This salad has lots of flavour, but without too much heat. It is adapted from a recipe by Segar Kulasegarampillai, whose restaurant Segar in Toronto is known for its tasty intercontinental food. This will serve two as a vegetarian main course or can be a side dish with anything off the grill.
Servings: 4
Ready Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
1 pound (500 grams) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled
12 stalks fresh asparagus
Pinch turmeric
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon garam masala
3 tablespoons coriander leaves
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
Cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Remove tough ends from asparagus and cut stalks into 3-inch pieces.
Add potatoes to a pot of cold salted water with turmeric and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook for 10 minutes or until just barely tender. Strain and spread out to cool.
Add asparagus to a pot of boiling salted water and blanch for 1 minute or until just undercooked. Drain and rinse until cold.
Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes or until transparent. Add mustard, cumin seeds and garam masala and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Fold in potatoes and asparagus and toss to coat vegetables. Cook for 2 minutes to heat through, then stir in coriander leaves and lemon juice. Season well with salt and pepper.
Serves 4
Lucy Waverman