Four offbeat salad recipes to help you stay cool in summer

Poor appetite is a common problem in summer. While we can always blame it on global warming, that won’t really solve our problems. Thankfully, there are several summer fruits and veggies that help our body stay cool from the inside. You can whip up a cucumber salad that has green apples or a watermelon salad with egg white. Sounds interesting, right? Here are a few unique and tasty salad options that will keep your body hydrated too.

A few cautionary pointers:

1. If you are carrying a salad outdoors, carry salt separately and add right before consuming to avoid water residue
2. Try to focus on fruits that are high in water content
3. Don’t store the salad for longer hours, even if it is kept in the refrigerator

Now, scroll down to find the recipes…

Cucumber, green apple and mint salad

A refreshing fruit salad that you must make this week.

Ingredients:

• Sliced cucumber: 1 whole cucumber
• Sliced green apple: 1 whole green apple
• Finely chopped mint leaves: 4-5 leaves
• Chaat masala: 2 teaspoons
• Rock salt: To taste
• Chilli flakes: 1 teaspoon
• Lemon juice: 1 tablespoon

Optional ingredients:

• Pomegranate: 4-5 tablespoons
• Red apple: ½

Recipe:

• Mix everything except salt and chaat masala and give a good toss
• Add salt and chaat masala right before serving
• Serve chilled

Tip:

• It is advisable to not store this salad for more than 6-7 hours
• If you are carrying it to office, which is a great idea, try to have it during lunch to avoid it getting stale

Watermelon, green mango and egg white salad

A healthy dish with benefits of seasonal fruits and egg white and tossed in burnt tomato salsa to add a little twist in the tale, this salad is a wholesome meal and saves you from staying longer in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

• Watermelon, cut in cubes: 10-12 pieces
• Sliced green mango: 5-6 pieces
• Cucumber, cut in cubes: 7-8 pieces
• Boiled eggs: 2
• Black pepper powder: 1 teaspoon
• Rock salt: To taste
• Lemon juice: 1 tablespoon
• Mint leaves: 2-3

Burnt tomato salsa ingredients:

• Tomato: 1
• Onion: ½
• Green chillies: 2
• Black pepper powder: 1 teaspoon
• Salt: To taste
• Lemon juice: 2 tablespoons
• Chopped coriander leaves: 2 teaspoons

Burnt tomato salsa recipe:

• Roast the tomato on high flame until all sides are soft enough
• Finely chop onion and green chillies
• Mash the tomato well. Add onion, green chillies, black pepper powder, salt, lemon juice and coriander leaves. Mash some more
• Taste the seasoning before adding to the salad

Salad recipe:

• Start with eggs. Cut them into halves, scoop out the yolks and keep aside for later use. Take the egg whites and chop roughly
• Put watermelon, mango, cucumber, egg white and the seasonings in a bowl and give a good mix
• Add the burnt tomato salsa and mix well again
• Garnish with some mint leaves and serve cold

Tip:

• The yolks can be used to make a quick dip. Mash the yolks with some milk, salt and black pepper powder and have with fries
• Add only a dash of salt while assembling the salad because tomato salsa will have some too. Taste at each step to keep a check on the seasonings
• It is advisable to not keep this salad outside. Try to have it within 2-3 hours of preparing it

Grapes and cucumber salad

Toss this green goodness with feta and mixed herbs and try something new this summer.

Ingredients:

• Sliced cucumber: 1
• Sliced grapes: 10-15 pieces
• Rock salt: To taste
• Black pepper powder: To taste
• Crushed mint leaves: 1 tablespoon
• Grated feta cheese: 4-5 tablespoons
• Roasted white sesame seeds: 1 tablespoon
• Mixed herbs: 2 teaspoons

Recipe:

• Mix cucumber and grapes with salt and pepper
• Now in a separate bowl, add feta, mint leaves and mixed herbs. Toss well
• Assemble the fruits with the feta dressing and mix
• Sprinkle some sesame seeds and enjoy it cold

Tip:

• You can try this salad with black grapes too
• Add mixed seeds to the recipe for more health benefits
• If the grapes are sour, add honey as per taste while making the salad dressing
• You can store this salad for up to 4-5 hours in the refrigerator

Sweet and tangy mosambi-orange salad

Have you ever had a salad with roasted lemon slices? No? Well, here’s a recipe you can try.

Ingredients:

• Sliced oranges: 1 whole
• Sliced mosambi: 1 whole
• Sliced lemon: 1 whole
• Rock salt: To taste
• Chilli flakes: To taste
• Black pepper powder: To taste
• Jaggery powder: 1 and ½ tablespoons
• Crushed mint leaves: 1 tablespoon

Recipe:

• Start with lemons. Toss lemon slices in salt, chilli flakes, jaggery powder and pepper. Grease a baking tray with a little olive oil or butter and place the lemons slices. Bake them for 10-12 minutes or until they are lightly caramalised at 220°C
• Assemble other ingredients in a bowl and add roasted lemon slices. Toss well and check seasoning. It should be tangy and sweet, with a hint of chilli
• Refrigerate a little and serve

Tip:

• You can use honey in the place of jaggery
• You can also add sliced tomatoes to the recipe
• This salad can be stored for 4-5 hours in the refrigerator