Red Lentil Salad

The festivities are over and the air is crisp. Offcourse, the festivities have left behind lots to shed off ;-), and making us look forward to the next year! 
What better time for the shedding off than Winter? 
Winter,for this reason, happens to be my favorite season, as all winter vegetables and greens are available in plenty and are reasonable. 

I wanted something light for the tummy for dinner and this Red Lentil Salad crossed my mind. This salad involves a little of preparation, but, its totally worth it. 
Salads are typically flexible, so you can add in whatever suits your taste as long as ingredient doesn't cancel out the effects of another. Yes food combinations are a thoughtful subject, but I leave this here. 

This salad is perfect as a wholesome dinner, as there are lentils and loads of veggies. 

Red Lentils - Picture Source - Internet

Here is what I used: 

Red Lentils (Masoor) - 3/4 cup 
Fresh Spinach Leaves - about 15
Capsicum, Carrot, Onion, Cucumber, Tomato - 1 each - finely chopped
Cabbage - finely shredded - about a handful 
Chilli flakes - 1 tsp
Walnuts - 4-5 chopped
Rock Salt - to taste 



Directions: 

1. Soak the red lentils for 6 hours.
2. Boil 1/2 a cup of water (about as much as is enough to cover the lentils completely). Let this boil for 10 minutes

   

   This is what the boiled lentils look like

3. Take this off the flame and allow to cool. 
4. Transfer the lentils into a bog mixing bowl.
5. Mix in the vegetables, chilli flakes, Salt and walnuts. 

   

   Chopped Vegetables

6. Chill in the freezer for 10 mins. 
7. The yum Salad is ready to serve.

You can zing this up with a dash of lemon juice.

Like is mentioned earlier, you can add other vegetables like Beet Root, Yellow and Red Bell peppers, Red Cabbage...

Spouts Salad

Sprouts Salad

Who is not health conscious these days?

And, who said eating healthy means eating boring?

Here is an interesting, quick Salad, that's easy on the tummy, and you can gorge on it without any guilt!
Winters would make this salad more interesting with better choice of vegetables.

What you will need:

Green mung bean sprouts - 3/4 cup
Cucumbers - 2, finely chopped
Carrot - 1, finely chopped
Onion - 1 medium sized, finely chopped
Green Chilli - 1, finely chopped
Walnuts - 1 tbsp , chopped or coarsely pounded
Cashewnuts - 1 tbsp , chopped or coarsely pounded
Salt - to taste
Honey - 2 tsp, to drizzle
Flaxseeds - 1 tsp
Lime juice - 1 tsp (optional)

Method:

1. Green Mung Sprouts need to be partially cooked in a covered vessel with very little water. Do not overcook. 5- 7 minutes is just fine. Keep the vessel covered, the mung beans will further get cooked in the steam. Optionally, you may use raw sprouts.
2. Take a large mixing bowl, and mix all the ingredients very well.
3. That's it! The Salad is ready! Complete guilt free bingeing!


Additional Gyan:
- To make this a Satvik recipe, skip the onion
- Once you mix everything well, the salt causes the cucumber to lose a lot of water. The best time to have it is right after its mixed.
- Honey, walnuts, cashwenuts, flaxseeds are the health boosters in this salad. Make sure the nuts are in moderation. :-)
- Optional veggies can include red/yellow/green bell peppers, tomatoes, boiled corn.