Summer salads to beat the heat

The Israeli kachumber
This one is quick and easy! In Israel, this salad - comprising finely chopped veggies - is an integral part of every meal. “This salad has basic ingredients like finely chopped cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, olive oil, lemon zest, salt and pepper. It’s quite similar to the kachumber we make in India, the only difference is that the veggies are finely chopped here. If you do not have cherry tomatoes, use the basic one, and you can use lime zest instead of lemon,” says Gayatri Sharma, a home chef.

Sheildzini, the Japanese cucumber saladThis is a sweet and tangy all-cucumber salad.
“Cut your cucumber into bite-sized pieces. Add a bit of sugar, a pinch of salt, and some soya sauce. Though traditionally white wine vinegar is then added to the mix, you can also use a bit of regular vinegar. You can also add some cooked rice to it,” says sous chef Raunak Periwal.
France’s Nicoise salad
The vegetables that are used in this salad are supposed to be raw and fresh.
“The key ingredient of the salad is Nicoise olive, but you can always use the regular one. Other ingredients are potatoes (semi-cooked), tuna fish (but you can use shredded chicken or paneer cubes instead), tomatoes, sautéed green beans or French beans, Dijon mustard (or a bit of basic mustard sauce), fresh lettuce, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix it all and serve fresh,” says Ananya Dutta, a hotel management student

The Asian noodle salad
This soup-salad is spicy and even a bit indulgent, thanks to the noodles in it! “For this you need ramen noodles, cabbage, carrots, blanched broccoli, spring onion, roasted almonds, soy sauce, sugar, salt, sesame seeds, and rice or normal vinegar. The boiled noodles and fresh and juicy vegetables are a great combination, while the roasted almonds add the desired smokey crunchiness to it,” says Raunak.