Moong Dal Kosambari is possibly one of the rare Real Indian Salads. Soaked moong dal, carrot, cucumber and other variety of vegetables. A hint of coconut and the traditional curry leaves and mustard ka tadka. This is a healthy, delicious and totally local salad.
India is not much of a salad eating country, especially South of India. But Moong Dal Kosambari is a grand exception to that. A salad with brilliant flavors and simplicity that makes it so special.
And I think because of its simplicity, we tend to ignore this humble salad. So what I like to do is present my Moong Dal Kosambari in a new avatar. The same flavors but a new look, just makes our good old salad a bit fancier. Like a modern Moong Dal Kosambari or a gourmet version of the same.
I like to use a mix of vegetables – cucumber, carrots, and beetroot which makes the salad look really nice and vibrant. But if you want you can stick to any one vegetable. The real beauty of this salad is that it works every way. I mean I don’t think anyone can make a bad kosambari. The play of textures and flavours is so simple yet so beautiful.
If you make this, share a picture with me on twitter, instagram or Facebook? I would love to hear what you say. And track all the posts for the Salad A-Z here.
Moong Dal Kosambari - The Real Indian Salad
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup moong dal
- 1 large carrot sprialised
- 1 cucumber peeled and sprialised
- 1/2 beetroot peeled and sprialised
- 1 green chilli chopped
- handful coriander leaves chopped for garnish
- 1/4 cup grated Coconut
- Salt to taste
For the tempering
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds rai
- 1 sprig curry leaves
Instructions
- Wash and soak moong dal for 2 hours. Drain and set aside
- Mix together all the salad ingredients apart from coconut and coriander.
- In a small tadka pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds. Sautee till they crackle, add curry leaves and sautee for 1 min. Pour over salad and mix
- Garnish with coriander leaves and coconut. Serve cold
I ate this at someone’s house (incidentally in Bangalore!)and loved it !