Pasta Salad
When I tell my friends/relatives that I like to eat brown bread/bun, museli, tuna etc; they tend to give me a weird look and ask how do you manage to eat them. There is generally a misconception that healthy stuff and taste doesn’t go hand in hand. I should say it doesn’t apply to all healthy stuff though I know some people who eat it, irrespective of its taste. I believe am not included in that category, I prefer healthy stuff, provided it gives some treat to my taste buds as well.
Pasta is liked by many, mainly because of the creamy sauce and cheese in it and hence its usually considered as a junk food. For a change, you can make something healthy with the pasta, without compromising on the taste. I was introduced to this salad by my mother in law. This is very refreshing especially for summer time since the dressing is made of yogurt.
- Pasta – 1 cup
- Vegetables – 2 cups*
- Yogurt – 14 – 1/2 cup
- Olive oil -2 tsp
- Mustard powder/paste – 1-2 tsp
- Sugar – 1 tsp
- Pepper powder – 1/2 tsp
- Salt
Cook the pasta in 2 cups of water with 1 tsp olive oil & salt. Drain the water completely & let it cool.
Beat the yogurt well and add 1 tsp olive oil, mustard powder/paste, sugar, pepper powder & salt. Combine well. Add the cooled pasta and veggies. Mix well so that the pasta and veggies are coated with the yogurt dressing. Refrigerate for 2 hours, serve chilled.
For the healthier version, use brown/organic pasta and no/low fat yogurt.
* You can use any veggies that you like, though I strongly recommend capsicum and celery since it gives a special flavor. I have used carrot, cucumber, capsicum, spring onion, celery & lettuce.
You can see other low fat/healthy recipes here
Update on 16/08/09: Below is the picture sent by Annu, one of my readers, who has tried out this recipe. Thought of sharing it with you :) Thanks a lot Annu for trying this recipe and also for the picture :)
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This one’s really good ,Maria…But what is this mustard paste…i haven’t seen such a thing…Does it taste similar mustard sauce?
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Thanks Annita :)
You get mustard paste in India, its very much similar to mustard sauce.
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its really a gr8 attempt dear…very refreshing salad…
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thanks anna :)
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What a yummy side dish or snack~this would be great for a picnic!
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Maria,
I was wondering if I could use honey mustard sauce instead of sugar and mustard paste.
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Parvathy, I think honey mustard sauce is fine. You can use your favorite dressing, you can always do mix n match for a salad :)
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I may sound weird, but can you tell me how to prepare yogurt? also, is there any substitues for the expensive olive oil?
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Maria
Reply: on May 18th, 2009 at 3:34 pmhi ashwathy
For yogurt you need:
Milk – 1/2 ltr
Yogurt – 1 tbsp
Boil milk for 5- 10 minutes. Keep it aside till it becomes warm. Pour yogurt in a saucepan/vessel and stir well. Add warm milk to this and stir again. Cover the pan/vessel with a lid and keep it at room temp for 3-4 hrs. You will get a thick yogurt after 3-4 hours.
Hope this helps.
also you can try canola oil or sunflower oil instead of olive oil.
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hey maria,jus a qn…can we put lemon in dis salad? or lemon juice???
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Hey Maria…
This was just too good… I would never have imagined that I could use yoghurt to make such a yummy pasta sauce… My husband loved it, and I just love how healthy it is… I added some sauteed chicken and mushrooms as well, and its a hot favorite in my house now… I make it almost every week atleast once…. Thanks a lot for sharing this….
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hi Maria..can u tel me in bahrain – from wher we can get mustard powder/paste?
neeta
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Maria
Reply: on May 13th, 2010 at 7:32 pmHi Neeta,
I havent seen mustard powder here, I bought mine from India. However you can use mustard dressing instead of mustard powder in this recipe.
Mustard dressing is available in all supermarkets, check out in the section of salad dressing.
Cheers
Maria
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Neeta
Reply: on May 14th, 2010 at 11:14 amthanks Maria for ur quick reply :)
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