28 Apr 2008, 0900 hrs IST
,TNN
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| Model Jasmine Dawda checks out the fresh cucumbers and tomatoes at her local market (TOI Photo) | |
There must be some truth when people say it’s wise to go veggie in summer.
With the temperatures rising and the heat showing no respite, it’s a good reason to switch to some healthy vegetables and take a break from your usual fare of say, meat or fish. Of course, today you can get almost everything throughout the year, but somehow, cucumbers and tomatoes are more appealing and perhaps taste better during these hot months.
Walk past any vegetable market and be amazed at what you see. Stacked of vegetables, some fresh and well some sprinkled with water to look fresh, in every imaginable colours, the dark blood-red beets, the green broad beans, the very summery yellow lemons and the rich and royal purple brinjal. Prices rise and prices fall, depending on what arrives in surplus, but we don’t think vegetables have reached that exorbitant, unaffordable level yet.
Cucumbers is everybody’s favourite during the summer. Of course you can lightly stir-fry it, but it is best eaten raw, with a little salt, chillie or paprika powder and dash of lemon.
All over the city, the humble cucumber is sold on handcarts, though not always fresh, but a quick healthy summer snack, nevertheless.
Tomatoes, both green and red is also a popular choice together with crisp spring onions (don’t forget to use a bit of the green stalks as well), red radish and fresh lettuce. You need to acquire a taste for green tomatoes and what most people do is lightly saute them in olive oil and garlic for a bit of flavour. With the varieties of salad available today, the choices are many, but the trick is to soak the leaves in cold water and pat them dry before making your salad. Also, instead of cutting the leaves, simply break them off. The fresher the lettuce the easier they break and crunchier the taste.
Beans, both the broad beans or papri, french beans and gherkins or tendli are also a favourite. And while buying gherkins look for the green variety, minus any dashes of yellow. That simply means they are overripe and lack the crisp flavour. This is also the season for cabbages, again both red and greed. Cooking sliced cabbage is what we do throughout the year, for summer its a salad you must make. You can use both
varieties and the trick is to slice them very, very finely. Add a bit of chopped green chillie, salt and pepper and finally lemon.
It’s the same with cauliflower, instead of cooking it with all the seasonings, you can simply boil the little florets, sprinkle with pepper and eat. This might not appeal to everybody, so another option is to use the boiled cauliflower is a tossed salad or pour a bit of white sauce (don’t forget to add the mustard) on the florets arranged in a dish, grate some cheese onto it and bake.
Eat immediately for best results. Meaning that it is best enjoyed fresh. Ridge gourd and snake gourd are also seen in plenty. For the snake gourd, lightly scrape the vegetable, remove the fibres inside and cut into three inch pieces, lightly boil and then fill these little tubes with a filling of your choice, it could be chicken, meat, prawn or vegetable mashed potato filling. Roll lightly into a bit of egg white, then breadcrumbs and fry. If you are a vegetarian, simply skip the egg process.
Finally, summer’s best, the lemon or sour lime. You can squeeze in on every possible raw vegetable eaten but it makes the most refreshing summer drink.
Extract the juice, but be careful not completely to the rind or the bitterness will come through. Make a sugar syrup and add the unstrained juice minus any seeds. For added flavour and for a solution to all your throat infections, add a bit of freshly squeezed ginger.
You don’t need any preservatives, if you keep this syrup in the fridge. But remember since it has no artificial flavourings, it should be consumed quickly. Now can you think of anything more refreshing that this...
With the temperatures rising and the heat showing no respite, it’s a good reason to switch to some healthy vegetables and take a break from your usual fare of say, meat or fish. Of course, today you can get almost everything throughout the year, but somehow, cucumbers and tomatoes are more appealing and perhaps taste better during these hot months.
Walk past any vegetable market and be amazed at what you see. Stacked of vegetables, some fresh and well some sprinkled with water to look fresh, in every imaginable colours, the dark blood-red beets, the green broad beans, the very summery yellow lemons and the rich and royal purple brinjal. Prices rise and prices fall, depending on what arrives in surplus, but we don’t think vegetables have reached that exorbitant, unaffordable level yet.
Cucumbers is everybody’s favourite during the summer. Of course you can lightly stir-fry it, but it is best eaten raw, with a little salt, chillie or paprika powder and dash of lemon.
All over the city, the humble cucumber is sold on handcarts, though not always fresh, but a quick healthy summer snack, nevertheless.
Tomatoes, both green and red is also a popular choice together with crisp spring onions (don’t forget to use a bit of the green stalks as well), red radish and fresh lettuce. You need to acquire a taste for green tomatoes and what most people do is lightly saute them in olive oil and garlic for a bit of flavour. With the varieties of salad available today, the choices are many, but the trick is to soak the leaves in cold water and pat them dry before making your salad. Also, instead of cutting the leaves, simply break them off. The fresher the lettuce the easier they break and crunchier the taste.
Beans, both the broad beans or papri, french beans and gherkins or tendli are also a favourite. And while buying gherkins look for the green variety, minus any dashes of yellow. That simply means they are overripe and lack the crisp flavour. This is also the season for cabbages, again both red and greed. Cooking sliced cabbage is what we do throughout the year, for summer its a salad you must make. You can use both
varieties and the trick is to slice them very, very finely. Add a bit of chopped green chillie, salt and pepper and finally lemon.
It’s the same with cauliflower, instead of cooking it with all the seasonings, you can simply boil the little florets, sprinkle with pepper and eat. This might not appeal to everybody, so another option is to use the boiled cauliflower is a tossed salad or pour a bit of white sauce (don’t forget to add the mustard) on the florets arranged in a dish, grate some cheese onto it and bake.
Eat immediately for best results. Meaning that it is best enjoyed fresh. Ridge gourd and snake gourd are also seen in plenty. For the snake gourd, lightly scrape the vegetable, remove the fibres inside and cut into three inch pieces, lightly boil and then fill these little tubes with a filling of your choice, it could be chicken, meat, prawn or vegetable mashed potato filling. Roll lightly into a bit of egg white, then breadcrumbs and fry. If you are a vegetarian, simply skip the egg process.
Finally, summer’s best, the lemon or sour lime. You can squeeze in on every possible raw vegetable eaten but it makes the most refreshing summer drink.
Extract the juice, but be careful not completely to the rind or the bitterness will come through. Make a sugar syrup and add the unstrained juice minus any seeds. For added flavour and for a solution to all your throat infections, add a bit of freshly squeezed ginger.
You don’t need any preservatives, if you keep this syrup in the fridge. But remember since it has no artificial flavourings, it should be consumed quickly. Now can you think of anything more refreshing that this...
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