Bean sprouts salad

Abroad, salads now form a part of every meal almost. People are getting conscious of their eating habits. For us in India, salad generally means kosambri/ Koshimbir, raita or cut veggies like carrot, tomato, cucumber etc. The same salad on daily basis gets boring. So I keep searching for different
types of salad recipes. On sunday, I was very excited to find bean sprouts in my veggie store. I think you can make this at home too, but I've never tried to get the sprouts to grow so thick. Anyway, it was very cheap and I remembered a yummy bean sprout salad I had in a restaurant buffet. Although I don't know their exact recipe, I decided to try something out. The try was successful, and gave us a tasty salad for dinner...

Ingredients:

Bean sprouts - 2 cups
Capsicum - 1/2 (Optional)
Coriander leaves - a handful
Baby spinach - a handful (Optional)
Sunflower seeds/ Peanuts/ Pinenuts - 2 tbsp (Optional)

For dressing:

Garlic - 1 clove
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Dark soy sauce - 1 tsp
Lime juice - 2 tbsp
Honey - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Onion powder - 1/2 tsp (Optional)
Pepper powder- 1 tsp
Celery salt (Can use regular salt, I used this as I had it)

Method:

Wash and drain the bean sprouts
Cut the capsicum into fine juliennes and add to bean sprouts
Finely chop the coriander and the baby spinach and add to the bean sprouts.
Roast the sunflower seeds in a pan for 1-2 minutes, until they turn a light brown and keep aside to be added later. You may use any nuts like peanuts, pinenuts, almonds or skip nuts altogether
For the dressing, heat the olive oil in a pan and fry finely chopped garlic in it until the garlic turns brown.
Pour out the oil into a bowl and add the dark soy sauce, lime juice, salt, sugar, honey, onion powder and pepper powder.
I used dark soy sauce because that was what I had. Any soy sauce can be used.
I used sugar along with the honey because the honey did not cut through the acidity of the dressing up to my liking. You can skip the sugar and increase the amount of honey or reduce the amount of lime juice. The dressing should have a mild sweet taste without being overpowering.
Mix the dressing well.
Spoon the dressing on the salad and add the sunflower seeds on top.

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Kochhidu moolangi salad | Mooli salad | Radish salad

Crunchy, Peppery, Sharp - That's how I describe this Radish Salad made using both the root and the leaves.

What have you been upto this week? Me, I've been gardening a little.

Tomatoes are blooming, I see 2-3 juicy ones in the future. But today, was the day to harvest the Mooli (Daikon or Moolangi). I was surprised at how easy and low maintenance Mooli. Just throw in the seeds and stop worrying about them. Wait until they pop out of the ground, and they are ready to be harvested. Two lovely white moolis were peeking out of the soil in my pot. So harvest them, I did. 

Whatever I've grown in my little balcony garden, I've tried to celebrate those vegetables. Home grown vegetables are so fresh and tasty, they need to be celebrated. Hence, this healthy awesome crunchy salad that uses the root as well as the leaves. Waste nothing my friend. And this salad needs the leaves, it taste absolutely nothing like what it should without those peppery leaves. If you cannot find Mooli with the leaves attached to them, I suggest using any other peppery leaves like Arugula. 

This is my Grandmother's recipe and one knows Grandmothers are rarely wrong when it comes to food. I've never been too fond of daikon or Moolangi (Mooli), but this Salad is one that I will never refuse. 

This Mooli Salad is not a salad that can be had for lunch or dinner on its own like Caesars salad. This is more like an accompaniment to a meal. Give me a plate of rice and dal and this salad makes an amazing side with its crunch and freshness.

If you liked this, you may also like:

• Kosambri - Simple salad made using cucumbers and soaked moong dal. Serve as an accompaniment with a full meal.
• Mooli Palak Sabzi - Rajasthani sabzi made with the mooli root and palak leaves. 

Kochhidu Moolangi Salad | Mooli Salad | Radish Salad

Fresh salad made from finely chopped daikon radish or mooli and its leaves.

Recipe Type:  Salad
Cuisine:            South Indian
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Yield:                Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

2 Daikon Radish or Mooli or Moolangi
Daikon leaves or Mooli ke patte or Moolangi Soppu
2-3 dry Red Chilli
2 tsp Oil
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
Salt to taste

Method:

Break off the leaves of the mooli and wash nicely
Chop the leaves finely
Peel the mooli and cut it finely.
Mix the leaves, mooli and salt.
Heat the oil and add mustard seeds.
Once they splutter, add the red chillies to the oil and fry for 30 seconds.
Add this tempering to the salad and mix well

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