Russian Salad

Russian salad is an easy to make salad recipe and is quite popular. I love this salad very much. Whenever I see it being served in any party/weddings I always think of preparing this at home. But unfortunately it never happened. Yesterday only I finally made it as all the required ingredients were available at home.

I heard some one saying also that this is actually not the original Russian salad and its just an indian Russian salad. Fact is we have many other international dishes in our own indianised version. So as far as the taste matters, we foodies are always ready to experiment and give twists and turns to our food.
So here is the very simple recipe of this yummilicious salad...

Ingredients:

French Bean: 4-5 numbers chopped
Carrot: 1 medium sized peeled & chopped
Potato: 1 medium sized peeled & chopped
Peas: 1/4 cup
Apple: 1 small sized chopped
Pineapple: 3-4 slices chopped (I used the canned pineapple)
Mayonnaise: 2 tbsp.
Cream: 1 tbsp.
salt to taste
Black pepper: 1 tsp
Honey: 1 tsp (you can replace with sugar also)


Directions:

Pressure cook the chopped vegetables and the peas with some salt and keep aside (1 or 2 whistles should be enough). Chop the fruits almost of same size of the vegetables and keep aside.

Mix the fruits and vegetables in a bowl and keep aside.

In a mixing bowl, take the mayonnaise & cream and mix them well till they gets a smooth consistency, and not a runny one. Now into this sauce add all the cooked vegetables & fruits. Add some salt, black pepper powder and honey  & combine everything well.

Now your delicious salad is ready. Serve it chilled.

 

Boiled kidney beans salad with salsa my way

On weekends we mostly go out, sometimes for work, sometimes for movie, shopping , take out the kid for her play session etc. And we end up eating outside dinner or a lunch which I am sure most of us do, and as obvious it is not at all guilt-free. So I always make sure to balance that extra kilos I put on once every weekend by eating salad with very less oil/without oil, soup, grilled chicken/veggies etc. And trust me it makes me really feel lighter and there is always a feel good factor. This Saturday, after the sinful intake from outside , I decided to make this boiled kidney bean salad with salsa. Very healthy very light , this salad will surely help those weight-watchers. The salsa took up the salad to another level. Mind-blowingly tasty .. Salsa/Salsa dip is made in different ways as I have seen/read in different forums/internet. This one I did with some mix-match creative way. You must try this too and I am sure it will not disappoint you.

Ingredients:

Kidney beans/rajma : 1/2 cup soaked in water overnight (I used the small sized beans)
Tomato: 1 large sized blanched peeled and chopped finely
Onion: 1 medium sized chopped finely
Green chilli: 1-2 chopped
Green bell pepper: 1 small sized roasted and chopped finely (I roasted it over the gas with a fork inserted on it)
Fresh coriander: 2-3 tbsp. finely chopped
Salt to taste
Black pepper powder: 1 tsp
Vinegar: 1tsp




Directions:

Pressure-cook the kidney beans to 3-4 whistles. Let the pressure gets released on its own. Remember that we do not need to over-cook them. Once cooked, strain the water and keep aside.

To make the salsa:

In a mixing bowl, add all the above ingredients except the kidney beans. Combine them all very nicely and your fresh, healthy, low-fat and easy to make at home salsa is ready.
(This salsa can be eaten with grilled veggies, tacos, burritos, baked potatoes, bread, grilled chicken salad, paneer etc. So you can always make it and keep it in refrigerator for using)

Now in the ready salsa, add the boiled kidney beans, mix them nicely and enjoy this super healthy guilt-free salad.

 

Healthy chickpeas salad loaded with veggies

While we indulge on the home made rich food & sweet dishes sometimes, need to check on my family's health & my sugar level as well. So I go a soup salad way and a very simple meal for the husband and my girl for lunch/dinner few days of the week. This chickpeas salad with veggies is so simple to assemble and you can have at any time of the day and it will keep your stomach full for a longer duration. You can do few variation by replacing chickpeas with cooked rajma/kidney beans of different types.

Ingredients:

Cooked chickpeas: 1 cup
Onion: 1 small chopped
Red, green & yellow bell pepper: half cup chopped
Cucumber: 3-4 tbsp. chopped
Tomato: 1 small chopped
Salt to taste
Amchur powder: 1tsp
Juice of one small lime
Chopped Fresh coriander

How to assemble:

Soak the chickpeas overnight and cook the chickpeas in a pressure cooker up to 2-3 whistles or till it cooks. Remember not to overcook  the chickpeas. In a mixing bowl add all the above ingredients and mix well. Now sprinkle the chopped coriander.  You can have it this way or keep in the refrigerator and serve cold.


 

My version of Simple healthy grilled chicken salad

Time for some healthy food! Sometimes I like to have soups, sprouts & salad in my dinner (of course for the husband and little girl I cook a proper meal) as these make me and my tummy feel so light and good.
Last night I thought of having a bowl of non-veg salad with available ingredients at home. Perfect way to end your day with a balanced and healthy diet

Ingredients:

Boneless Chicken Breast piece: 200 gms
Garlic paste: 2 tbsp.
Red, yellow & green capsicum : Half of each cut into cubes
Mushrooms: 9-10 roughly chopped
Salt to taste
Balsamic Vinegar: 1 tbsp.
Soya Sauce: 1 tbsp.
Black pepper powder: 2tsp
Crushed black pepper: 1/2 tsp
Olive oil: 2 tbsp

Method:

Wash the chicken fillets properly. Marinate with salt, 1 tsp pepper powder, crushed pepper, 1 tbsp. garlic paste, 1/2 tbsp. of balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tbsp. of soya sauce, 1 tbsp. of oil and keep in the refrigerator for 20-25 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, take the chopped capsicums & mushrooms . Same marination as the chicken ones. Add remaining 1 tbsp. garlic paste, salt, 1/2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tbsp. soya sauce, 1 tsp black pepper powder, 1 tbps oil and keep aside for 5 minutes. Heat a non-stick pan and stir fry these marinated veggies by tossing them continuously for about say 5-7 minutes. Transfer them to a bowl and keep aside.

Heat the grill pan (you can grill in your oven as well) and brush a very little olive oil on the pan. Take out the marinated chicken and grill them in  the pan till they get cook with golden brown marks of the grill pan on them. Once cooked, keep the chicken to get cool. Cut the chicken fillets into long strips /shreds and mix with the cooked veggies. Do check for the seasoning before serving.

Enjoy this power grilled chicken salad and feel happy & healthy .

If you prefer to have vegetarian version of this salad, use tofu or paneer instead of chicken following the same procedure.
 

Pasta Salad no oil no butter - tried & tested

We all love to eat pasta no doubt about it! But this particular pasta recipe was not what I exactly wanted to make. Last year Diwali, we had invited friends over dinner and there when I invented this recipe. Actually I wanted to bake the pasta after mixing all ingredients for our guests' two little girls and mine too. And then at the end of all the other preparations , I was running short of time even to put the pasta into the oven. Then I thought of serving it this way only with some mix and match tricks.. Yes I tested it before serving and it was just so good  to eat. Most importantly the guests liked it & their little girls as well.
Its a simple pasta salad which you can feed your kids as evening snack or you can pack this in their lunch boxes to school. My little girl likes to carry pasta in her tiffin.

 

 

Ingredients:

Farfalle Pasta : 2 cups (You can use any type of pasta)
Red, yellow & Green Bell peppers : 3/4 cup
Corn: 2 tbsp.
Tomato sauce: 1 tbsp.
Mayonnaise: 1 1/2 tbsp.
Mustard sauce: 1 tbsp.
Grated Cheese (processed cheddar cheese): 2 tbsp. or u can always use cheese cubes in this
Roughly chopped some basil leaves
Pinch of salt

Method:

Boil the pasta in a deep pan with a pinch of salt. Put the gas off as soon as the pasta gets cooked. Do not allow to over cook the pasta, it should have little crunchiness in it when you eat. Strain the water in a strainer and keep under running tape water to stop further cooking process of the pasta.

Chop all the bell peppers into small cubes. In a mixing bowl add the bell peppers, corns (you can use boiled corns if your kid doesn't like it raw) and mix well. In case if you want to use cheese cubes , you can add now. Add the tomato sauce, mayonnaise, mustard sauce into this and mix properly. Add the boiled pasta into the mixture, add the roughly chopped basil leaves and give a nice mix. Transfer this mixture to a bowl and spread the grated cheese on the mixture and mix. Now the salad is ready to serve.

To make a variety of this salad and if your kid is fond of eating chicken, you can add boiled shredded chicken pieces with this or diced cooked mushrooms also...

Try this at home for your kids and for yourself as well and enjoy.