Steamed Veggie and Chicken Salad

Wow!

This must be the longest unplanned break I have taken from blogging. Normally nothing would keep me away from my blog,absolutely nothing. But this long break has been caused by the fact that I have put myself on a diet and I am currently not cooking any fancy stuff that I normally do at least once a week . You might say "Oh ,but Anupama you could blog about so many delicious low-fat recipes!" But the truth is I have not tried out any such. And quite frankly I don't feel like. I mean the ordinary maharashtrian everyday food is so simple and low fat that I don't find the need to make any special diet recipes. So currently I am enjoying our normal Poli ,Bhaji, Aamti ,Koshimbir fare accompanied by loads of very thin taak (buttermilk) with the odd roasted papad thrown in for variety .

But then yesterday when I opened my blog and saw those same old Suralchya Wadya on the front page I myself promptly shut off my blog and went on to see some other site. I mean they have been there forever now and I will absolutely not blame all you bloggo-buddies out there if you never come to my blog ever again .

But now Diet or No-Diet I am ready again to share with all of you something fantastic that is so easy to make ,very nutritious and also a treat for the taste buds. I ate this salad for the first time after my marriage when my MiL made it. (Ofcourse she made it only with veggies)I just loved it. It looks quite like Russian Salad which I had in a restaurant once but was not too crazy about. It tasted too sweet. Over the years I have tweaked the recipe a bit to our liking.

It's low in calories and made with absolutely no-fuss ingredients which are normally available in all kitchens.

What you need:

1 medium potato peeled and cut into small cubes,

1 medium carrot also peeled and cut into small cubes,

1/2 a cup of small cauliflower florets,

1/2 a cup of french beans finely cut,

1/2 a cup cooked red kidney beans,(rajma)

1/2 a cup of green peas,

1/2 a cup of sweet corn

1/2 a cup chopped cucumber,

1/2 a cup cooked and shredded chicken (optional)

For the Dressing:

1 cup low fat yogurt (Place the yogurt in a large soup strainer for about 1/2 an hour. This drains out all the whey and leaves behind only the creamy thick yogurt)

1 tblspn low fat mayonnaise (completely optional),

1/2 cup milk,

1 tspn sugar,

1 tspns cumin powder,

salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

Place all the prepared vegetables in a colander and steam them until tender by placing the colander on a saucepan with boiling water. Keep the heat moderate. This takes about 15 to 20 mins.

Alternatively ,you could boil the veggies in water but steaming as we all know is the healthier way to cook them.

After they have cooked leave them in the colander to cool completely.

Meanwhile prepare the dressing by mixing all the ingredients and give it a taste.

Once the veggies have cooled down transfer them to a bowl and pour all the dressing over them. Add the chicken and kidney beans and stir all together very gently.

You can garnish it with any fruit of your choice. Pomogranate seeds look particularly pretty.