Tuesday, June 19, 2007

A Liteness of Being

When Coffee announced MBP’s theme is Going Lite, several thoughts came to my mind: At last, I can finally buy the stuff but justify the expense as going towards a good cause and make that flourless cake with an expensive pound of ground almonds and orange and pass it off as a somewhat low-carb version; I can finally make use of the nice, thick, glass cake dish I just bought at a 30 per cent off sale; I can use the slowly rotting plums in my refrigerator to make a crumble using up some more of the sturdy oats in my larder …

Then I noticed some channa/chickpeas that were somewhere in the inner recesses of the shelf and I decided to take another shot at salad – I am usually disappointed with my own attempts as the dressing never seems to come together. My friend was coming to lunch so that was motivation enough. It gave me a chance to use up some vegetables from my cornucopious fridge as well. And that was the perfect excuse to boil up some wholewheat pasta and tomato-basil sauce and bake some garlicky potatoes and have ourselves a feast. And another new acquisition from the sale, a pudding bowl, could double up as a salad bowl! I do realize the meal went way past the Going Lite theme but that was lunch, not a theme party, so I suppose we can skip the guilt this time. I’m presenting just the genuinely lite dish here. MBP, here I come!



This salad is inspired by Kalyn’s Kitchen. I didn’t have/use many of the vegetables she mentioned, nor the lime juice, nor the carrot, so I used some dill-chilli vinegar, red pepper and zucchini instead. I wasn’t able to print Kalyn’s recipe, so I just worked from memory and this is what I came up with:

Dry channa/chickpeas/garbanzo: 2 cups, soaked overnight and cooked
Zucchini – Half of a big one, diced small
Red pepper – 2, cut into small pieces

Dressing:
Vinegar – 3 tbsp
Olive oil – 3 tbsp
Garlic – 5 cloves, minced as fine as possible
Cumin/jeera powder – 1 tsp
Chilli powder – ½ tsp
Salt, to taste

Steep garlic and the other spices in a mixture of vinegar and oil for some time.

Put all the vegetables in a salad bowl, add dressing, mix, let chill in the refrigerator.



It wasn’t too bad for me, my friend loved it and praise be to God, it didn’t last beyond a day in my refrigerator because I had the brains to take it to work, where my colleagues too liked it. I’m hoping you will, too!

39 comments:

  1. Hi Sra,

    it seems..ur on counting down ur weight series very seriously;-) did I confuse u. Anyways..ur dish looks too good and sounds very very healthy.Thanks for sharing.I think even I will go in ur lines soon...just not empting the kitchen pantry but getting on good diet:-)) Lets see!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very colorful.I would skip chilli pd and it would taste yummy.I didn't know you get Zucchinis in India!
    Great entry sra.Can't wait until the round up:))

    ReplyDelete
  3. lovely color, that chole red pepper combo looks yummy :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. what about it did you not like, sra? it looks great.

    ReplyDelete
  5. lovely salad. If you add some raw mango pieces, it would taste great.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I like the sound of your variation very much! I'm happy to have been the inspiration for such a lovely sounding salad.

    ReplyDelete
  7. ok.. Where is the pasta, 'garlicky' potatoes.. Its not fair not to post their pictures too!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hahahaha flour less cake!!!!!!!

    Thanks for the lovely entry Sra. :) I wantt o make this at the earliest. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Very simple and hearty meal I think. Picture also looks good, will definitely try and let you know.

    ReplyDelete
  10. LOL, Meena! Yes, I'm determined to do both, best of luck to you too!
    Asha, the chilli was not prominent at all. You do get zucchini, in the cities.
    Richa, thank you!
    Bee, somehow my dressings never seem to seep into the veggies! This was okay, though
    Sharmi, would you believe it, it's high summer and I haven't got the raw mangoes I like till now!
    Kalyn, thank you!
    Suganya, I've posted the pic now!
    Coffee, am trying to send you the photo but some glitch, will do later!
    Lata, thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I would like to make this salad.It is looking gr8 :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. heyeee..thats some cool salad..i mean, it looks like 'less work more taste' kinds...;-)..my kind of dish..:-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Looks good! Really good.
    This liteness is bearable :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. although salad looks gr8 and i am sure i too will love it, i want the garlic potato recipe girl:) the pasta with salad and potatoes looks gr8:)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi!
    The salad looks good!!!Nice entry for the MBP event!

    ReplyDelete
  16. The salad sounds great, Sra!! I'm not able to see the pictures on your blog, is it only me?? Do you use flickr?

    Hope you share the garlic potatoes recipe with us...

    ReplyDelete
  17. Lite never looked and tasted so good. Yummmm.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Mmmm...I feel it, you surely have become lighter...can chiuck the gym now ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Archana, now how do I reply to you in SMS? Tks.
    Santhi, yes, if you don't consider cutting the veggies work.
    Thanks, Cooker! Kundera would like it, you think?
    Sia, you will get it!
    Hi Usha, thanks for stopping by!
    Jyothsna, yes, I'm using flickr. Does your country of residence not permit it? Or is it Blogger at work?
    Cynthia, that's v generous of you, thanks.
    Sandeepa, I didn't - I checked in gym today! :(

    ReplyDelete
  20. Please go back to my blog and confess....would really love to hear about your confession

    ReplyDelete
  21. going lite seems anice excuse to stuff up on the yummy looking salad..a variation of our chaat!

    ReplyDelete
  22. oh, this one looks so fresh and healthy!!! thanx for he salad recipe :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. I wonder if Kundera ever had cumin. Your dressing sounds perfect, Sra. Sometimes, if a dressing just misses the mark, I add a bit more vinegar or lemon or lime juice, and that does the trick.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hi Sra,
    first time at your blog stubled from Coffee's blog. nice collection of recipes loved the lite collection.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Sandeepa, have done so ;)
    Mallugirl, quite, quite different from chat, but i get what u mean
    RAmya, thank you!
    Susan, will keep that tip in mind, thanks
    Roopa, thank you for stopping by. glad u liked them

    ReplyDelete
  26. Looks yummy! Is that plantain I see in the plate?

    Paz (getting excited)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Sra, looks like you are a girl on a mission with all these eating healthy stuff... good to see that you enjoyed some garlicky potatoes too... ;)
    Salad looks yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  28. This looks beautiful Sra, as do the malabar spinach stems! Very light and bright -- makes me want a plate of both now :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Hi SRA, what a healthy recipe. Looks lovely and delicious. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Paz, thanks. that's baked potatoes but v likely you'll see a plantain dish in the next two weeks. Wait and watch!
    Sig, mission, definitely, let's see if I sustain the momentum
    Linda, thanks, what are you waiting for!
    Jyothi, thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Channa and red pepper looks colourful and seems like a good combo too. A nice and lite entry fot the MBP

    ReplyDelete
  32. Hi sra, it looks yummy. Sometimes you need to keep your plate lite. Nice entry too. Viji

    ReplyDelete
  33. so colorful and light, perfect for the sunny sumer days!

    ReplyDelete
  34. The salad definitely looks lite, bright and healthy...what more can one possibly want...

    ReplyDelete
  35. chick peas and red pepper!! excellent combination....

    ReplyDelete
  36. Prema, thanks.
    Viji, I need to keep my plate lite all the time :)
    Mandira, thanks, yes.
    Sunita, thanks.
    Poonam, thanks for stopping by!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Hey everyone!
    I'm the friend mentioned in this post who loved it and she's quite right too.
    The last time I went over for a meal, she outdid herself with this mouthwatering prawn curry that had me drooling bigtime.
    This post has been put up for a nefarious purpose: I'm hoping that all of you who read this will bombard her for the recipe so that I can then make it!

    ReplyDelete
  38. Suze, did you want the other recipes as well? You know how we made the pasta :) and I will post the potatoes soon!

    ReplyDelete
  39. WOW! what a lovely, colourful salad! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete

I moderate all my comments. So if you're a human spammer or a bot that can understand this warning, buzz off, don't waste your time here spamming.