Mint Sauce Salad with Lemon and Green Chillies.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

I've always loved mint sauce.

It's one of those ingredients that is almost always there in its little jar in the back of the fridge.
Sometimes I forget about it. But when the mint sauce craving hits, only the taste of mint sauce will do.

It's fresh and zingy all at the same time. My usual way with it is to simply stir it into a little plain yoghurt. It goes so well with keema and soft naan.

Today however, I'm sharing a salad recipe where the mint sauce is the star. Cucumber, tomatoes, red onions, lettuce and green chillies are all sliced thinly before the good stuff is added.

We're talking salt, fresh coriander, lots of lemon juice and of course, a good few teaspoons of mint sauce. I highly recommend that you mix the salad together with your hands to get everything really well coated in the dressing. This salad is really addictive and I can promise that once you've mastered it, you'll be making it all summer long.

A Simple List of Ingredients:

1. Cucumber

2. Red Onion

3. Tomatoes

4. Green Chillies

5. Lettuce

6. Fresh Coriander

7. Salt

8. Mint Sauce

9. Lemon Juice

Bismillah, let's begin!

Take 1/2 Cucumber and slice it into small matchsticks. I also like to deseed my cucumber by slicing off the seeds in the middle so that the excess water from them don't make the salad watery. If you don't mind the seeds, keep them in.

Next, 1 peeled and thinly small Red Onion. You may use a white onion too. I have never been a big fan of raw onion but find that in this salad, with the lemon juice, the onion isn't too harsh.

Time for the tomatoes! Thinly slice 2 Tomatoes and throw them in. As with the cucumber, I like to deseed my tomatoes but you may do as you like.

Now, a little spice with 2 finely chopped Green Chillies. I like to run a sharp knife through the chillies to finely chop them so that their aroma and heat runs all the way through the salad. The spice goes really well with the mint sauce and lemon. Add more, if you don't mind the heat.

Next, the lettuce. I thinly sliced 1 baby Gem Lettuce and threw it in.

For a lovely herb kick, throw in a handful of finely chopped Fresh Coriander. I had to make do with frozen but I highly recommend the fresh.

Now, we season. Throw in 1 teaspoon Salt.

Time for my favourite! I used mint concentrate but mint sauce will be fine too.

Add in 3 teaspoons Mint Sauce.

Last but most certainly not least, freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Squeeze in the Juice of 1 Lemon.

And now, we mix!

This is a salad that I highly recommend mixing with your hands. Wear gloves if you're not too keen on the green chilli.

Mix the salad really well with your hands until all the salad ingredients are coated with the seasonings. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed.

Pile the salad onto a large platter and serve immediately.

The salad will release liquid the longer it sits and will get soggy so is best served straight away.

If you want to make it in advance, I would slice up all the vegetables. Whisk together the mint sauce, salt and lemon juice in a small bowl. Add to the vegetables just before serving.

This salad is great as a side dish with practically anything. You can even use it in sandwiches and wraps.

I served my salad with lamb samosas.

I'll be sharing an updated recipe of these samosas soon.

The bubbly cumin studded pastry wrapped around the spicy lamb filling was so good ...

... especially with the crunchy and very refreshing salad.

Of course, lots of green yoghurt chutney to drown the samosas in.

And, sweet iced homemade lemonade to wash everything down with.

The perfect summer meal.

Let me know if you try the salad! I hope you love it as much as we do!

Mint Sauce Salad with Lemon and Green Chillies.

Prep Time: About 20 minutes.

Cook Time: None!

Serves: About 4 people as a side dish.

Ingredients

1/2 Cucumber, deseeded and sliced into small matchsticks

1 small Red Onion, peeled and thinly sliced

2 Tomatoes, deseeded and thinly sliced

2 Green Chillies, finely chopped

1 baby Gem Lettuce, thinly sliced

Handful Fresh Coriander, finely chopped

1 teaspoon Salt

3 teaspoons Mint Sauce

Juice of 1 Lemon

How easy was that:
Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix really well with your hands so that all the vegetables are coated in the seasonings. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed.

Serve:
Pile the salad onto a large platter and serve immediately. It will release liquid the longer it sits so is best served straight away.

{inspired by hungry hijabi}

Keep me in your duas please, and enjoy your salad!

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!