This beautiful summer salad with orange juice dressing is simple, delicious, preservative-free and so flavorful. Made primarily from freshly squeezed orange and lemon juice, this dressing is infused with fresh, chopped coriander and mint leaves in olive oil.
Ingredients:
- Julienne vegetables like carrots, cabbage, cucumber and cherry tomatoes.
For orange juice dressing:
- Juice from a quarter Navel orange
- Lemon juice (1 tbsp)
- Mint and coriander leaves (finely chopped)
- Red onions (finely chopped) (1 tbsp) (optional)
- Pink Himalayan salt (to taste)
- Powdered organic sugar (to taste)
- Fresh ground black pepper powder (to taste)
- Olive oil (1 tsp)
Method:
- Mix all ingredients for dressing well.
- Drizzle dressing on julienne vegetables just before serving.
- Adjust salt and pepper as needed.
Tip:
Serve this salad with a barley lentil soup, for a complete summer meal.
Tastes (Rasa):
Sweet (orange juice, sugar, oil, carrots), sour (orange and lemon juice, tomatoes), salty (salt), bitter (leaves), pungent (pepper), astringent (cucumber, leaves).
Doshic Influence:
Salads are inherently vata aggravating, in excess, due to their dry and cold properties. Addition of oil makes the salad a little unctuous/oily, balancing out the dryness. Raw vegetables are also slightly difficult to digest, so digestive spices like pepper, lemon, mint and coriander are added to enhance digestibility as well as taste and flavor.
Effects on the Mind (Gunas):
In large quantities or if this salad is consumed as a meal, this may be slightly rajasic since it puts a load on the digestion and may cause flatulence, digestive issues like stomach gurgling, discomfort etc. In small quantities as part of a meal, salads are a great addition to our daily diet, especially during summer. This salad with orange juice dressing is mild, flavorful, preservative-free and has components from all 6 tastes, making it very digestible and sattvic.