If you are a fan of Elaine Benis and Seinfeld, you obviously remember the ‘big salad’ episode. Could anyone but Julia Dreyfus have carried it off?

I have been eating a salad almost every day for years. It is one of the things I miss most about my desk job – heading to the cafeteria at lunch time and then assembling the salad of the day! Granted, most salad bars don’t offer a lot of variety when you are eating off it almost every day, but there are salad bars and then there are Salad Bars!! Jason’s Deli is another example of the bottomless salad, one that lets you gorge on an unlimited amount of nuts and all kinds of crackers. There is vegetarian friendly hummus and so many different toppings you definitely need more than one trip.

When Pizza Hut first opened its doors in Pune, they used to have a salad bar. Somehow, the thing fizzled out. Salads are only just coming in vogue on restaurant menus, that too, only on eclectic alternate cuisine restaurants and cafes.

The salad is definitely not mainstream in India yet.

Iceberg lettuce is becoming a bit known, thanks to stores like Reliance stocking it and Green Tokri delivering it. But the iceberg you get here is not crunchy! And anyway, iceberg has the least amount of nutrition of any kind of salad greens because it is mostly water.

I have been thinking of a ‘salad bar’ post for a long time. I dream, literally dream of salad bars, as much as I dream of gulab jamuns. Eating your vegetables is very very important to get in all the necessary vitamins and minerals, especially for vegetarians.

This post started out as an attempt to assemble a salad bar, but then I ran out of chickpeas and kidney beans at the last minute. I also did not have any good cheese. So this is just a post about a Big Salad!

There are no hard and fast rules here. I have used a bed of lettuce as a base and then chopped or sliced whatever veggies I had on hand. I would have loved some colored peppers here, broccoli, beans, sprouts, raisins, fruit and so on.

I prefer home made dressings, and it is more a necessity for me since there are no Kraft or Newman’s dressings lining a super market aisle. I am making a simple lemon and olive oil dressing with parsley. Generally, you take double the oil of the vinegar or acidic substance but I try to use less oil. You can use mint or any other herb instead of parsley.

Just mix the dressing until it emulsifies.

I am hoping to blog about more salad dressings, depending on whether you like this one (hint – let me know).

This recipe only refers to what is in the picture, but as I said, you can add or take away based on what you like.

The Big Salad Recipe with Lemon Parsley Dressing

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The BIG SALAD – Summer time is salad time!

Ingredients

• 1 bunch Mixed lettuce
• 2 Tomatoes
• 1 small red onion
• 2 cucumbers
• 1 carrots
• 6 mushrooms
• ½ green pepper
• 1 cup paneer
• 1 tsp Shan Chicken Tikka Masala
• 2 Tbsp melon seeds or sunflower seeds
for the Lemon Parsley Dressing
• 2 Lemons Juiced
• ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp parsley chopped
• ½ tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 Tbsp honey
• Salt to taste

Method

1. Wash all vegetables. Slice or chop according to preference.
2. Toss chopped paneer in chicken tikka masala and toss together.
3. Place all the greens at the bottom of a plate or tray.
4. Place vegetables on top.
5. Toast melon seeds and/ or any other nuts and use as topping.
6. For the dressing – Squeeze lemon juice, add honey, salt, pepper, mustard and start whisking. Stream in olive oil until emulsified. Add chopped parsley.
7. Pour dressing on top of salad or serve on the side.
8. This salad can serve one very hungry person as a meal, or a side dish for 3-4 people.
9. Options – Add other vegetables of choice, chickpeas, kidney beans, cheese, chopped fresh fruit like berries, pineapple, apples, mangoes etc.

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You have to agree this looks pretty. Well, it tastes pretty too. Give it a shot and let me know what you think.