. Boil the potato. Cool it down and dice it in small pieces. Dice the tomatoes and onion and then chill them  .

Meanwhile skin the garlic and ginger and make a smooth paste of ginger garlic and green chilies and then boil the fish with as little water as possible along with the ginger garlic paste and 1 tsp vinegar . Boil the fish till all the water evaporates and the ginger garlic and chili stick to the fish . Now spread it out , discard the fat and mash it well with a fork and when cool enough to handle pick out the bones carefully. It will take a bit of time owing to the fine bones . Once the bones are taken out chill this as well. before serving simply add a squeeze of lemon juice to the fish and mash again and add it to the diced salad  and add salt, freshly ground pepper, extra virgin olive oil , chives and the hung curd and mix well and serve. It does taste quite nice.

Egg Potato Salad

Egg Potato Salad 

The best part about being part of some amazing virtual platforms is that you can never run out of inspiration when it comes to recipes . So Claudia , a wonderful chef posted about this boiled potato based Italian salad and I knew it had to be my lunch today. Its really simple and well I did adapt the recipe, so I substituted capers with stuffed olives and replaced the herbs with what I had at home  but the end result was delicious indeed.

Now potatoes are highly misunderstood. You see they are widely known as the reason for obesity but wake up and see the truth people. Its not the potato that is unhealthy but the method of cooking. So fry it and you pile on the pounds roast it or boil and you have a perfectly healthy food item. Of course it is a source of carbohydrate so ideally if you are taking potatoes you need not worry about extra intake of bread or rice or pasta etc 1 medium sized boiled potato contains about 211 calories. I used two small sized potatoes but they were not baby potatoes

So here goes a healthy salad which serves 1

2 small sized potatoes boiled and chilled
1 medium sized tomato
1 small sized onion
5 to 6 stuffed olives halved
1 tsp fresh onion green chopped finely
1 hard boiled egg cooled sliced and chilled
Sprinkle of paprika - I used 1/4th tsp you can use 1/2 tsp as well
1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp chives - I used dried ones
Fat pinch of oregano
Salt as per required

Simply slice them in circular patterns and chill but do not mix the salt, balsamic vinegar and oil from before. Before serving toss the chilled salad with the Extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sprinkle salt and serve. You have a healthy meal ready to be enjoyed.