Healthy eating is less of a chore if you pick your leaves wisely and bookmark the right Instagram accounts for food-spirations. Essential summer salads aren’t about fancy, organic ingredients or even about expensive dressings — but about the right pairing. A well-curated salad can unlock flavour notes you wouldn’t think possible in a bowl of veggies!
So, whether you like a leafy green salad or a bright, garden salad, Instagram’s favourite chefs are here to save (a hot) day. So, as salad season rolls in, My Kolkata picks four quick and easy summer salad recipes by our favourite food gurus (and also locates the local hotspots where you can find them). Take a look…
Dr Nandita Iyer’s kale salad
Dr Nandita Iyer is the author of The Everyday Healthy Vegetarian and offers authentic vegetarian recipes on her Instagram page – Saffron Trail. The chef’s kale salad is a heavenly mix of beans (kidney and white), chickpeas, green chana, kale leaves (any variety) and a burst of finely chopped green capsicum and onions. She adds freshness to the salad through an airy dressing of extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and crushed black pepper, which effortlessly accentuates the aromatic notes of the simple salad.
Top tip: Throw in some roasted almonds or add a spritz of honey to add another layer of complexity.
Where to find it in Kolkata: The Good Food Cafe in Park Street serves a nutritious and crunchy kale salad made with cranberry and almonds.
Surabhi Sehgal’s fattoush salad
Surabhi Sehgal’s Fattoush Salad is aesthetic and eclectic. “It’s so delicious that it is difficult to believe how good it is for us. Fattoush is made using salad greens, cucumber, red radish, etc. Fried pita crisps give this salad an irresistible crunch,” the chef shared on Instagram.
This easy and quick summer salad bowl is finished off with a tangy vinaigrette made with pomegranate molasses and a pinch of sumac.
Top tip: The right ingredients are the key to acing this recipe. As long as you have perfectly cut veggies, your bowl will be as pretty as a picture!
Where to find it in Kolkata: Check out the salad at the vegan eatery Ubuntu Eat
Kirti Bhoutika’s raw papaya salad
Masterchef India Season 5 winner Kirti Bhoutika regularly doles out easy-to-repeat recipes on her social media pages and recently shared the recipe for a trending salad.
Som Tam, or raw papaya salad, is all the rage at the moment and Bhoutika is bringing its fresh, crunchy flavours to our homes. The salad is made with shredded papayas and also includes roughly chopped tomatoes and long beans along with a sweet-and-spicy dressing made with tamarind, garlic, red chillies, soy sauce, jaggery, peanuts and lime juice.
If you like a balanced Asian salad with more than one flavour note, this is just the thing for you. Add the freshly made salad to a bowl of velvety pasta or eat it on its own.
Top tip: Add a Bong connect to the concoction with a dash of gondhoraj lebu
Where to find it in Kolkata: In your home kitchen! This recipe is such a breeze to put together, that even the laziest of us can whip it up. But if you're not up to rolling up those sleeves, Park Street’s Ping’s Cafe Orient serves a delicious raw papaya salad that’s pairable with meals.
Hina Bisht’s Healthy 6pm Salad
When it comes to versatile, snackable vegetarian recipes, we trust Hina Bisht. The chef ditched banking for food blogging and has acquired 239,000 followers on Instagram. She also has a thriving podcast titled Eat Blog Talk and Bisht’s Marmalade Jam and Baked Bread Baskets can save your house parties!
Bisht’s Healthy 6 pm Salad is a chatpatta street-style salad bowl that heroes chickpeas. Smothered in a zesty garnish of lime, chaat masala, coriander and green chillies, the bowl is punctuated with finely diced onions and tomatoes, which pack in a good crunch.
Top tip: Keep a batch of boiled chickpeas in the freezer at all times. You never know when they might come in handy.
Where to find it in Kolkata: Golf Green’s Friends Cafeteria serves a tasty couscous and chickpea salad
