I am honoured to be the guest on Asha’s blog Food Fashion Party today. I have known about her for the longest time but it since it has also taken me the longest time to get on social media, getting to her know closely as taken considerable time. My bad! Today I consider her a good friend. I may have never met her but she lifts my spirits when I feel down and is truly a daily inspiration.
For any Indian (or any nationality) reading this, will relate when I say how torn I feel being far away from my roots and where I finally decided to lay down my hat. It is a daily struggle. Asha’s recipes and stories make me feel closer to what is/was familiar. Her recipes invoke deep emotions of longing for a country and people that I have left behind. That is a powerful thing to do to anyone.
I love her pictures and the rich color she portrays. I think thats what she probably brings to anyone she touches in any way.
This salad is a version of what my mom has made for us since I can remember. It is a kachumbar (finely cut) salad and it is hugely popular in India. It is fresh and delicious. It brings back memories of hot summer days when my sister I would come back from school to a hot meal, the fragrance of which would waft into our noses even before we entered our house. I remember shouting out from the door, guessing loudly what my mom had made that day. I also remember her being deliciously surprised at how I knew!!!
A hot meal on a sweltering hot day with dal (lentils) and some sort of sabzi (vegetable), hot fragrant basmati rice and kachumbar salad on the side, a cold and a refreshing contrast to the spicy food.
So I decided to combine the lentils with the salad. It is supremely simple to make and I even used lentils from a can! Horrors! If you know me. 🙂 This salad is so quick to make but if you have some time I would suggest soaking the lentils the night before.
This salad is good for a meal because I just ate it as a meal. I have added blueberries which when combined with the lentils lent a tasty sweet twist. And the roasted tomatoes with spices like cumin and fennel seeds another surprise for your taste buds!
So head on over to Food Fashion Party if you would like a bite from this salad!
Masala Beetroot Soup
Benarasi Dum Aloo / Potato Curry
Tamatar ki Chutney (Tomato Chutney)
What a wonderful combination of ingredients in this salad Rakhee. Definitely putting on my list of things I must try! Thanks for sharing and enjoy your week.
Thank you so much Mary Ann. This salad is so incredibly refreshing and will definitely brighten your day! Do let me know how you like it when you try it out. 🙂
This is such a interesting idea to have blueberries in a salad! I love coming to your site and seeing recipes that are inspired by your Indian upbringing and it is always so inspirational!
Thank you Linda! The feeling is completely mutual. Your site and its recipes are so gorgeous… <3
what a wonderful combination!! looks so delicious <3
Thank you dear Laura and Nora!
Everything about this salad is just beautiful! The flavours, the colours, the mood. And stunning photography! I am thrilled to see both my dear friends sharing space:-)
Thanks so much Sonali. The flavours turned out so awesome and who doesn’t like kachumbar salad right?!
I love the idea of blueberry with the flavors of chili and lime! I am loving your moody photography! I am going over to Asha’s blog to check out your post! She is the sweetest! xO
Asha really is the sweetest and the addition of blueberries to this kachumbar salad happened to be a happy one! 🙂
I’m continually amazed with how the internet can bring people from across the globe together. Asha is a good friend indeed. I’m so grateful to have connected with you two… both of you are beautiful spirits and have nudged my desire to learn more about Indian cooking. This salad is so pretty and the flavors you’ve assembled make me want to dig right in! Thank you for this my dear. xo
Its the greatest isn’t it coming together with people you might never have met otherwise. Even though I do believe that in some way we would’ve crossed paths anyway. It has been such a pleasure getting to know you too Traci and we must do something together too sometime. I just love all your creations. <3