Summer Salad

EVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP
THEME: #194 SUMMER FRUIT FEST
This week’s theme was suggested by Swaty who blogs at Food – Trails. Swaty’s blog is full of fun recipes from appetizers to desserts. I love her photography. Check out her blog for some exciting delicious recipes.
When Swaty suggested using summer fruits to create a recipe, I was happy as I was in the right place to enjoy really colorful summer fruits – Thailand. You’ll find many fruit vendors on the streets selling cut ripe mangoes, cut raw mangoes, water melons, dragon fruits, other melons, pineapples, peeled pomelo, durian, rambutan, rose apple slices, papaya, guava, coconut and longan.
A really colorful smoothie bowl would have been the ideal recipe for this theme, but I couldn’t make the smoothie as the Air BnB we occupied had no blender. The next best option was to make a salad. Usually I would buy a variety of fruits and pair it with cucumber, carrot, lettuce or other green leaves to make a light and healthy lunch if we were not out in the scorching sun. My favorite drink was what the vendors call coconut shake. It’s simply coconut water, coconut meat and ice all blended together into a delicious cold white drink.
It was our last day in Bangkok so hubby would not allow me to buy any more fruits or vegetables and insisted that I use up what we already had in the fridge. “Take it up as a challenge,”he quipped.
And that’s what I did, created a filling, healthy and delicious summer salad from the ingredients I had at hand. I created a simple oil free dressing to go with it.
The raw mango slices that are sold on the streets and the supermarket are not sour at all. They are sweet, yellow in colour and with a bit of salt, chili flakes and sugar it tastes awesome. I decided to use raw mango in my salad along with other fruits.
Dragon Fruit, strawberry pear or pitaya as its known was the other fruit I used. Did you know that dragon fruit grows on a climbing cactus plant called Hylocereus or Honolulu Queen whose flowers open only at night. The fruit has either a red, pink or yellow skin.
Pomelo or Chinese Grapefruit tastes like sweet orange and lemon together.
SUMMER SALAD
Serves 2
½ dragon fruit
½ pomelo
½ raw mango
1 cup fresh sprouted sunflower seeds
1 small red onion
2-3 tbsp roasted sunflower seeds
Lime Chilli Dressing:
¼ cup lime juice
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp coconut sugar
½ – 1 tsp red chilli flakes ( or 1 small red chili finely chopped)
- Chop the onion into thin slices.
- Prepare the dressing by mixing lime juice, salt, sugar and red chili flakes.
- Add the dressing to the sliced onions and let it marinate for 15-30 minutes.
- In the meantime chop the fruits into bite size cubes.
- Add the onion with dressing to the chopped fruit and mix gently.
- Cover the salad with cling film or a plate and leave it in the fridge to chill for 15-20 minutes or till you’re ready to serve it.
- Just before serving, add the sunflower seed sprouts and sprinkle sunflower seeds.
Tips:
- Add summer fruits of your choice. The unique taste for this salad comes from the sweet but raw mango.
- Use fresh red chili if you like.
- Best to serve the salad chilled.
- Use sprouted alfalfa seeds, sprouted mung beans or other sprouted seeds instead of sunflower seeds.
- Add roasted nuts of your choice.
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A little request:
If you do try this recipe then please either
- add a comment below,
- send a picture to my email mayuri.ajay.patel62@gmail.com
- tag me as #mayuri_jikoni on Instagram
- or tag me on Twitter as #Mayuri1962
You may want to check out the following summer recipes:
Pineapple Coconut Virgin Mojito Float
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75 Comments
The Girl Next Door
May 6, 2019 at 2:07 pm
I love the plethora of fruits that Thailand has to offer It is so amazing that you managed to whip up this delicious flavour bomb of a salad while holidaying there! It looks so colourful and pretty. 🙂
mayurisjikoni
May 7, 2019 at 4:06 pm
Thank you so much Priya, we enjoyed the delicious fruits every single day.
poonampagar
May 8, 2019 at 2:58 pm
I love the way you accepted the challenge and came up with such a lovely refreshing Summer salad with the available fruits in your pantry di ! Never heard of sunflower sprouts though.
Mina Joshi
May 6, 2019 at 4:36 pm
What a colorful salad. Love all the unusual fruits you have taken pictures of. It’s lovely that you are still making lovely dishes whilst on holiday.
mayurisjikoni
May 7, 2019 at 4:05 pm
Thanks Mina, would have loved to make so much more but kitchen equipment limits me.
Aruna SarasChandra
May 6, 2019 at 5:19 pm
Healthy and refreshing salad looking yummy..
mayurisjikoni
May 7, 2019 at 4:04 pm
Thanks Aruna.
FoodTrails
May 7, 2019 at 7:30 am
Loved this colorful patter with yummy summer fruits.. appreciate how you come up with easy and doable and yummy recipes with all the travelling.. I like the simple no oil dressing here. with just salt and chilli and sugar!! Lovely share.. thanks!!
mayurisjikoni
May 7, 2019 at 4:03 pm
Thanks Swati, loved the theme.
Batter Up With Sujata
May 7, 2019 at 1:32 pm
Salad looks so colourful and delicious. Sprouts makes it more healthy. I would love to have it plate full as a meal in summer. Superb share.
mayurisjikoni
May 7, 2019 at 4:02 pm
Thank you so much Sujata.
Renu Agrawal Dongre
May 7, 2019 at 7:40 pm
I am drooling over that lime chilli dressing, and I would not go with any oil in this as you did. A good and a healthy bowl.
mayurisjikoni
May 9, 2019 at 11:07 am
Thanks Renu.
Jere Cassidy
May 8, 2019 at 4:43 am
The salad just has so many good things in it. I love dragon fruit.
mayurisjikoni
May 9, 2019 at 11:07 am
Thanks Jere.
Ashley | One Journey Away
May 8, 2019 at 12:08 pm
Ooh that looks so hearty and refreshing! I don’t think I’ve ever seen pink dragon fruit before, only white – looks so exotic!
mayurisjikoni
May 9, 2019 at 11:06 am
Thanks Ashley nowadays pink ones too are readily available in the markets in SE Asia but a bit more expensive than the white ones.
Scott J DeNicola
May 8, 2019 at 1:21 pm
This looks and sounds delicious! The Lime Chili dressing as well. Dragon Fruit is not easy to find around where I live so I wonder what I could substitute in it’s place? It also looks very refreshing.
mayurisjikoni
May 9, 2019 at 11:05 am
Scott,Basically dragon fruit does not much of a taste. However you could replace it with kiwi. It will taste great with the lime chili dressing.
Corina Blum
May 8, 2019 at 1:45 pm
What a pretty summer salad! I really like the ingredients in the dressing too – It sounds so tasty and definitely something I’d love.
mayurisjikoni
May 9, 2019 at 11:04 am
Thank you so much Corina.
Jennifer McCormick
May 8, 2019 at 2:09 pm
Thank you for this summer recipe to add to my collection! We entertain a lot in the summer and this is a unique option for me to serve. I appreciate how you made alternative suggestions for ingredients (I’m not sure I can find pomelo at my local market in the US).
mayurisjikoni
May 9, 2019 at 11:03 am
Thanks Jennifer, perhaps you could add orange or other citrus fruits instead of pomelo.
poonampagar
May 8, 2019 at 2:59 pm
I love the way you accepted the challenge and came up with such a lovely refreshing Summer salad with the available fruits in your pantry di ! Never heard of sunflower sprouts though.
mayurisjikoni
May 9, 2019 at 11:02 am
Thanks Poonam, I too came across the sprouts for the first time. They taste really good.
diaryofsurvivor13
May 8, 2019 at 3:44 pm
This salad looks very colourful. I’ll give this a try. Thank you for the recipes.
mayurisjikoni
May 9, 2019 at 11:01 am
Most welcome and thank you.
Seema Doraiswamy Sriram
May 8, 2019 at 6:05 pm
It is always refreshing to see your posts from new travel destinations. the lovely south Asian dragon fruit and yummy mangoes in the salad look perfect.
mayurisjikoni
May 9, 2019 at 11:01 am
Thank you so much Seema.
Cat | Curly’s Cooking
May 8, 2019 at 8:19 pm
This is so colourful and fresh looking. I like the sound of the chilli with the fresh fruit.
mayurisjikoni
May 9, 2019 at 10:59 am
Thanks Cat, the chili adds a bit of hotness to the salad, creating a good balance of flavors.
Anna | Serving Dumplings
May 8, 2019 at 9:50 pm
Love everything about this salad. So healthy and delicious
mayurisjikoni
May 9, 2019 at 10:58 am
Thanks Anna.
Choclette
May 8, 2019 at 10:00 pm
This looks so pretty and summery. The colour of that dragon fruit is truly amazing. I’ll have a plateful please 😀
mayurisjikoni
May 9, 2019 at 10:58 am
Thanks Choclette. I too love the colour of the dragon fruit.
Heidi Roberts
May 9, 2019 at 12:14 am
I love a fresh fruit salad and adding pomelo is a great idea.
mayurisjikoni
May 9, 2019 at 10:57 am
Thanks Heidi.
chefmireille
May 9, 2019 at 2:33 am
what a pretty salad – reminds me so much of the salads I had in thailand with both fruit and savory elements and so pretty with the sprouts!
mayurisjikoni
May 9, 2019 at 10:57 am
Thank you so much Mireille.
rachaelthrive
May 9, 2019 at 6:23 am
This is the most beautiful salad I’ve ever seen!!!
mayurisjikoni
May 9, 2019 at 10:56 am
Thank you so much.
Trish
May 9, 2019 at 6:53 am
I didn’t know dragonfruit came in red as well – gorgeous. I love having fruit in salad and you can’t go wrong with fresh, tasty fruits like in this recipe!
mayurisjikoni
May 9, 2019 at 11:08 am
Thanks Trish, red ones are mostly grown in Vietnam but are available in the markets in most SE Asian countries.
Snehal
May 9, 2019 at 2:38 pm
I am drooling over your summer salad 😍😋 looks so healthy and tasty! I will have to look for dragon fruit in the market! 😀
mayurisjikoni
May 13, 2019 at 9:37 am
Thanks Snehal, am sure you’ll be able to make this salad as now dragon fruit is available in India too.
Livelearnbetter (@livelearnbetter)
May 10, 2019 at 2:03 am
I’ll be sure to try this out. Thank you for sharing.
Kay
May 10, 2019 at 12:32 pm
What a colourful salad. It looks so refreshing and healthy. I’d love this!
tcleland88
May 10, 2019 at 1:12 pm
This looks so refreshing and delicious! I’ve never had dragonfruit. If I ever see it for sale, I’m going to buy it to try–it looks so interesting.
mayurisjikoni
May 13, 2019 at 9:35 am
Its a must try fruit, though it may not have any taste, but pairs well with other fruits or veggies.
travelwisesr
May 10, 2019 at 3:13 pm
We are roasting here in India with the summer heat and humidity. This salad is what is required. Lovely colorful presentation. Very inviting.
mayurisjikoni
May 13, 2019 at 9:34 am
Thank you so much.
Erica (The Prepping Wife)
May 10, 2019 at 4:38 pm
Oh. Em. Gee! Now I’m hungry after reading this! I seriously need to try this. The dressing being oil free intrigued me.
mayurisjikoni
May 13, 2019 at 9:33 am
Thanks Erica, try the salad, its refreshing and yes a perfect oil free dressing.
honeybunnytwee
May 10, 2019 at 6:21 pm
I’m obsessed with dragon fruit smoothie bowls. I’m obsessed with tropical fruits in the summer time!
Debra Roberts (Run Wyld)
May 10, 2019 at 8:01 pm
I never have anything on hand to make things like this and am trying to remedy that! This salad looks so healthy and delicious.
mayurisjikoni
May 13, 2019 at 9:32 am
Thanks Debra.
Lyosha Varezhkina
May 10, 2019 at 8:16 pm
the salad looks awesome and I sure it tastes great as well. I need to use dragon fruit as a fancy plate for summer salads too. what a lovely idea!
mayurisjikoni
May 13, 2019 at 9:32 am
Thanks Lyosha.
Preethi Prasad
May 12, 2019 at 8:27 am
This colorful salad looks so tempting. Loved your simple Lime chilli dressing. I am sure it tasted delicious with the zing of lime . Hats off to you to create such a lovely salad amidst your hectic schedule.
mayurisjikoni
May 13, 2019 at 9:31 am
Thank you so much Preethi.
namscorner18
May 16, 2019 at 6:56 am
very healthy and nutritious salad. very easy to put together. love the pinch of tangy lime.
mayurisjikoni
May 16, 2019 at 1:49 pm
Thanks Narmadha. Its the tangy dressing that makes all the difference.
Nisha Ramesh
May 17, 2019 at 1:03 pm
Such an exotic list ( am so jealous 😀 ) and pomelo sounds interesting. This is the first I am hearing of it. Thats a lovely salad Mayuri.
mayurisjikoni
May 19, 2019 at 1:03 pm
Thanks Nisha, pomelo is a bit like grapefruit but much bigger and sweeter.
Ruchisvegkitchen
May 18, 2019 at 3:43 pm
Sunflower sprouts sounds interesting. Salad looks awesome , colourful and refreshing. Such yummy bowl in meal is a healthy treat…
mayurisjikoni
May 19, 2019 at 12:59 pm
Thank you so much Ruchi, I too was really intrigued by the sprouts when I saw them in the supermarket.
Sasmita Sahoo Samanta
May 25, 2019 at 6:54 am
Who can deny to salads during summers love always these no cook dishes use of sprouts here making it more healthy and crunchy
mayurisjikoni
May 26, 2019 at 5:32 pm
Thanks Sasmita. I’m so glad I got the opportunity to make this awesome salad.
shobhakeshwani
March 1, 2020 at 12:00 pm
I love these fruity salads in summer. Filling and cool on the stomach
mayurisjikoni
March 1, 2020 at 8:46 pm
Thank you so much.
Mireille Roc (@ChefMireille)
March 3, 2020 at 12:17 am
You totally brought me back to Thailand with this gorgeous salad. Here the dragon fruits are so expensive I can hardly justify buying them
mayurisjikoni
March 4, 2020 at 10:16 pm
Thanks Mireille, we don’t Dragone fruit at all in Kenya so made the best use of them when I was in Thailand. Love the fruit.
Manjiri Chinis
March 4, 2020 at 4:58 pm
A very vibrant and delicious sounding salad, I especially like ur lime chilli dressing , perfect for so many other dishes
mayurisjikoni
March 4, 2020 at 8:53 pm
Thank you so much Manjiri.
Marty Mimis
June 22, 2021 at 10:35 am
very nice post, i certainly love this website, keep on it