The concept of a salad in India is quite different from the western context. In the west, a salad will, most often, have some raw vegetables/greens and a dressing. In India, this is not the case. Salads are mostly in a yogurt base (pachadi, raita) with raw or cooked vegetables added. In some states, just raw vegetables are indeed used – for example, the kosambir of Maharashtra. However, this is the exception rather than the norm. A salad consisting of raw vegetables invariably means sliced cucumber, tomatoes. Sometimes, sliced onions and whole green chillies are also included. Since I turned vegan a few years ago, I have begun to enjoy my salads. There is hardly a day when I do not have a salad. One of my favourites is the tomato and capsicum (green bell pepper) salad.

Ingredients
2 medium sized green capsicum (Shimla mirch, kodamilagai), chopped fine
2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped fine
Juice of 1/2 a lime
1/2 tsp black pepper powder (kali mirch powder, kuru milagu powder)
1 tbsp flax seeds (or any other seed of your choice)
Salt to taste
Method
Combine the capsicum, tomatoes, black pepper, salt and lime juice
Mix well
Roast the flax seeds and add to the salad
Serve at room temperature
Enjoy!