A true winter bliss salad! Warm curried lentils combined with veggies and a super healthy mango ginger and avocado dressing!
I bet so many of us have resolved to eat better or lose weight, starting today, January 1st! That is how my thoughts turned to salads. But for me, eating cold salads during the winter months is not as appeasing. I naturally gravitate towards warm foods.
So warm, yummy curried lentils combined with veggies and fruit seemed to be a great choice. I also wanted an easy to make, delectable and healthy dressing to go with it. That is how this dish came about and am happy to report that it tastes awesome!
Amba Haldi is being featured as the popular health food recently. Ayurveda has hailed it as a health food for ages. So I make the Amba Haldi pickle at home. Both the raw and pickled version is also available in the Indian stores. Amba Haldi, I believe, is Curcuma Amada, also called mango ginger. It is from the ginger family and closely related to turmeric. The rhizome looks like fresh ginger but is bright orange on the inside. It is said to have a mango flavor, but I feel it is quite pungent on its own. I like the pickled version. So my dressing is a combination of pickled amba haldi with mango puree and avocado! Creamy and simply delicious!
I made and refrigerated extra portions of this salad, so I could have it again and again, this week!
Warm lentil Salad with Mango Ginger Dressing
Ingredients-
For the curried lentils-
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 4~5 fresh curry leaves
- 1 clove of garlic, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder, or to taste
- 1 cup lentils, soaked, cooked and drained
- Sea salt to taste
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- Juice of ½ lime
For the dressing-
- 3 tablespoons canned mango puree or a small ripe mango deseeded
- ¼ avocado
- 1 tablespoon ambe haldi pickle
- Juice of ½ lime
- Sea salt to taste
- About ½ cup water or more for thinner consistency
For the salad-
Baby spinach leaves, red cabbage, onion, grape tomatoes and/or veggies of your choice
To make the Warm Lentil Salad with Mango Ginger Dressing-
- Heat the coconut oil over medium high heat, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and garlic and stir fry until the mustard seeds start sputtering and the garlic is golden, but not burnt.
- Add the turmeric powder, chili powder, stir for a couple of seconds and add the lentils. Stir to coat them with the spices. Add the salt, brown sugar and lime juice and cook on low for a couple of minutes, covered, to let the flavors mingle and so that the lentils are warmed through.
- Meanwhile, in a blender, blend together all the ingredients of the dressing. Set aside.
- In a bowl or plate, serve the warm lentils, with the vegetables and the dressing.
Enjoy! Wishing you success with all your resolutions in the new year ! I am taking this Warm Lentil Salad with the super food Amba haldi dressing to Angie’s 100th Fiesta Friday co hosted by Judi, Mollie, Steffi, and Suzanne!
Love,
Sandhya
This looks fresh and delicious. I love using coconut oil and the mango/avocado sounds like a winner. Thanks for sharing..Zeba
Thank you so much Zeba!
Love love love the relish Sandy ❤️
Thanks Sonal. I was happy with the taste too as I am not a big fan of amba haldi but wanted to incorporate it in the diet. Combined with mango and avocado it turned out to be a dressing I am having again and again!
I am planning to incorporate more disease fighting ingredients and herbs in the diet this year too Sandy
I have a favorite lentil soup but I never use them in salads. Thanks for the recipe and a new way to get these in my diet.
Thank you Judi. I love lentil soup too!
Such a healthy and colorful plate. Love the dressing! 🙂
Thank you Ronit! I was happy with the taste of the dressing.I want to use the superfood mango ginger in our diet but find it pungent. Combined with the sweetness of the mango and the creaminess of the avocado , it is a dressing I am reaching for again and again:)
Nice! Did you make the amba haldi pickle or used the store brought?
I made it at home, Ashwini but store bought should be fine too. I usually drain the extra oil from store bought pickles. I am thinking of making the pickled amba haldi with just lemon juice, sea salt and ginger and leave it in the refrigerator, so it can be used as needed.
What a combination of flavours! Simply superb.
Thank you Aruna!
Perfect for this time of the year!!!! It screams to be made and enjoyed 😊
Thank you so much Marisa!
What a rainbow of colors and flavor profile in presenting this dish Sandhya, well done! I’ve never eaten a warm lentil salad before, but look at all that goodness and freshness, it looks very appetizing! I’m not sure I’ve heard of the amba haldi pickle, but I’m sure it provided a nice tartiness to the dressing.
Thank you Loretta! I happened to read that amba haldi is the new superfood and realized that it was always a health food in ayurveda. So wanted to create a quick dressing using it.The raw amba haldi rhizome is pretty pungent but tastes great pickled. Good for the brain cells too they say….and my brain cells need all the help they can get:)
Hope you had a great time with your family during the holidays.
mmm. . . this looks so yummy, and perfect for this time of year.
Thank you so much Sheryl!
I am saving all these beautiful healthful salads I am seeing and this is just perfect, I love the dressing, lentils all of it. So well done Sandhya.
Thank you so much Suzanne! Your compliment means a lot to me!
Reblogged this on Chef Ceaser.
Thank you so much! I truly appreciate your kind gesture.Happy New year!
This looks so fresh and delicious! A perfect meal Sandhya 🙂
Thank you Antonia!Hope you had a good holiday season.
This looks absolutely amazing! I’ll be making this to offset my drooling over Suzanne’s eggnog 😉
Thanks for alerting me to the beauties of healthy food, Sandhya!
Ginger x
Thank you so much for your kind words, Ginger. I agree Suzanne’s eggnog is just droolicious!
Such a refreshing salad, Sandhya!! Love the dressing 🙂
Thanks Freda!
They look so fresh and healthy ,Sandhya…
Thanks Swapna!
WOW! That looks colorful and amazing recipe. In love with this!
Thanks Kushi! They taste great and i don’t miss the fried ones. So I can eat as much as I want:)
Oh wow, this sounds incredible! I can’t wait to try it – and thanks for bringing it by to FF, of course! I’ll be pinning it!
Thank you so much! Hope you like it!
In the summer I make a big batch of purple quinoa and when it “blossoms” I add onions, sliced veggies and a sweet and sour dressing! Yummy! I will have to try warm lentil salads now for colder weather, Sandhya. ♡
Wooooow i read mango it’s so refreshing can have any time & gorgeous click too 😘
Thanks so much Linda!
Amazing spread. Lots of love for this combo.
Thank you Sowmya!
This is divine healthy with that dressing that is operating so perfect! Love how u used ambe holding pickle have not had it in years!! Doubt we get it here in Melbourne!
Love the recipe http://www.mumbaitomelbourne.com/food-and-health-blog-posts/matki-chi-usal-moth-beans-usal
Thank you Sharvari! Do you get ambe halad in Melbourne? I made the pickle at home using Bedekar masala as I was in a hurry. It came out awesome. I am not a big fan of ambe halad but this dressing has the right amount of zing to it.
I love this dressing.
Thank you so much Rupali!
Thank you so much Donna for including the Warm curried lentil salad with the super healthy mango ginger and avocado dressing. It is a favorite in our home!