Cooking Greens - ever so slightly..

Masala option 1
Saute half an onion and one tomatoewith a little salt.
Add some daal water to this mix and boil with coriander powder, rock salt and pepper powder.

Masala option2
Cook 2 table spoons of toor dal with enough water to a paste consistency.
Grind 1 Table spoon of coconut, half tea spoon of cumin seeds and quarter green chili (per person) into a smooth paste.

Preparing Greens  
Wash half of a medium bunch of greens and chop them fine
Bring a tiny layer of water to rolling boil.
Switch off the stove, add the greens, one small whole tomato and cover with lid. The whole tomato is supposed to preserve the minerals in greens.

Mixing
Add masala to the greens and mix well. I use a hand blender to mash them up a little.
When done add seasoning (I use mustard seeds, urad dal, cummins, curry leaves spluttered in very little oil) to the mix.

Serves one person.

Sun Cooked Salads - Formula

I use this formula for the raw veggie salad.
1 part = 50 gms

Base:

• 1 part sprouts
• 2 parts of a creeper or climber variety vegetable. Grated or very finely chopped. This would be typically, anything that ends in a 'gourd' -   (bitter gourd is an exception :) Bottle gourd and Snake gourd taste good. So do Chayote/Chow-chow and Flat beans. All these veggies are alkaline and provide a good amount of fiber. Pick your favorite.
• 1 part of one of these - grated or finely chopped.
  
• carrots
• beans
• beets 
• turnips
• cabbage
• broccoli
• baby corns
  

Seasoning:
A combination of 

• Finely chopped cilantro or basil to taste
• Finely chopped tomatoes - 2 medium sized per person may be a good start
• Fresh coconut gratings or a dash of lime but not both
• One tea spoon of ginger juice per person

The Mix: 

Mix the seasoning to the base. Gently press the surface with a spoon to make it compact. Close with a lid and let it sit for 10 minutes. The juices from seasoning ingredients will get soaked up by the vegetables.

No need to add salt or pepper.

First few times, everyone makes the mistake of making more quantity than needed because adding just one carrot, for example, looks less. Since we them raw, we need to chew them a lot more than cooked food and hence very less quantity of each ingredient is enough.

Variations:

• Adding 2 Table spoons of grated radish per person will perk up the salad.
• Those who have access to gooseberry can add it for a more salty flavour.
• Instead of sprouts, you can add a third vegetable or greens or fresh peas to the base.
• In summer,  adding cucumber to the seasoning makes the salad more juicy.
• In winter, finely chopped onions can be added if you like that flavor.