Spring in a bowl!

While describing a dish she had in F9, Priya use this phrase, and it hasn’t left my mind since then. And she promptly forgot the name of the dish, thus eliminating our chances of finding out what it is, and exposing us to a lifetime of experimentation with all the dishes on their menu.

Since then , I’ve been imagining how spring in a bowl would taste like, and what ingredients would go into it. Last night as I was returning from office, all tired and worn out , wondering what to eat for dinner, this phrase sprang up in my mind. En route home, I stopped at a grocery store, and picked up the veggies that I thought would create spring in my bowl.

Rummaging through my fridge, I found some mint chutney, and lo, the dressing was born. Entirely out of my instinct. Turns out, it was good, coz the salad was indeed spring in a bowl.

Ever since I discovered dried cranberries and walnuts, and their taste when drenched in honey and lemon juice, they have been regulars in my salads. So I added those too in addition to the veggies. And that extra crunch in my salad was provided by by the toasted pieces of brown bread.

I put up the entire salad in less than 30 min, right from cutting the veggies to assembling the dressing. If you don’t have mint chutney at hand, you’ll need 5 min more, that’s all. You can use any veggies you like for the salad, and add some greens and tofu for protein and more nutrients. As always, use this as a template, and innovate! :)

Ingredients

For the salad
Broccoli – 1 C, cut in florets
Zucchini – 1 medium sized, cut in inch-sized pieces
Cherry tomatoes – 1 C
Cucumbers – 1 C, cut in inch-sized pieces
Dried Cranberries – 1 C
Walnuts – 1/4 C, chopped
Brown bread – 3 slices, cut in inch size pieces, toasted

For the Mint Chutney
Mint leaves – 1 C, washed and chopped
Green chilli – 1
Garlic cloves – 1-2
Ginger – 1 inch piece, chopped
Salt – To taste

For the dressing
Mint chutney – 1 Tbsp
Honey – 2 Tbsp
Lemon – Juice from half a lemon
Salt – To taste

Instructions

Prepare the mint chutney by mixing all the ingredients together in a mixer jar.

Prepare the dressing by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl.

Ina large salad bowl, toss the veggies, croutons cranberries and walnuts along with the dressing.

Serve with a juice for a complete meal.