What an interesting name! I customised this recipe from the late Tarla Dalal’s website. Tarla Dalal was India’s most iconic and proliferous food writer. All her recipes were vegetarian, making it easier to customise so that they are WFPB compliant. She christened this ‘Office Salad’ as it was capable of being packed and carried to office. And consumed at room temperature or even cold. It is an easy recipe – indeed most salad recipes are easy. But, needless to say, it tasted wonderful. The recipe contains easily available ingredients – though I had one missing! I had a thoroughly good time preparing and consuming this salad. My cousin had joined me for lunch on the day I prepared this. And he, normally a picky eater, had second helpings. What better tribute can there be?

Ingredients
1/2 cup coloured bell peppers, cubed
1/4 cup zucchini, cubed
1/4 cup mushrooms, cubed (the most common mushrooms in India are button mushrooms)
(I did not have any mushrooms available, so just skipped it)
1/4 cup tomato, cubed
1/4 cup cucumber, cubed
1/2 cup iceberg lettuce, roughly torn
1/4 cup soaked and boiled red lentils (masoor dal, Mysore parupu)
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Seeds/nuts of your choice to garnish (I used pumpkin seeds)
For The Dressing
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp red chili powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Method
Add all the ingredients, except the garnish, in a deep bowl
Add the dressing just before serving and toss well
Garnish with seeds/nuts of your choice
Serve at room temperature
Enjoy!