Make way for  Salads since summer is here! Versatile, scrumptious and healthy Salads make a refreshing meal in itself.  And making a good salad needs a little bit of knowledge about which oil to use and what kinds of Vinegars would go well. The most common ratio for a perfect salad is one part vinegar to three parts oil, with spices of personal taste.  A good dressing should be mild and not overpowering and should be able to bring out the best of flavours from the vegetables and fruits in it.

Homemade salad dressing add extra zing to the salad, and its quite economical and healthy too, as you can adjust the fats in the dressing according to your taste.

Salad Dressing;

There are as many variations as there are spices and flavors in the food world, but the main classification can be done as;

1. French /Vinaigrette Dressing; Oil, vinegar and herbs and spice mix.
2. Cooked Salad Dressing; Generally made with eggs.
3. Creamy Dressing; Mayonnaise and yogurt base

Salad Oils;

Extra virgin olive oil is supposed to be the best for salad making. You can also flavour the olive oil by adding herbs and spices in it. Basil, mint, rosemary and thyme make a very flavourful oil. Just put these herbs in the bottle of olive oil and keep it aside for a week and leave to infuse.

Some of the most common & easy Salad Dressings;

1. Lemon Cilantro Dressing

Quick and easiest of all, this is my all time favorite dressing.

Ingredients;

• 1/3 cup of Lemon juice
• 1/3 cup of shredded Cilantro/coriander leaves
• 1 tsp. of crushed cumin
• 1/2 tsp of crushed pepper
• Salt as desired

Method: Mix all and use as desired.

2. Sweet & Hot Thai dressing
Ingredients;

• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tsp. Palm sugar
• 2 tbsp. fresh coriander/mint leaves
• 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 clove of Garlic (optional)
• Salt as desired

Method; Mix all in a jar and store in refrigerator for a week.

3. Tangy Tomato Dressing

Ingredients;

• 1 cup Tomato juice
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 clove of Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper

Method; Mix all and dress the salad.

4. No Oil Poppy Seeds Dressing
Ingredients;

• 1/4 cup of Orange juice
• 1/4 cup of Lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. Honey
• 1 tbsp. Tomato juice
• ½ cup Cashew nuts
• 1 tbsp chopped Onion
• Salt as desired
• 1 tsp. crushed pepper
• 1 tbsp Poppy seeds

Method; Blend all the ingredients except poppy seeds. Take out and mix in the poppy seeds. Refrigerate till needed.

5. Simple Yogurt Dressing

dill & yogurt dressing

Ingredients;

• 1 cup Yogurt
• Coriander/mint/Dill leaves
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Green chillies

Method; Mix all and dress the salad.

6. Pickled Gherkin/Cucumber Dressing

Ingredients;

• 1/2 cup of pickled Gherkins or cucumber
• Juice of one Lemon
• Rock Salt as desired
• Crushed Pepper
• Fresh Cilantro or Coriander leaves

Method: For making pickled cucumber or Gherkins, wash and slice the veggie in thin strips. Take fresh water in a glass jar and add salt in it and the sliced gherkins. Close the lid and keep it for a few days to let the salt get infused in it. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the salad.

Pickled Gherkins/cucumber stays good for several days.

Other very common way is to pickle the whole Gherkins, for which the small variety (about 3 inches) is good. Wash and fill the Gherkins tightly in a glass jar. Heat vinegar and the sugar. Cool it slightly and pour over the packed Gherkins in the bottle. Add a tsp. of mustard seeds, a few garlic cloves (optional), salt and whole pepper corns in the jar and leave it to infuse.

I like to slice and pickle the Gherkins as the flavors are more intense. Use this pickled Gherkin dressing with any vegetables to give a tangy and wonderful dressing to your salad. If you are not bothered about salt in your diet than these Gherkin slices make a wonderful snack!

7. Vinaigrette

Simple Vinaigrette..

A dressing made with vinegar and oil, or an emulsion which starts separating as soon as it if left undisturbed for a while. The best ratio for a good Vinaigrette is 3:1 to oil and vinegar. The variations which can be brought to Vinaigrette is with the seasoning you add. Kosher salt brings very good results than the normal table salt. Black pepper, honey, celery seeds, paprika, herbs and mustard makes scrumptious Vinaigrette.

Simple Vinaigrette

Ingredients;

• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. vinegar/lemon juice
• 2 tbsp water
• Salt as desired
• Pepper as desired

Method; Mix all in a glass bottle and use when required.

8. Mustard Honey & Fruit Vinaigrette

Ingredients;

• 1 cup of Simple Vinaigrette (as above)
• 1 tbsp Honey
• Juice of a few Grapes
• Juice of half the apple
• A small piece of ginger
• 1 small onion
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg powder

Method; Soak the yellow variety of mustard in the prepared vinaigrette for about 20 minutes. Add all the ingredients and blend till smooth. Store in a glass bottle and use as and when desired. This is a very flavorful and tangy dressing with a slight sweet of honey and freshness of fruits in it.

 

Variations; Add the following ingredients to bring different flavours to the Vinaigrette.

1. Add crushed Garlic
2. Chopped onion
3. Herbs of your choice
4. Honey
5. Dijon mustard

9. Mayonnaise

Check the post here for a few eggless versions of Mayonnaise.

10. Thousand Island Dressing

Ingredients;

• 1 cup of Mayonnaise
• 1 tsp. chilli sauce
• 1 tbsp. tomato sauce
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 1/2 cup French dressing/vinaigrette

Method; Mix all and refrigerate till use. This dressing looks very pretty with the pinkish hue.

Thousand Island dressing gives an extra punch to the veggies in the salad. You can use it as a spread on your sandwich as well. The salad dressing totally depends upon the users taste buds and all the ingredients can be easily manipulated to get the stipulated taste you desire.

Notes;

1. Never use an aluminum to mix the dressing as the acid in the vinegar may produce metallic flavour. Glass or stainless steel jar is good enough.
2. Pour the dressing just before serving the salad.
3. Always refrigerate the dressing to keep the flavors intact.

Check out these  Healthy Salads recipes with loads of veggies in it;

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