A salad is a dish consisting of small pieces of food,
which may be mixed with a sauce or salad dressing. Salads can incorporate a variety
of foods including vegetables, fruits, cheese, cooked meat, eggs and grains. Some of the common types of salads include bean salad, tuna salad, fattoush, Greek
salad.The sauce used to flavor a salad is
commonly called salad dressing and well-known types of salad dressing includes
ranch, Thousand Island, and vinaigrette.Most
salads are served cold, although some, such as south German potato salad, are served warm. Salads may be
served at any point during a meal, such as:
- Appetizer salads, light salads to stimulate the appetiter as the first course of the meal.
- Side salads, to accompany the main course as a side dish.
- Main course salads, usually containing a portion of heartier fare, such as chicken breast or slices of beef.
- Dessert salads, sweet versions often containing fruit, gelatin and/or whipped cream.
There are
various types of salads available such as
- Green salad or garden salad which is most often composed of leafy vegetables such as lettuce varieties, spinach, or rocket (arugula). Due to their low caloric density, green salads are considered a common diet food. The salad leaves may be cut or torn into bite-sized fragments and tossed together (called a tossed salad), or may be placed in a predetermined arrangement (a composed salad). They are often adorned with garnishes such as nuts or croutons.
- In Vegetable
salad, vegetables other than greens may be used in a salad. Common raw
vegetables used in a salad include cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes,
onions, spring onions, red onions, carrots, celery,
and radishes. Other ingredients, such as mushrooms, avocado, olives, hard
boiled egg, artichoke hearts, heart of palm, roasted red bell peppers, green beans, croutons, cheeses, meat (e.g. bacon, chicken),
or seafood (e.g.tuna, shrimp), are
sometimes added to salads.
- Bound salad can be composed or (arranged) or tossed (put in a bowl and mixed with a thick dressing). They are assembled with thick sauces such as mayonnaise. One portion of a true bound salad will hold its shape when placed on a plate with an ice-cream scoop. Examples of bound salad include tuna salad, pasta salad, chicken salad, egg salad, and potato salad. Bound salads are often used as sandwich fillings. They are popular at picnics and barbecues, because they can be made ahead of time and refrigerated.
- Main course salads also known as "dinner salads and commonly known as "entrée salads" in North America) may contain grilled or fried chicken pieces, seafood such as grilled or fried shrimp or a fish steak such as tuna, mahi-mahi, or salmon or sliced steak, Caesar salad, Chef salad, Cobb salad, Greek salad, Chinese chicken salad and Michigan salad are dinner salads.
- Fruit salads are made of fruit, and include the fruit cocktail that can be made fresh or from canned fruit.
- Dessert salads rarely include leafy greens and are often sweet. Common variants are made with gelatin or whipped cream; e.g. jello salad, pistachio salad, and ambrosia. Other forms of dessert salads include snickers salad, glorified rice, and cookie salad popular in parts of the Midwestern United States.
- Composed salad is a salad arranged on a plate rather than put into a bowl. It can be used as a meal in itself rather than as a part of a meal.
Sauces for salads are often called
"dressings". The concept of salad dressing varies across cultures.In
Western culture, there are two basic types of salad dressing:
- Vinaigrette is a mixture of salad oil and vinegar, often flavored with herbs, spices, salt, pepper, sugar, and other ingredients. It is also used as a sauce or marinade.
- Creamy dressings, usually based on mayonnaise or fermented milk products, such as yogurt, sour cream (crème fraîche, smetana),buttermilk.
In North America,
mayonnaise-based Ranch dressing is most popular, with vinaigrettes
and Caesar-style dressing following close behind. Traditional dressings in
France are vinaigrettes, typically mustard-based, while sour cream (smetana) and mayonnaise are predominant in
eastern European countries and Russia. In Denmark, dressings are often based on crème
fraîche. In southern Europe, salad is generally dressed by the diner with olive
oil and vinegar.In Asia, it is common to add sesame oil, fish
sauce, citrus juice, or soy sauce to salad dressings.
Today’s
fast paced lives leaves most people with little time to sit down to a meal
leave alone about what they eat in that meal. Meals are gobbled on the go, with
no regard to their nutritive content. Salads add crunch, freshness and vitality
to a meal. A bowlful of this salad is low in calories but high in carbohydrates, antioxidants and Omega-3
fatty acids……. perfect for a healthy living and lifestyle.
Ingredients
- Raw papaya- 1 cup grated
- Carrot-1 grated
- 4 -5 black olives
- 4-5 green olives
- 1/4 cup cheese cubes
- ¼ cup dry roasted peanuts
- ¼ cup of green gram sprouts
- Brown bread toast
- Mint leaves for garnish
For the salad Dressing
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp freshly crushed pepper
- 11/2 tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp chopped garlic
- 1 tbsp honey
- salt to taste
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Method:
- Dry roast peanuts in a pan, crush them, and keep them aside.
- Grate the papaya and carrots , refrigerate till required for use.
- Combine the lemon juice, pepper corn, honey, salt and olive oil to make the salad dressing.
- Cut the brown breads and toast them and keep aside.
- Just before serving, add the salad dressing to the grated papaya and carrot and toss.
- Add the sprouts, roasted peanuts and bread toast to it and toss well.
- Pour extra virgin olive oil on top , sprinkle a little chilly flakes .
- Garnish with mint leaves and serve immediately.
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