PAPAYA SALAD
from Menus and Memories from Punjab, by Veronica Sidhu

Most Punjabis like to eat ripe papaya for breakfast with a splash of lime. Here I have used it to bring color and flavor in a fruit chaat that will brighten a brunch or bring a light touch to a heavier meal. The enzymes found in papaya help digest protein.

Yield: 8 1-cup servings

3 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon crumbled gurd or brown sugar
2 teaspoons chaat masala
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
5 cups peeled and cubed (1-inch) ripe papaya
1 cup halved red or green grapes
3 cups 1/2-inch cubes green or red apple
1 small to medium red onion, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup sliced cilantro leaves

Mix the lime or lemon juice, garlic, brown sugar, chaat masala, salt and pepper together until smooth.

Combine the fruit and the onion in a large salad bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss carefully. Refrigerate until serving time and then add the cilantro just before serving.

Menus and Memories from Punjab, by Veronica Sidhu will be available in September 2009.

Buko I (Five-Minute Coconut Salad)

What could be easier than a recipe that calls for only three ingredients? Look for lychees and canned coconut in Asian supermarkets.

3 (11-ounce) cans whole lychees, quartered
6 (3.5-ounce) cans canned grated coconut in syrup
1 cup heavy cream

Combine the lychees with the undrained coconut in a medium bowl. Fold in cream. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.
Yields 8 servings.

Coconut Salad
Buko II

Filipino ingredients are available in Asian supermarkets.
8 ounces frozen shredded buko (young coconut), thawed
8 ounces fruit cocktail
1 (15-ounce) jar mata de coco (coconut gel)
1 (12-ounce) jar kaong (palm fruit in syrup)
1 (8-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (8-ounce) can Nestle cream (thick, sweet topping)
or 8 ounces vanilla yogurt

Drain the buko, fruit cocktail, mata de coco, and kaong thoroughly; combine in a medium bowl. Add the milk and cream, mixing well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Stir well before serving.
Yields 8 servings.

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Asparagus Salad (Saandheko Kurelo)

Guest blogging for Hippocrene Cooks this week is Jyoti Pathak, a founding member of the Association of Nepalese in America. She headed the cookbook committee of the association and spearheaded the production of the first Nepali cookbook self-published in Americas in 1986. Jyoti authored Taste of Nepal, which has been chosen as the “Best Foreign Cuisine Book” by Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in 2008. This week showcases two appetizing recipes from the well-received volume.

Asparagus is one of the most delectable spring vegetables and is considered the king of vegetables in Nepal. My husband and I have been growing asparagus in our home garden for several years and have been cooking it in various different ways. I like to prepare this dish when the freshest asparagus of the season comes out. This dish is prepared by boiling the asparagus, giving it a cold-water bath to preserve the green color, and pairing it with spices. Although it is called a salad dish, I serve it more as a side vegetable dish with freshly boiled rice, lentils, other sautéed vegetables, and warm Nepali breads.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

2 1/2 pounds asparagus, trimmed & sliced
diagonally into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
1 green onion (white and light green parts),
thinly sliced
1 fresh mild or hot green chili pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
3 whole Szechwan pepper (timmur),
finely ground with a mortar and pestle
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon or lime juice

(Note: Szechwan pepper (timmur) is also known as Nepali pepper. This is a highly pungent, sharp black pepper, but it has an entirely different flavor and is, in fact, not related to the black pepper family. It has a rough, wrinkled, and uneven surface and the aroma lies in the split covering of the pod, not in the seed. Nepalese describes its taste as per-peraune, which means "biting taste with an anesthetic feeling on the tongue." It should be used only in moderation; otherwise, it will overpower the dish.)

Bring a medium-size pot of salted water to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Add the asparagus and cook until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Do not overcook, as they will become waterlogged and tasteless. Immediately drain the asparagus in a colander, and run cold water over it to halt the cooking. Place the asparagus in a medium-size bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the cilantro, green onion, green chili, oil, garlic, ginger, and timmur and mix well. Add the spice mixture to the asparagus and toss gently to mix well. Taste and add the salt and lemon juice, if necessary. Cover the bowl and allow the flavors to set for at least 10 minutes at room temperature. Transfer the asparagus to a bowl. If you are not serving it right away, cover and refrigerate until serving time.

Pictures courtesy of Jyoti Pathak.