Preparing for Ramadan - Meal Organization & Healthy Eating Tips

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It's going to be Ramazan in about a week Alhamdulillah! 

For my readers who are non-Muslims, Ramadan is the 9th month in the Islamic calendar. Everyday during this month, Muslims around the world spend the daylight hours in a complete fast by abstaining from food & drink from sunrise (suhoor/sehri) to sunset (iftar). Not only do Muslims have to fast, but they also have to stay away from any sinful behavior or speech and spend more time in prayer. Ramadan teaches Muslims to practise self-discipline & develop empathy for those who are less unfortunate. 

Unfortunately, we are so focused on cooking in this month & the preparation of lavish meals for Sehri & Iftar that we forget about the real objective of this month - pray, ask for forgiveness and trying to do good deeds.What I am going to be doing is sharing some tips that will help you make the most of this month - healthy eating tips so that you remain fresh & organizing tips so you spend less time in kitchen and more time in prayer.

1. Meal Planning
Don't wait for the first roza to start your meal organization. First of all, make a list of all the dishes that you want to make during Ramadan, dividing it into Sehri, Iftar & Dinner options. Include your favourite tried & tested recipes, along with any other recipes that you want to try this year. The second step is to organize the list into a weekly or fortnightly plan, noting down the meals that you plan to make daily. There will be unexpected surprises or changes in whatever plan you are making, but at least it will help you prepare in advance. The third step is to organize your grocery list - whatever staples & produce is required. If you are ordering food from outside (especially frozen items), make a note of the quantity required.
Menu Planners available here for your reference:
http://ramadhanplanner.wordpress.com/printable-organizers/menu-planners/

2. Storing Food in the Freezer
Prepare meals in advance for Sehri, Iftar & Dinner. This way you can ensure your family is eating healthy home-made food, but you will all also save time by cooking & storing in bulk. Secondly, food stored in the freezer will always be a good back-up options for days when you are running late and don't have time to make a meal from scratch.
P.s. I will be doing a separate post on freezer cooking (recipes & methods to freeze) in detail.

3. Balanced Diet
Eating a balanced diet is even more essential during Ramadan. We are fasting from sunrise to sunset, and it is necessary to refrain from over-indulging and eat food that will give us much needed nutrition. Feeling weak the next day after having a heavy iftar & skipping dinner is not because you are fasting but because you haven't eaten properly!

Our diet should include food from all major food groups - bread or cereals, milk & dairy products, meat, fish or other protein, fruits and vegetables and fat & sugars. It is okay to indulge once in a while but food with high sugar content or fatty food should be avoided as it digests slowly and makes one feel thirsty during the day. 

Eating fibre-rich food or complex carbohydrates is recommended especially during Sehri as they are digested slowly and provide much needed energy during the day. This includes food like oats, bread (wholewheat or bran/multi-grain preferred), beans (chickpeas, red beans/rajma, black eyed peas/lobia) & fruits and vegetables (especially green vegetables). It is customary to break the fast with dates not only because it is Sunnah but also because it provides instant energy. 

4. Keeping Your Body Hydrated

Almost all of us are guilty of drinking 3-4 glasses of water, juices or carbonated drinks at Iftar then feeling way too bloated to have anything else! In actuality we should consume 8-10 glasses of liquid from iftar to sehri properly spaced out so our body is hydrated.

Secondly, the Rs. 5 off carbonated drink advertisements that are oh so tempting during Ramadan - ignore them! Carbonated drinks are high in sugar & caffeine content and will not provide the hydration our body requires. Instead make smoothies/milkshakes/lassis for Sehri & Iftar. Eat fresh fruit or vegetables with high water content like tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, watermelon, melons & oranges. Let's also not forget 'Laal Sherbet' which is a must in every household at Iftar time. While it is considered to healthy, try to avoid adding sugar, or drink with milk.

5. Healthy Cooking Methods

I will be the first to admit it here - while I might talk all about eating healthy, but I love having fried items in Ramadan. I also know that for a lot of people, it isn't considered a proper iftar if there are no pakora's on the table!

BUT there are ways to have the food you enjoy and still maintain a good diet (albeit slightly less nutritious).

1. Use healthy cooking methods like shallow frying, grilling or baking. Shallow-fry pakora's & bake/grill samosa's & rolls.
2. Don't eat fried items from outside - there is no guarantee about the kind of oil used so its ALWAYS best to fry at home
3. Use kitchen towel/tissue paper for soaking up excess oil - do not use newspaper as the ink contains lead which is toxic.
4. Limit the amount of fried items at Iftar; only keep 1-2 items at a time so the cravings are indulged without going over-board
5. Organize the rest of the meal in reference to the items served at iftar. If serving a heavy iftar with fried items, make sure that the rest of the items are healthy like salads, fruit chat (no sugar), beans (cholay, lobia or rajmah), dahi baray etc. Alternatively, serve a light iftar with 2-3 basic items and then a family style dinner meal like Pizza, Singaporean Rice, Biryani, or similar one-pot/casserole style dish. 

6. Eating Out

One week before Ramadan and you will start getting flooded with all the Sehri & Iftar deals.  I personally have a major grudge against the 'all you can eat' deals because there is SO much food wasted by people, and they all start during Ramadan when we should be most careful about food wastage. So go out or order food from outside but make sure that it does not promote negative behaviour - make sure you don't neglect your prayers outside; don't get upset if the waiter/server is rushed or there is a slight delay as he is also probably fasting; in fact, giving him additional tip will only make the extra effort that he's putting in during this month worth it; and most importantly don't waste food! 

O children of Adam! Attend to your embellishments at every time of prayer, and eat and drink and be not extravagant; surely He does not love the extravagant.
Reference: Surah al-A’araaf 7:31
Sayyidina Jabir (May Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, “When one of you eats his meal and a morsel falls down, he must pick it up and remove the doubtful portion and eat the rest. He must not leave it for the devil.”
Reference: Jami’ Tirmidhi, authenticated by al-Albani

Salad Greens with Creamy Roasted Garlic Dressing

Please 'like' me on Facebook to keep updated with new posts, tips & tricks, or to ask me any questions: Kay's House of Treats 

Continuing on with posting recipes for salads, here's a recipe for another simple green salad with a roasted garlic dressing. With oranges going out of season, it can easily be substituted with other fruits (grapefruit, pear, or more apples). Garlic in the dressing might seem odd, but once garlic is roasted, it loses its bitter raw flavor, and becomes mild & sweet. Ever since I discovered how amazing roasted garlic is through the tomato soup I made in winters, I have been experimenting with it ever since. 

Salad Greens with Creamy Roasted Garlic Dressing

Salad Ingredients:

3-4 cups of Shredded/Cut Mild Greens (Mesclun Lettuce/Mixed Salad Greens)
1/4 cup of Rocket/Arugula
1 Apple - cut into slices (optional)
4 Oranges - cut into segments
¼ cup – ½ cup walnuts, toasted 

Dressing:
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp yoghurt
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice

Roasted Garlic - 2 cloves (Bake garlic in a toaster oven/oven)Lemon Zest - a pinch
salt & pepper
sumac (optional)

1. Blend the ingredients for the salad dressing in a blender for 30 seconds till it is creamy. Alternatively you can add all the ingredients and whisk for about a minute. Taste & adjust seasonings if required. 

2. Take a big salad bowl and add salad greens & rocket/arugula. You can increase/decrease the quantity of the specific type of salad green based on personal preference. Add fruits to bowl.
3.Toss the salad greens together with 2 tbsp of the dressing. Adjust and add more dressing if required.
4. Crush walnuts and then add them on top of the salad.
If you want to save the salad for the next day, then add the salad dressing & nuts individually into your plate otherwise the salad will start wilting once the dressing is added.

Playing Around:

1. Fruits: Substitute the apple for pear 

2. Citrus: Substitute the oranges for Mosambi or Grapefruit

3. Vegetables: Olives, capsicum, carrots or broccoli can be added/substituted

4. Protein: Add grilled paneer, grilled chicken or feta cheese to make it more filling

5. Nuts: Almonds or Pine-Nuts and even Peanuts can be substituted for walnuts 

Read up on my other Salad 101 blog posts below:

Salad 101 - Cleaning & Storing Greens

Salad 101 -Tossing Greens & Adding the Salad Dressing

Salad 101 - Types of Salad Greens

Salad 101 - The Basic Salad Dressing

Resources (Salad Spinners & where to get salad greens in Karachi):

Salad Spinners are available at JB Saeed & Hyperstar (linked below) in Karachi and should also be available at other places.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=134621356576725&set=a.134621099910084.14013.129326953772832&type=3&theater

Where to get Salad Greens in Karachi:

Sungold Organic – Home delivery of Organic Vegetables

Email at Sungoldorganic@gmail.com

Sungold number, 0342-2382731, 0345-2008247:
Growing your Own – Seeds available from Crops in Pots & available from Mom’s Garden

Gardening Help – SWOT’s Guide to House and Gardens & My Kitchen Garden Project

Shops – Assortment of vegetables can be found from Agha’s, Farids, Hyperstar, Empress Market, Defence Sunday Bazaar, & a ‘Sabzi Wala’ near French Bakery at Khadda Market

Reference Books:

How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition
The New Best Recipe by Cooks Illustrated Magazine

Green Salad with Fruits & Nuts in a Honey-Yoghurt Dressing

Please 'like' me on Facebook to keep updated with new posts, tips & tricks, or to ask me any questions: Kay's House of Treats 

After I got the hang of the olive oil, lemon juice, yoghurt & mustard dressing, I started experimenting with something different. This time I made a salad with fruits & nuts with a honey based dressing - loved the slightly sweet dressing with the grapefruit & olives. The carrot is only there because I had one lying around so I just tossed it in the salad, but wouldn't recommend adding it otherwise.

Fresh Salad with Fruits & Nuts with Honey based dressing 

Salad Ingredients:
2-3 cups of Lettuce (Mesclun or any variety you prefer)
1/4 cup of Rocket/Arugula
¼ cup of baby spinach
1 large grapefruit
1 orange (optional – I used it because the grapefruit I had was small)
Olives – 2 to 3 tbsp
¼ cup – ½ cup walnuts, toasted

Dressing:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp yoghurt
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt & pepper

1. Blend the ingredients for the salad dressing in a blender for 30 seconds till it is creamy. Alternatively you can add all the ingredients and whisk for about a minute. Taste & adjust seasonings if required. 

2. Dry roast nuts in a skillet for about 3-5 minutes over medium heat till they are aromatic. Keep shaking the pan so they don't burn. Alternatively, you can toast them in a toaster oven.
3. Take a big salad bowl and add lettuce leaves, baby spinach & rocket/arugula. You can increase/decrease the quantity of the specific type of salad green based on personal preference.
4. Add fruits & olives to the salad leaves and lightly toss with about 2-3 tbsp of the dressing. Taste and add more dressing if required
5. Chop & crush the nuts then add as garnish on top of the salad.  
If you want to save the salad for the next day, then add the salad dressing individually into your plate otherwise the salad will start wilting once the dressing is added.

Playing Around:

1. Fruits: Substitute the apple for pear 

2. Citrus: Substitute the oranges for Mosambi or Grapefruit

3. Vegetables: Olives, capsicum, carrots or broccoli can be added/substituted

4. Protein: Add grilled paneer, grilled chicken or feta cheese to make it more filling

5. Nuts: Add sliced toasted almonds, peanuts Toast some nuts in a dry skillet and crush & sprinkle on top

Read up on my other Salad 101 blog posts below:

Salad 101 - Cleaning & Storing Greens

Salad 101 -Tossing Greens & Adding the Salad Dressing
Salad 101 - Types of Salad Greens
Salad 101 - The Basic Salad Dressing

Where to get Salad Greens in Karachi:

Sungold Organic – Home delivery of Organic Vegetables

Email at Sungoldorganic@gmail.com

Sungold number, 0342-2382731, 0345-2008247:
Growing your Own – Seeds available from Crops in Pots & available from Mom’s Garden

Gardening Help – SWOT’s Guide to House and Gardens & My Kitchen Garden Project

Shops – Assortment of vegetables can be found from Agha’s, Farids, Hyperstar, Empress Market, Defence Sunday Bazaar, & a ‘Sabzi Wala’ near French Bakery at Khadda Market

Reference Books:

How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition
The New Best Recipe by Cooks Illustrated Magazine

Leafy Green Salad with Apples & Tomatoes

So now that everyone is updated on what I haven't been posting for the last couple of weeks, let me start catching up by continuing my Salad 101 posts. I have covered How-to's on Cleaning & Storing Salad Greens, Types of Salad Greens & Tossing and Adding the Dressing. Now I will FINALLY be sharing the recipes :D .. 

Since I embarked on this salad making journey, I have been experimenting with various types of greens, fruits, dressings & seasonings, and have finally achieved the balance that my family loves.

My basic rule is that salad greens will form the base of the salad, along with some fruit to provide the sweetness, along with some citrus  to provide tang. Other vegetables can be added to make the salad more filling, nuts can be added for crunch, and proteins like chicken & cottage cheese can be added to make it more of a main course than a salad. 

Fresh Salad Greens with Apples & Tomatoes

Leafy Salad Green with Apples & Tomato

Salad Ingredients:
3-4 cups of Shredded/Cut Mild Greens (Mesclun Lettuce/Mixed Salad Greens or Chinese Cabbage)
1/4 cup of Rocket/Arugula
1/4 cup of Baby Spinach
Fresh Herbs (Basil, Parsley, Oregano) - 10 to 12 leaves, roughly chopped
1 Apple - cut into slices
1 Tomato - cut into wedges
1-2 Oranges - cut into segments

Dressing:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp yoghurt
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp mustard
salt & pepper
sumac (optional)Note: The dressing is also not a typical vinaigrette - I reduced the olive oil & added yoghurt for some creaminess. 

1. Toss the fruit (apples & oranges) with some lemon juice. 

2. Blend the ingredients for the salad dressing in a blender for 30 seconds till it is creamy. Alternatively you can add all the ingredients and whisk for about a minute. Taste & adjust seasonings if required. 
3. Take a big salad bowl and add salad greens, baby spinach & rocket/arugula. You can increase/decrease the quantity of the specific type of salad green based on personal preference.
4.Toss the salad greens together with 2 tbsp of the dressing. Adjust and add more dressing if required.
5. Add apples, carrots & oranges. Add 1 tbsp of the dressing and lightly toss. 
6.Garnish with tomatoes.

If you want to save the salad for the next day, then add the salad dressing individually into your plate otherwise the salad will start wilting once the dressing is added.

Playing Around:

1. Fruits: Substitute the apple for pear 

2. Citrus: Substitute the oranges for Mosambi or Grapefruit

3. Vegetables: Olives, capsicum, carrots or broccoli can be added/substituted

4. Protein: Add grilled paneer, grilled chicken or feta cheese to make it more filling

5. Crunch: Toast some nuts in a dry skillet and crush & sprinkle on top

Read up on my other Salad 101 blog posts below:

Salad 101 - Cleaning & Storing Greens

Salad 101 -Tossing Greens & Adding the Salad Dressing
Salad 101 - Types of Salad Greens
Salad 101 - The Basic Salad Dressing

Where to get Salad Greens in Karachi:

Sungold Organic – Home delivery of Organic Vegetables

Email at Sungoldorganic@gmail.com

Sungold number, 0342-2382731, 0345-2008247:
Growing your Own – Seeds available from Crops in Pots & available from Mom’s Garden

Gardening Help – SWOT’s Guide to House and Gardens & My Kitchen Garden Project

Shops – Assortment of vegetables can be found from Agha’s, Farids, Hyperstar, Empress Market, Defence Sunday Bazaar, & a ‘Sabzi Wala’ near French Bakery at Khadda Market

Reference Books:

How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition
The New Best Recipe by Cooks Illustrated Magazine

Salad 101 - The Basic Salad Dressing

Please 'like' me on Facebook to keep updated with new posts, tips & tricks, or to ask me any questions: Kay's House of Treats

Fresh Salads tossed with various Salad Dressings

By now you should have bought, washed & mixed your salad together. The next step is deciding on the dressing and with most salad greens this is usually a type of Vinaigrette.

A vinaigrette consists three things - a good oil, acid (vinegar or lemon/lime juice) and seasonings which is combined with a chemical process known as emulsification to form a beautiful creamy dressing.

Following are basic dressings, with a few variations based on the type of salad greens that you decide to use. The standard ratio of oil to acid for a dressing is three parts oil to one part acid. For mild salad greens, a basic dressing of oil, acid & seasoning will work, however, for spicier salad greens like rocket or baby spinach, stronger flavors like mustard, garlic, onions along with some cream/yoghurt are required to complement the taste of the greens. 

But again, I will repeat the same thing - adjust the dressing based on your own preferences, and what is available in the fridge. I will be posting some recipes for salads in the future, and in almost all the recipes, I have used less oil and more yoghurt because I think the taste of extra virgin olive oil can be strong, so I would reduce from the basic recipe. Similarly, there are a number of additions and substitutions that can be made. Have included a list of basic recipes along with a list of simple additions in the end for experimenting with. 

Basic Vinaigrette for Mild Salad Greens

(Makes about 3/4 cup)

 1/2 cup olive oil (preferably extra-virgin)

3 tbsp vinegar (or lemon juice); or use 1.5 tbsp lemon juice and 1.5 tbsp vinegar

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Sugar/Honey - 1 tsp (optional)

Method:

1. Depending on type of greens used, combine all ingredients in a blender for about 30 seconds till a creamy emulsion results. You can also add all the ingredients in a bottle, and then shake vigorously or add the ingredients in a bowl and use a wire whisk to mix. 

2. Taste the dressing and adjust vinegar/lemon juice or seasonings if required.

3. Use 1 tbsp of dressing for about 2 cups of salad greens.

Basic Vinaigrette for Spicy Salad Greens

1/2 cup olive oil (preferably extra-virgin)

3 tbsp vinegar (or lemon juice); or use 1.5 tbsp lemon juice and 1.5 tbsp vinegar

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Mustard - 1 tsp

Sugar/Honey - 1 tsp

Minced Garlic - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Method:

1. Depending on type of greens used, combine all ingredients in a blender for about 30 seconds till a creamy emulsion results. You can also add all the ingredients in a bottle, and then shake vigorously or add the ingredients in a bowl and use a wire whisk to mix. 

2. Taste the dressing and adjust vinegar/lemon juice or seasonings if required.

3. Use 1 tbsp of dressing for about 2 cups of salad greens.

Basic Vinaigrette for Bitter Salad Greens

1/2 cup olive oil (preferably extra-virgin)

3 tbsp vinegar (or lemon juice); or use 1.5 tbsp lemon juice and 1.5 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp yoghurt or cream

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Mustard - 1 tsp

Sugar/Honey - 1 tsp

Minced Garlic - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Method:

1. Depending on type of greens used, combine all ingredients in a blender for about 30 seconds till a creamy emulsion results. You can also add all the ingredients in a bottle, and then shake vigorously or add the ingredients in a bowl and use a wire whisk to mix. 

2. Taste the dressing and adjust vinegar/lemon juice or seasonings if required.

3. Use 1 tbsp of dressing for about 2 cups of salad greens.

Other Simple Additions to Vinaigrettes:
The above dressings are base recipes, but you can always make additions/substitutions to them based on ingredient availability & your own taste. Sometimes I would add some lemon zest, or fresh herbs, or minced roasted garlic to leftover dressing just to change the taste. 

1. Herbs: Herbs can be added either fresh or dried to the dressing. If using fresh, then you can add about 1/4 cup of finely chopped mild herbs like parsley, basil or oregano for 1/2 cup of olive oil. If using stronger herbs like rosemary, tarragon or thyme then use about 1 teaspoon. If using dried herbs, then start with adding 1/8 teaspoon, and then add more if required. 
2. Fresh Garlic: Garlic flavor can be incorporated in three different ways depending on how strong you want it to be. If you want a stronger flavor, then you can mince/finely chop fresh garlic and add it in the dressing. Secondly, you can roast garlic in the oven which turns the flavor mild and sweeter. Thirdly, you can rub a mashed garlic clove around your salad bowl which will just give you a mild garlic flavor. 
3. Honey, maple syrup or sugar: If you want the dressing to be a bit sweet, you can add sweetener of your sugar. Start off small, 1-2 teaspoon for sugar & 1 tablespoon for honey, and then adjust more based on taste.
4. Mustard: 1 teaspoon of good quality mustard, or 1/2 teaspoon of dry mustard can be added.
5. Lemon Zest/Orange Zest: Zest of 1 lemon can be added for a lemon vinaigrette, making sure that you use lemon or lime juice for the dressing as well. Orange zest combined with fresh orange juice can also be used.
6. Creamy Vinaigrette: Fresh or sour cream, yoghurt or mayonnaise can be used (about 3 tablespoon). Fresh cream is preferred over packaged as that has a much better flavor. 
7. Soy Sauce: Add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce to give an Asian flavor to salads; best if used with Asian vegetables like spring onions, Bak Choi etc. 

Read up on my other Salad 101 blog posts below:

Salad 101 - Cleaning & Storing Greens

Salad 101 -Tossing Greens & Adding the Salad Dressing
Salad 101 - Types of Salad Greens
Salad 101 - The Basic Salad Dressing

Where to get Salad Greens in Karachi:

Sungold Organic – Home delivery of Organic Vegetables

Email at Sungoldorganic@gmail.com

Sungold number, 0342-2382731, 0345-2008247:
Growing your Own – Seeds available from Crops in Pots & available from Mom’s Garden

Gardening Help – SWOT’s Guide to House and Gardens & My Kitchen Garden Project

Shops – Assortment of vegetables can be found from Agha’s, Farids, Hyperstar, Empress Market, Defence Sunday Bazaar, & a ‘Sabzi Wala’ near French Bakery at Khadda Market

Reference Books:

How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition
The New Best Recipe by Cooks Illustrated Magazine

Salad 101 - Types of Salad Greens

Please 'like' me on Facebook to keep updated with new posts, tips & tricks, or to ask me any questions: Kay's House of Treats 

Experimenting with Fresh Salads

Continuing on with my salad how-to, the next part is about the different kind of salad greens available, and a general idea on how they taste (mild, bitter, spicy) & look. Lettuce is the most salad green available, however, it does tend to have a one-dimensional taste. Hence, the best kind of salad is made with a mixture of different salad greens which complement each other. My personal favourite is to either use a bag of mesclun lettuce (mixture of salad greens) and then add fruits or other ingredients as per my taste. Alternatively, I use one type of lettuce as the base of my salad and then I add some baby spinach and rocket for contrast. 

Once again I will quote myself 'it's your house and you can adjust as much as you want to!'. Taste the vegetables, then start on making the salad, and keep on getting feedback from your family till you figure out the balance. 

Do remember that the addition of salt & dressing dramatically changes the flavor of the green, so taste raw, then add dressing and taste again. For example, I found rocket/arugula to be quite spicy, but it provides a wonderful contrast to mild tasting lettuce. On the other hand, ice-berg lettuce tastes great when eaten raw because of its mild flavor, but when its mixed in a salad, it falls flat unless you add some spicy greens for contrast. 

I know that it is quite easy to find the majority of salad greens mentioned below abroad, be it through supermarkets or farmer markets, but this is not so simple in Karachi. I have posted a few resources below on finding salad greens locally.

Salad 101: Types of Salad Greens

Rocket/Arugula: Leaves are dark green and tender, with the taste being peppery and slightly bitter.

Butterhead (or Boston/Bib) Lettuce: Mild-tasting round-shaped lettuce with extremely tender leaves.

Cabbage: Available in green and red (aka purple cabbage) varieties with crisp & crunchy leaves and bitter and sharp taste.

Chard/Swiss Chard: Large, deep green leaves which are always cooked before eating.

Dandelion Greens: Leaves are tender, with the shape being long and having jagged edges – young leaves can be used in salads but the older ones need should be cooked before eating. The flavor is bitter and similar to rocket.

Belgian Endive: The endive has a smooth oval shape, with the yellow tips having a mild flavor and the white thick leaf bases being crisp but tasting bitter. The spoon like shape makes them great for dips and stuffing.

Escarole: Mild tasting green with wide & frilly leaves that are good for adding volume & texture to salads.

Frisee: Usually having green leaves, which can sometimes be edged in red, which are long & curly. The taste is slightly peppery.

Kale: Kale has become quite a popular vegetable recently due to its health benefits, and its many uses ranging from kale chips to steamed kale to chopped up kale in salads. It is part of the cabbage family & has a similar taste, with two common varieties – kale having smooth leaves, and curly kale with crinkly leaves. The leaves themselves are broad & ruffled, and range from deep green to purple.

Iceberg Lettuce: One of the most common types of lettuce available, with tender & pale green leaves. The taste is mild & crunchy, making it great for both salads and for use to wrap as a container for fillings.

Looseleaf Lettuce: Red leaf & green are the most common varieties, available in a large rosette shape with ruffled leaves. Texture is crunchy with a mild taste.

Mesclun Lettuce: Mesclun comes from the French word for mixture and is used for a mix of salad greens, herbs & even edible flowers at times. These are available pre-mixed in bags, or if someone loves to garden can easily be made at home. The taste of the mix depends on the assortment of greens, but it’s usually a mix of mild & peppery for the best flavor. The best part about using it is that you can just open a pack of greens, toss it in some dressing and the salad is ready.

Radicchio: Radicchio has quite a peppery taste, however, the crisp deep red/almost purple tinged with white leaves provides a beautiful contrast to any salad.

Romaine Lettuce: The primary ingredient of a Ceasar salad, it has long green crunchy leaves. It has a slightly bitter taste which needs a creamy dressing to compliment it.

Spinach/Baby Spinach: While spinach is most often cooked, it can also be used in salads. The leaves are tender, dark green with the taste being slightly bitter. Generally, baby spinach and/or flat leaf spinach varieties are preferred for salads because the leaves are more tender & also sweeter.

Read up on my other Salad 101 blog posts below:
Salad 101 - Cleaning & Storing Greens
Salad 101 -Tossing Greens & Adding the Salad Dressing
Salad 101 - The Basic Salad Dressing

Where to get Salad Greens in Karachi:

Sungold Organic – Home delivery of Organic Vegetables

Email at Sungoldorganic@gmail.com

Sungold number, 0342-2382731, 0345-2008247:
Growing your Own – Seeds available from Crops in Pots & available from Mom’s Garden

Gardening Help – SWOT’s Guide to House and Gardens & My Kitchen Garden Project

Shops – Assortment of vegetables can be found from Agha’s, Farids, Hyperstar, Empress Market, Defence Sunday Bazaar, & a ‘Sabzi Wala’ near French Bakery at Khadda Market

Reference Books:

How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition
The New Best Recipe by Cooks Illustrated Magazine

Salad 101 - Tossing Greens & Adding the Salad Dressing

Please 'like' me on Facebook to keep updated with new posts, tips & tricks, or to ask me any questions: Kay's House of Treats 

Continuing on with my salad how-to, the next step that I will be writing in detail about is how to mix salad greens and how to add the dressing.

Before you go really "a how-to on mixing a salad"!!! The thing is its not that hard, but if you do something wrong, greens are so delicate that they can easily tear or wilt and you end up with not so great looking greens in a beautiful salad otherwise. Believe me, it doesn't look pretty. 

Salad 101: Tossing Greens & Adding the Dressing

A proper bowl is necessary for mixing the greens properly. It should be wide-mouthed and relatively shallow, along with being about 50% larger than the amount of greens used to ensure enough room for tossing. For example, if you have 4 cups of salad, then the salad bowl should have capacity for 6 cups, so that you can mix it properly.

Step 1: Measure the greens. Loosely pack the greens into a large measuring cup, and keep about 1.5 cups per serving.

Step 2: Tear the greens: Some of the leafy vegetables (like lettuce) might be too large, so tear them gently into smaller pieces with your hands. Do this right before serving, as if the leaves are torn too early, they will wilt & discolor.

Step 3: Shake the Dressing: The dressing will probably be an emulsified style incorporating olive oil, lemon juice or vinegar with extra ingredients so give it a quick mix just before adding it in the salad to make sure that all the ingredients are dispersed through the dressing.

 Step 4: Drizzle the Dressing: Add the dressing in small increments, and not all at once so that the salad doesn't become overdressed. Unlike potato salads or coleslaw, leafy salads only need about 1 tbsp for 2 cups of salad otherwise it starts to get soggy so be careful and add more only if required.

 Step 5: Toss the salad by using a wooden spoon, your hands (preferred method), or tongs and add more dressing only if needed. Make sure you use a light touch, as a roughly tossed salad will wilt more quickly. Don't toss any heavy ingredients like apples, tomatoes, feta cheese with the leafy greens as they might end up crushing the greens. Add them on the bottom with a few for garnish on top, or add them on top of the salad.

Step 6: Serve immediately.

Next step will be different types of greens, and after that I will finally start with recipes! Have been posting a lot on my Facebook page but will write them in much more detail on the blog :).

Read up on my other Salad 101 blog posts below:

Salad 101 - Cleaning & Storing Greens

Salad 101 - Types of Salad Greens
Salad 101 - The Basic Salad Dressing

Where to get Salad Greens in Karachi:

Sungold Organic – Home delivery of Organic Vegetables

Email at Sungoldorganic@gmail.com

Sungold number, 0342-2382731, 0345-2008247:
Growing your Own – Seeds available from Crops in Pots & available from Mom’s Garden

Gardening Help – SWOT’s Guide to House and Gardens & My Kitchen Garden Project

Shops – Assortment of vegetables can be found from Agha’s, Farids, Hyperstar, Empress Market, Defence Sunday Bazaar, & a ‘Sabzi Wala’ near French Bakery at Khadda Market

Reference Books:

How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition
The New Best Recipe by Cooks Illustrated Magazine

Starting off with Salad 101 - Cleaning & Storing Greens

Please 'like' me on Facebook to keep updated with new posts, tips & tricks, or to ask me any questions: Kay's House of Treats 

Potato Salad, Coleslaw, Leafy Green Salad & our Desi Kachumber. They all taste fundamentally different but all these salads have one thing in common and that is ..... The Dressing. The dressing whether its as simple as olive oil and lemon juice or as complicated as homemade ranch dressing with about 10 ingredients is what brings the salad together and makes it delicious!
  
My recent interest in salads (evident from those following me on Facebook) was a result of a chance phone call from Sungold Organic. The owner had made a call to follow up and inform me about the variety of salad greens available in winter. And errrr, I got a bit too excited and ordered about 6-7 kg's of vegetables. In my defence - they had SO much stuff available -  3 to 4 different varieties of lettuce, chinese cabbage, rocket, baby spinach etc etc; plus it was organic, reasonable AND they offered home delivery.

Once the bag of vegetables came and I realized how much I had ordered, it was time to hit the books for a salad how-to, prompting me to start these salad 101 posts. While I was doing my reading up and realizing how much I didn't know, I decided to start putting all the knowledge I gained through experimentation and books and google on Facebook and the blog so all of you can benefit. 

The Salad 101 is going to start off with salad preparation (cleaning, storing, tossing), types of different salads, and complementing dressings.However, please feel free to make substitutions because everyone has their own preference - more greens, less greens, no tomatoes, yes tomatoes, more dressing, no dressing, homemade mayo, store-bought mayo and so on and so forth.

Just remember, its your house and you can adjust as much as you want to! 

That is exactly what I did - I would first taste the vegetables, then start on making the salad, and keep on getting feedback from my family till I figured out the balance. 

Starting off with leafy greens, since they are in season and the most common salad type as well. 

Step 1 - Cleaning & Storing Greens

1. Cleaning Greens
The first step in making any salad is cleaning the greens. Put the greens into a salad spinner or in a colander inside a large pot. Fill the pot with water and swirl the greens around with your hand. Now lift the colander or salad spinner bowl out of the water. Pour out the water, and repeat as necessary till there is no dirt-residue remaining.
Do not run water directly from the faucet onto the greens as the force of the water will bruise them.
When the greens are clean, spin them dry in a salad spinner or pat them dry with towels. I wash them in a colander, shake off the water, then layer a plastic tray with kitchen towel. I spread a layer of greens on top of the kitchen towel, and then put another layer of kitchen towel on top and pat it dry. Depending on the number of greens, I make about 2-3 layers which dry up in about the time I have the rest of the ingredients ready. 
Greens must be quite dry; otherwise, the vinaigrette will slide off the remaining water and the salad will taste watery.

2. Storing Greens
Unwashed greens should be carefully stored in the refrigerator, making sure that they are not tightly packed as that encourages rotting. 
Washed greens can be stored in the salad spinner. Line the salad spinner with paper towels, then layer in the greens covering each layer with more towels to store for up to 2 days.
If you don't have a salad spinner, loosely roll the greens in paper towels and then place them inside a large zip-lock bag (making sure not to pack too tightly) and place in the refrigerator.

The next how-to is going to be on tossing greens and adding dressing, followed by a type of salad greens available and then recipes!

Read up on my other Salad 101 blog posts below:

Salad 101 - Cleaning & Storing Greens

Salad 101 -Tossing Greens & Adding the Salad Dressing

Salad 101 - Types of Salad Greens

Salad 101 - The Basic Salad Dressing

Resources (Salad Spinners & where to get salad greens in Karachi):

Salad Spinners are available at JB Saeed (linked below) in Karachi and should also be available at other places.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=134621356576725&set=a.134621099910084.14013.129326953772832&type=3&theater

Where to get Salad Greens in Karachi:

Sungold Organic – Home delivery of Organic Vegetables

Email at Sungoldorganic@gmail.com

Sungold number, 0342-2382731, 0345-2008247:
Growing your Own – Seeds available from Crops in Pots & available from Mom’s Garden

Gardening Help – SWOT’s Guide to House and Gardens & My Kitchen Garden Project

Shops – Assortment of vegetables can be found from Agha’s, Farids, Hyperstar, Empress Market, Defence Sunday Bazaar, & a ‘Sabzi Wala’ near French Bakery at Khadda Market

Reference Books:

How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition
The New Best Recipe by Cooks Illustrated Magazine