Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Bean Salad

I was never much of a salad person back home. I don’t ever remember having a salad in or as part of a meal unless it was in the form of some kind of a raita. During my initial years here, I was pretty rigid food-wise, and our meals comprised largely of rice along with curd/yogurt in some form or the other which was due, in part, to the fact that it was my all time favorite meal. Also, I was only just learning (rather unwillingly) to cook and that seemed the simplest thing to prepare. My eating habits have since changed over time, and I am a bit more flexible and open to new tastes now than I was when I first got here. There’s a lot more variety in the meals I make these days. However, curd-rice with pickles (the Indian kind) continues to remain my ultimate comfort food to this day.

If I’m making a salad, I prefer going for something that is hearty and filling. I put together this bean salad for dinner the other day, which we had along with some cold soup.

Ingredients:
1 can of
Roman beans
½ cup frozen corn, thawed
½ cucumber, peeled & diced
1-2 scallions, chopped (white and green parts)

For the dressing:
1 Tbsp olive oil
Juice of a lemon
½ tsp lemon zest
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp honey
Salt & Pepper

Method:
Place all the ingredients in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over it. Toss to combine. Chill and serve.

This goes to Lisa for the June edition of No Croutons Required. The theme this month is soups or salads featuring legumes.

39 Burps:

FH said...

Me too tbc, never a salad person in India. Here I love it because all you have to do assemble the lettuce,Tomato and beans etc and ready made dressing is easy to get too. Try my Caribbean salad at Aroma, it's tasty. Bean salad looks yum, good one!:)

Finla said...

Salade looks good.
I can really agree with you too. In India I have never ate a salde unless if you call tomtato slices with onions.
Only learned to eat them after comming here and now i really enjoy all kind of salades

Suganya said...

Me too....Curd rice and mango pickle is my all time comfort food. I can eat it every day. YUM!.

Hey this bean salad looks good. Sounds filling too. YUM!

Laavanya said...

I'm still not a very salad person... soups yes. Hope to get there soon because eating raw, uncooked food, I hear has immense benefits (nutrition-wise). I hope to get inspirations from your many salad recipes...

Devi Priya said...

We love salads. A healthy salad with protien with greens make it better! Good post.

sunita said...

tbc, that's a lovely bowl of salad :-)

Lisa Turner said...

Thanks for this entry! Did you email us? I don't see one from you in the inbox.

karuna said...

this looks really refereshing.

ranji said...

this is a nice and healthy salad TBC...so simple to make..nice entry.

Uma said...

delicious salad.

Trupti said...

Hey TBC..very delicious and healthy salad..thanks for sharing this.

sra said...

I've taken to making a salad with different kinds of beans and channa and keep calling it three-bean/four-bean salad so that it sounds exotic! I HAVE been wondering about different dressings, though, I usually toss it with lime juice and salt and coriander. Mustard will make a nice change.

Srivalli said...

tbc..salad look so good..I guess we indians are mostly never a salad ppl..but its slowly changing now..salads are so wonderful right..healthy yet light!..yours look colourful

Rachel said...

refreshing bowl of salad! must have tasted yumm with cold soup.

Swati Raman Garg said...

thanks to u guys... i am having good salads sitting here in india... :) lovely looknig salad

SMN said...

Hey TBC that bowl luks so nice feel like having it for my dinner..:)

J said...

In India, salad is a part of the meal, not the meal itself :) But considering todays lifestyle, we should stick to salad, don't you think?

Rajitha said...

love bean salad..would have it in India too..when my mother would pressure cook rajma for dinner...but i would put hoards of things in...i no longer do that....

Vaishali said...

TBC, I'm not one for salads either, although I do get stuck with a fair share of them at events where people don't know what else to feed a vegan!
your version looks lovely, though, not least because it's not just a mess of greens sitting atop a platter. The beans, corn and cucumber sound like a great combination and the dressing is so fresh.

Vanamala Hebbar said...

cool nice one...will try

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

Beans and vegetables (fruits, too) make a great salad combination.
We probably don't traditionally eat salads because we are cooking up vegetables and beans in so many other ways.

Usha said...

Hi,
I have a surprise for you at my blog,please visit my blog to collect your surprise.

Sunshinemom said...

This is just the kind of salad I like! Any kind of beans generally go well with veggies!

Swati Raman Garg said...

heyy i have a small something for you in my blog.. come over and check it :)

Mandira said...

light and airy summer salad, love the pic!

Ivy said...

I saw your recipe from the round up. Sounds delicious.

Lore said...

I never eat beans without onion and I believe that the bean-scallion combo is great!

TBC said...

Asha- I always bought a lot of the store-bought dressings initially till I realized how easy it was to make my own. I will take a look at your salad. After all, variety is the spice of life.;D


HC- Same here.:D.


Sukanya- thank you.:)

Laavanya- That's the main reason I'm so into salads these days. ;-)That, and I desperatley need to shed a couple of pounds.:)


Devi Priya- thanks.:)
I agree- adding protein in some form makes it more substantial.


Sunita- thank you.:D


Lisa- all taken care of now.:D


Karuna, Ranji, Uma, Trupti, Rachel, SMN and Vanamala- thank you all so much!


Sra- I should start doing that now. I already have 3 salads here with different beans but similar names. Using fancy names is a good way to tell them apart.:D


Srivalli- yeah... that was the case, but it's changing now.
Thanks.:)


Swati- thank you! I will always associate you with that song.;)
Thanks once again for all the sweet words about me. I like you more now.;-)


Jyo- I agree. We really do eat more than we need to and it usually is the kind of food that is not good for us either. I am guilty of doing that too and am trying very hard to make small changes at the very least.:)


Rajitha- I would have the sundal thing when my mom would make the Kerala-style kadala curry. Those kadala beans(I am too lazy to look up the name right now) would be seasoned with the usual stuff and then some coconut would be mixed into it too. It was so good!


Vaishali- you're back! Hope you had a good trip.:)
I like the dressing too. I always used the bottled ones from the store till I realized that I could make my own when I needed it.:)


Aparna- I've tried fruits too, mainly apples and strawberries- they're good too.

You ARE right! We do use a lot of veggies and beans daily in other forms. You know, I never thought of it that way! :D


Usha- thank you for thinking of me.:D


Sunshinemom- thanks.:D


Mandira- thanks.:D


Ivy- welcome, and thanks for visiting! :D


Lore- I like the combination too. It also lends a spot of color to an otherwise dull-looking salad.:D

FoodieFriend said...

Wow!
Looks great!
Good to have something on a lighter note sometimes.....

Anonymous said...

I would love to have some of this bean salad and cold soup right now!
It's been so blistering hot. Your dish is perfect for days like this!

Andhra Flavors said...

A healthy salad with greens make it better.

Latha Narasimhan said...

The budding cook has blossomed! :)) Nice salad! All girls trouble their mothers for eating food! :D After marriage they change! :)

TBC said...

Foodiefriend- You've got to stop using others' pictures on your blog! There are copyright laws against such things, u surely know that!!!

Kribha said...

I was not a salad person too earlier. Even now, I don't prefer the plain lettuce - tomato salad with dressing. But the bean salad is the only kind I can have. Lovely recipe and picture. Will skip the honey and try it.

Kumudha said...

I too don't make salads! But, I feel that I should regularly make salads during summer! It's so filling and nutritious.

Bean Salad looks so tasty!

Rajitha said...

madamji...http://hungerpangs.blogspot.com/2008/06/quirks-and-jal-jeera.html

Ramya Bala said...

Thanks for dropping by and you have a wonderful blog

Madhavi said...

Hummmm yummy salad, looks great, very tempting :))

TBC said...

White on rice couple- it's nice to see you here.:)


Andhra flavors- it sure does.:D
I prefer the ones without greens.


Latha- awww, what a nice thing to say!:D
I know! I used to give my mom grief. The poor thing was forced to make different dishes to cater to different tates within the family.:-(


Kribha- I still cannot get over the fact that u lost 30 lbs! I want to be there too!:(


Kumudha- thank you.:)


Rajitha- :-(


Ramya- thank you, that is very kind of you.


Madhavi- glad u like it.:D

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