Fresh, local, seasonal: Summer salads with a desi twist

Khamang Kakdi Greek Yogurt Salad

Who: Ragini Kashyap
 

Ragini is a development professional who now devotes most of her time to her three greatest loves: food, history and education. A culinary historian, she runs Third Culture Cooks, creating a number of culinary experiences for people, from pop-ups to podcasts, to help them reflect on the food they eat. At present, she’s based in Vancouver, Canada, studying and eating her way through the movement of the Indian diaspora through her project To Desi, From Desh.
 

Food philosophy: For Ragini, it’s about being open and curious with new flavours and ingredients and the cultures they come from. She believes that you can understand people better by learning the story behind what they eat.
 

The inspiration behind the recipe: “This delightful summer salad is a play on the traditional Maharashtrian Khamang Kakdi, enhanced with the creaminess of Greek yoghurt, and the crunch of fried garlic. It is healthy and indulgent and makes for a great, quick summer lunch. Crunchy cucumber, roasted peanut and the zing of chilli give this plenty of flavour, without any of the fuss! Make sure to use a good quality ghee, as it does add to the flavour. And preferably Greek yoghurt, which is thicker and has more protein as compared to regular yoghurt. If you use regular yoghurt, this will be more of a raita, and less of a salad!” (Instructions for home-made Greek yogurt included in the recipe).

Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cup Greek yoghurt*
• 2 cup cucumber, chopped finely
• 2/3 cup crushed roasted peanuts
• 2/3 cup chopped coriander
• 1 green chilli, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 onion, sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 6 garlic cloves, sliced 
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 4 tbsp grated coconut

Tadka Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp Ghee
• 1 tsp mustard seeds/rai
• 2 dried red chillies
• 10 curry leaves

Chakotre Ki Kachmoli

Who: Sanskriti Bist

Sanskriti is a Bangalore-based food stylist and photographer. A communication graduate, tells stories through food and imagery, sharing recipes, cookbook reviews, musings and more on her blog.

Food philosophy: Sanskriti’s food philosophy is simple: she loves to eat seasonal, regional and make everything from scratch with good-quality ingredients!

Inspiration behind the recipe: “This recipe defines my mother’s childhood while growing up in Dehradun. She spent her childhood and all of her teens in Dehradun with her great-grandmother. They used to have a large garden behind the house that was filled with pomelo and litchi trees. She and her cousins would pluck pomelos (chakotra) and make a kachmoli (crushed salad) with it and sit in the sunny veranda, enjoying it with the rest of the family. This is a dish still so prevalent in Dehradun.”

Recipe
 

Ingredients:

• 1 pomelo
• 2 tbsp pisyun lun (Pahadi flavoured salt; recipe below)
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 2-3 tbsp mustard oil
   

Method:

• Peel the pomelo, remove the white pith and the seeds.
• Then make pisyun lun: take a handful of garlic leaves, handful of coriander, 2 green chillies and chop them. Add 2 tsp of rock salt to the chopped mixture and grind it on a silbatta or in a mixer to make a fine paste.
• In a bowl add the peeled pomelo, sugar, chilli powder, pisyun lun and mustard oil.
• Serve fresh and eat it in the sun!

Watermelon & Matki Salad with a Basil-mint Dressing

Who: Keertida Phadke

Keertida is a trained plant-based chef from The Natural Gourmet Institute in New York. She's the co-founder of 'better', a gourmet plant-based food brand that makes all-natural, preservative-free spreads, tofu and crisps. Prior to this, she conceptualised and ran a modern vegetarian restaurant in Pune and also spent time at Nix, a Michelin-starred vegetarian in NYC. 

Food philosophy: Keertida believes food is the core of one's physical and emotional wellbeing, both of which are highly important in today's stressful environment. But she also knows that when healthy food comes at the cost of taste, it’s unlikely to sustain in the long run. Good-for-you gourmet is at the heart of her philosophy.

Inspiration behind the recipe: “Inspiration is everywhere, particularly in my family which is filled with great cooks and gourmands. 

Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups watermelon, deseeded and cubed
• 1/2 cup Matki, sprouted
• 1 tbsp  Peanuts
   

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup (25-30 leaves), Mint 
• 1/4 cup (5-9 leaves), Basil
• 1 tbsp Lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp Jeera, toasted and crushed
• 1/4 tsp Sugar
• 1/4 tsp Chili flakes
• Salt, to taste
   

To Garnish:

• 8-12 leaves, Mint