Raw food diets are so powerful. You don’t have to switch to eating raw for the rest of your life, but just eating raw one day a week, or a month, or for a few days at a stretch, can be a wonderful way to detox and bring the body back in balance. Some people do juice fasts, but I find those pointless as you are grinding away all the fibre, and science agrees.

This is the salad I make when I want to eat only raw, but I am pretty hungry. It is a myth that raw foods cannot be filling. Try this salad and you’ll know what I’m talking about!

You can put a lot of things in. I just search my pantry, find anything sprout-able and throw it in . Ditto for the veggies. Did you know that you can eat turai (ridge gourd) and lauki (bottle gourd) raw? Did you know that you could even eat ladies finger and brinjals raw? Maybe that would be pushing it, for most people, but at least add the turai and lauki. 

Time taken: 10 min + 24 hours soaking and sprouting

Ingredients

(All ingredients are optional, pick what you like/ have)
For Sprouting:
2 tbsp whole mung dal
2 tbsp matki or moth bean
2 tbsp whole masoor dal
2 tbsp horse gram
2 tbsp black chana or chickpea
2 tbsp dried white or green peas (vatana)
3 tbsp raw peanuts

Nuts and dried fruits:
2 tbsp almonds
2 tbsp raisins
2 tbsp cashew nuts
3-4 dates
2-3 dried figs

Fruits:
Apple, thinly sliced
Orange, seeds removed and sectors chopped in half
Grapes
Pomegranate, de-seeded
Coconut, meat chopped

Seeds:
1 tbsp sesame (wonderful in winters)
1 tbsp poppy seeds (wonderful in summers)
1 tbsp chia seeds (sabja seeds are a great desi substitute)
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds, fresh or roasted
1 tbsp sunflower seeds, fresh or roasted
1 tbsp flax seed powder

Leaves:
Baby spinach
Brahmi
Amaranth
Methi or fenugreek
Dhania or coriander
Pudina or mint
Shepu or dill

Vegetables:
Turai or ridge gourd
Lauki or bottle gourd
Snake gourd
Zucchini
Broccoli (can be fresh or steamed)
Cucumber
Carrot
Radish
Beetroot
Tomatoes (add only if you aren’t adding any fruits or nuts)

Dressing:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp honey (if you are using fruits or nuts)
Dried Italian herbs (if there are no fruits or dry nuts)
Salt and pepper

Method

Soak all the sprouting ingredients together overnight.

Drain the water and let them sit at least for 8 hours or so. Usually, I take as much as I need for the salad, and let the rest continue sprouting. Refrigerate after 2 days of sprouting, and they will do just fine in the fridge. Rinse once everyday.

Soak the dry fruits and nuts. You could use them as is, but their nutritive value increases manifold if soaked overnight. You can drink the water they were soaked in.

Shred the leaves and chop the vegetables. Cucumber, carrots, beetroot and radish can be grated for better texture.

Mix the ingredients for the dressing and season with herbs, salt and pepper, to taste. Pour over the salad, toss, chill and enjoy!