A Summery Moulded Salad.

I was around 12 years old when I ate my first  moulded salad. My family and I had been invited for lunch at the Madras Race Club.

The cook at the club who must have trained under a British memsahib used to conjure up the most amazing fare! The first course was crab baked in its shell accompanied by this wonderful cold moulded seafood salad. All I can say is that I was sold for life!!

You can really use your imagination and innovate as you go along. seafood, chicken, paneer, tofu.

Even nuts and dried fruit would be wonderful.

If you have some leftover Biriyani the moulded salad would become a complete meal! Try it out.

Cheesy vegetable salad mould        Serves 4 – 6

Gelatin                                     2 Tbls + 1 tsp

Water                                      1 cup

Fresh Cream                            1 ½ cups

 Curd/ Yogurt                         ½ cup

Mayonnaise                             ½ cup

Worcester sauce                      2 Tbls

Chilly sauce                             2 tsp [opt]

Tomato sauce                          3-4 Tbls

Grated cheese                         ½ cup

Capsicum (bell peppers)         seeded and finely chopped, 3 Tbls

Spring onions                           finely chopped, 3 Tbls

Celery                                      finely chopped, 3 Tbls

Cucumber*                                finely chopped, 3 Tbls.

 Salt to taste

Hard-boiled egg and seedless grapes for garnishing.

Method

Soak the gelatin in about 5 Tbs of cold water until spongy. Place the container with the gelatin in a double boiler and heat until completely dissolved. The gelatin should now look like the white of an egg. Keep warm.

Combine the fresh cream, curd, mayonnaise, the Worcester, chilly and tomato sauces.

 Gradually add the warm gelatin along with the rest of the water, to the fresh cream mixture, stirring all the while until well blended. Stir in the cheese and chill the mixture either over a bowl of ice, or in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally until the mixture starts to thicken.

At this stage, fold in the chopped vegetables; check seasoning and pour the mixture into a well-oiled mould. Leave to set in the fridge until firm.

Unmould onto a bed of lettuce, and garnish with slices of hard-boiled egg and seedless grapes.

* This vegetable starts releasing its juices once chopped. You need to drain this water before adding the cucumber into the gelatin mixture or else it will upset the gelatin water ratio thereby affecting the setting point. Always taste the cucumber for bitterness before adding it to the salad.