salad for lunch : water chestnut, corn, peanuts and mung sprouts...



Gluten free meals are not difficult to follow. I use the seasonal produce to stir up salads and one pot meals and these are always full of flavours. Seasonal produce brings all the taste into a simple dish, even if it is cooked in a very simple way. This fresh water chestnut (water caltrop, singhada or paniphal) salad with mung sprouts, sweet corn kernels and peanuts is such a tasty meal that you will try to recreate it even for quick tea time snacks to share with friends.

Making a textural delight, a medley of flavors. Colorful too but not bursting with pigments, at least in the pictures here. I would have loved a lot of chopped green coriander to lift the salad to another level. There are some days we have to make do without any leafy greens, when a trip to market has been a long time and you have just those staples in the fridge. Do add a lot of any fresh herb you like to this salad and let it become a mood uplifting experience...otherwise too you wouldn't be disappointed.

It made our weekend breakfast about a couple of months ago when i had just returned form the journey to the mountains, all exhausted and sleepy. So quick fixes were the order of the day. Water chestnuts were new seasonal arrivals then and being the favorite snack of the husband they became a welcome addition to this salad. Otherwise we like snacking on this wonderful fruit/nut fresh or boiled. We just love sitting around a newspaper spread out to collect all the tough skin when we peel water chestnuts and eat them straight away. Some tough ones are reserved for boiling as they taste better that way.

This salad uses boiled water chestnuts chopped roughly to make them bite sized. The peeled water chestnuts can be refrigerated for about a week and i used just that, microwaved to cook for 2 minutes.

ingredients....
(2 breakfast or lunch servings)

about 10 water chestnuts
1.5 cup or sweet corn kernels
1.5 cup of mung sprouts
1/2 cup of roasted peanuts
3/4 cup of diced red onion
salt and pepper to taste
chaat masala to taste (i use minimal as i do not like chaat masala much)
finely minced green chillies 1/4 tsp or to taste ( optional)
1 tsp of lemon juice
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil or mustard oil

preparation...

Cook the water chestnuts and corn kernels in microwave separately 2 minutes each.

Mix the oil, lemon juice, chaat masala, minced green chillies, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl . Add the diced onion to it and let it rest till the water chestnuts and corn kernels cook.

Mix everything together, adjust seasonings and serve immediately.

As i said , the salad is rich in textures. The crunchy peanuts, the soft boiled water chestnuts and the fresh crunch of mung sprouts and sweet corn , all having their own different taste and the sharp red onions doused in lemon juice provide an interesting kick to it. Adjust green chillies if the onions are too sharp.

Chaat masala is minimal in my case but most people want a lot of it. Adjust the level of chaat masala for your own palate, it is addictive for some people.

Such rich textured yummy salads are addictive for me. The husband likes all such salads too, the only condition is, he needs to be in a relaxed mood to relish it...i can have it any time. Mostly a lunch salad for me.

Can you imagine a dessert with fresh water chestnuts?

Stay tuned :)

Comments

  1. I LOVE THISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

    but hey lunch ka chodho its dinner time now :) so what do i get he he he ehe he

    Bikram's

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  2. na... I am actually weary of tasting that ! most ingredients I dont like... so a pass by me ! :P

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  3. @ Hitchwriter ..i know many a salad haters anyways and this one was to tempt one of them.
    For you i guess, if you exclude the mung sprouts and water chestnut and include a lot of noodles to it you would be a happy soul:)

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  4. very truly a delicious refreshing and healthy salad.
    indu srinivasan
    kattameethatheeka.blogspot.com

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  5. I love salads coz one can play around so much with ingredients and dressings...love the combination of the ingredients in your salad - tasty and healthy.

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  6. another healthy salad never eaten fresh water chestnuts

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  7. Oh...am missing chestnuts in Chennai. Got to eat them in Udaipur, love the raw green ones more. And the salad is surely a wonderful healthy treat!

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  8. Hi Sangeeta, thanks for your comment on my blog. but elo jhelo is not similar to jibegaja. check this for jibe gaja recipe.
    http://ahomemakersdiary.blogspot.com/2011/01/jibe-gaja-or-bengali-fried-pastry.html

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  9. Good ... this is an innovative mix of all the ingredients we eat seperately as a matter of routine... ab sab mix karke khaayenge :)

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  10. Dont know about chestnuts,i think we dont get them here,never saw them here in hyd.Love the salad...

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