Passion Fruit Salad

This has to be one of the best salads I have ever made. It not only tastes good and smells divine but looks great and can be a dinner table centre piece. We have always grown passion fruits in our garden as long back as I can remember- in the ground and in the pot too on our balcony. Once when our baby girl was two years old, she had a marvellous time plucking all the passion fruits I had so carefully nurtured on my balcony. I just put them with the rice and they ripened within a few days and we feasted on exotic food and generally had a good time. When we visited Bali a few years ago I was surprised to eat a variety of Passion fruit that was really sweet and very unlike the ones we had grown in India. Last week I came across some of the sweet variety in the supermarket and succumbed to them. Result- one beautiful, aromatic, Passion Fruit Salad that made my dining table look awesome.

The Recipe:

1 cup curds or yoghurt; 1 grated carrot; 2 passion fruits, cut and scoop out the flesh; 1 dragon fruit, diced; salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish: One red chilli. A sprig of kafir lime leaves.

I enjoy vegetable carving and try out simple things whenever I can. Place the chilli on a board and cut it 3/4 down into half with a sharp knife. Start at the tip and go upwards. Then using a small scissors, cut each half 3/4 down into 3 to 5 petals. Gently shake out the seeds. Put in a container with water to cover and refrigerate overnight. Next day take it out of the water and drain. You will find that the chilli has become a beautiful flower. Keep practising until you are perfect.

Method: Mix all the ingredients together. Adjust the seasoning and garnish with a red chilli cut to look like a flower. Refrigerate and serve with whatever meal you are having.

Learn how to cook a traditional Indian meal using recipes that have been inherited from my great-grandmother.