Roasted Pumpkin Salad with Hommus

 On one of our long weekend drives, we stopped for brunch in a small town called Alexandra. At a local café, we shared a warm roasted pumpkin salad that turned out to be much more than it first appeared. Beneath the pumpkin was a generous mix of lentils and quinoa, all tossed in a sweet, tangy dressing. Hidden underneath was a layer of hummus that beautifully tied the flavours together, creating a comforting and satisfying dish.

Inspired by how simple yet delicious it was, I decided to recreate it at home. I made it for four of us to enjoy alongside roasted meat for dinner, though it’s hearty enough to stand on its own as a filling lunch. Our friends loved it, and it’s definitely a recipe I’ll be making again.

Orange and Fennel Salad

 Winters in Melbourne are cold, and I prefer to have a hot meal or soup. However, winter is also when ornges are fresh and juicy and the vegetable shop has fresh bulbs of fennel. I was making pork chops for dinner and figured that this would be a great salad to try as pork and fennel marry well.

So, here is the recipe:

Beetroot and Goats Cheese Stacks

An elegant, vibrant salad that celebrates the season with a burst of color and flavor. Effortlessly prepared yet indulgently satisfying, it combines earthy undertones with fresh, crisp textures and a harmonious balance of sweet and savory notes. Perfect for elevating any occasion into a culinary experience.

Snowpeas and Green Peas Salad

 Christmas, a time for creative foods, friends and family! This year we speant our Christmas day with my daughter's in-laws. It was a barbeque lunch and I was tasked with salads for the family. I had to prep the salads and take them over in containers and assemble them just before lunch. So I hunted for salads that could be put together quick, looked spectacular and tasted fantastic. Have a look at this salad - doesn't it say festive in bold letters?

Rice and Quinoa Salad

 There can never be enough salads when you are entertaining for Christmas. Here in Australia we have hot Decembers - and hence the need for cool and cold salads. Recently we met at a friend's house for a pre - Christmas get together and everyone brought something to share. I was tasked with getting a rice salad to share and I researched to get a perfect one.

I found a salad on line and added my own twist to it. Having recently returned from Turkey, I had with me a couple of bottles of precious Nar eksisi - or pomegranate molasses. Pomegranate Molasses is dark burgundy in colour and is sour with a slight hint of sweetness. It is the equivalent of tamarind in my South Indian cooking. 

It pairs well with roasts and makes a great salad dressing. You dont need to add too much of it, a tablespoon of it gives life to the flavours on your plate.

Prawns with Mango and Chilli Mayo

 In my early days in Australia, I used to wonder how people could eat prawns that were just passed through steam - unshelled and with the intestines intact.  In fact, when I asked my first ever manager in Australia how they ate the prawns without removing the intestines, he was not able to answer me. He had always eaten them like that, he said and he had not fallen sick.

I avoided having them for several years. Eventually, when I did work up the courage to eat one, I found them juicy and sweet.  This image of a prawn is of course totally opposite to what I grew up with. I now like them like this - and in Summer, most people enjoy prawns cold in a salad.  I hope you try this prawn and chilli mayo salad with ripe mango - the mango sets off the sweetness of the prawns.

Vallarai Keerai Sambol - Indian Pennywort Salad

 38 years ago, I met my buddy Yaso in college and we became fast friends.  We shared our dreams, hopes, frustrations, saris, food, notes and jewellery. When such a close friend travels 10,000 miles just to pay you a visit, you know it is going to be very special. We shared giggles, tears, so much love - and caught up with all the unsaid stories and for old times sake climbed trees and took a  selfie. What a surprise it was to the two of us to note that we pretty much sat on the branch the same way as we had - all those years ago.  Of course we still had and wore our best smiles - and our hearts felt young and all our worries dissolved away in our giggles. 

This dish was prepared by Yaso who picked the leaves from my garden and created the perfect salad for our dinner. The salad is fresh, tangy and complements a good rice and curry. 

Raw Green Mango Pachadi - Green Mango Yogurt Salad

 In Summer, when raw green sour mangoes are in season, I buy a few, wash them, chop them and freeze them. This way I can make my favourite recipes even when the raw mango season is over. In this recipe I have used frozen mango slices, green chillies and shallots.  The pomegranate makes for a pretty as well as refreshing garnish with a burst of sweetness in the mouth.

Pachadis are South Indian versions of the raita and can be made with different vegetables / fruit.  The essential ingredients are coconut, ginger, green chillies and yogurt. An array of fruit and vegetables like beetroot, ginger, okra, eggplant, pineapple, mango, zucchini, cucumber etc can be used as the "star" ingredient - and all pachadis are tempered with mustard seeds, curry leaf and dry red chilli.

It is served at room temperature and is an essential part of a Kerala meal. The South Indian equivalent of a raita, if you will.

Pomegranates have just come into season in Melbourne - they are juicy and sweet. In this version I have mixed a traditional pachadi with an unusual garnish and this was such a pleasing effect on the tongue. A dance of flavours on the palate! 

Watermelon and Feta Salad

 Its been sweltering in Melbourne!  Every meal has been an effort to cook.  I have been cooking either very early in the morning or late in the evening. This tasty salad takes less than 10 minutes to prepare, is perfect for a hot and humid day and is refreshing and filling at the same time.  It is sweet and salty, crunchy and soft, and the subtle minty coolness just forces your brain to think it is a cool day! :-)