Saturday, September 13, 2008

Kosambari

A long long time ago, I used to eat a different kind of salad everyday. Not so long ago, just about 2 years back. Time is very relative, isn't it? This one is for my sister. She was asking me if I knew how to make this, so G this one is for you.

I've had kosambari at various occasions. And every time I had the dish, I'd want to make it, but I never did. After all, this does seem like the indian version of the salad. This dish requires no cooking, and apart from the soaking, takes only about 5-10 minutes to make.

Kosambari can be made with any lentil. Sometimes it is garnished with mustard & curry leaves too. I prefer this fresh version. Makes a colourful picture, doesn't it?


Ingredients
Yellow Moong dal - 1 cup
Cucumber - 1 medium
Tomato - 1 large
Carrot - 1 medium
Onion - 3-4 tbsps
Coriander - 4-5 sprigs
Lemon juice - 1/2 large
Chili powder - 1 tsp or to taste
Salt - to taste

Preparation
Soak moong dal for about an hour
Chop cucumber, onion, tomato & carrot into small pieces
Finely chop the coriander
Squeeze juice from lemon into a small dish, stir in the salt & chili powder
Wash moong & drain water completely, and microwave for 1-2 minutes
Add chopped veggies, coriander & lemon juice
Toss well & serve

Finely chopped fresh green chilies can be used. As I don't like biting into a chili in my salad, used chili powder. After an hour of soaking, the moong was still rather hard, so I put it in the microwave for a minute or so to soften it a little. It was still crunchy. Don't do this unless required.

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