FRESH TOMATO SALSA

FRESH TOMATO SALSA

When entertaining guests recently, I served as starters fresh tomato salsa, made by me at home, with store-bought tortilla chips or nachos. As you know Salsa is a kind of spicy sauce or salad derived from a Spanish word. What I made was adapted from the recipe for The Best Fresh Tomato Salsa by Cheryl Dressler in All Recipes.

I modified the recipe to suit our Indian palate and it came out really well. I am glad to say that my guests enjoyed the salsa, and left me wishing I had made more!

Ingredients:

• Tomatoes, chopped, 2 cups
• Green Bell Pepper, chopped, 1/3 cup
• Onion, diced, 1/4 cup
• Coriander Leaves, finely chopped, 2 tbsp.
• Fresh Lime Juice, 1 tbsp.
• Green Chillies, chopped, 2
• Cumin Powder, 1/4 tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper, 1/2 tsp

Method:

In a bowl, mix together the chopped tomatoes, green bell pepper, onion, and green chillies
Add the coriander leaves and cumin powder
Stir in the lime juice and mix well
Sprinkle the salt and black pepper
Toss until the salsa is well mixed and serve with Nachos

MANGO & TOMATO SALSA

MANGO & TOMATO SALSA

A salsa, ( no, not the dance but the dish) is a kind of sauce or dip in Mexican cuisine. It can be served as a topping or a dip with nachos, chips and the like. It can also be used as a stand alone salad.

With mangoes available in plenty I was looking to make some new dishes that I had not made before.
I came across this attractive recipe and picture in Delish for Mango Tomato Salsa by author, chef and restaurateur, Deborah Schneider. I have tried this in Bengaluru, India using ingredients available at home, adapting the recipe to meet my tastes. Please note the mango and tomato should be firm yet ripe but definitely not over ripe,

Thanks to Deborah for this delicious, easy to put together salsa.

Ingredients:

• Large-sized Mango, 1 
• Medium-sized Tomato, 1
• Onions, chopped, 2 tbsp
• Green Chillies, chopped, 1-2
• Fresh Lime Juice, 1 tbsp
• Sugar, 1/2 tsp
• Vinegar, 1//2 tsp
• Coriander Leaves/Cilantro, finely chopped, 1 tbsp
• Mint Leaves, finely chopped, 2 tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste

Method:

Wash, peel and dice the mango

Wash and dice the tomato 

In a bowl, toss the mango, together with the tomato, onions and chillies

Stir in the lime juice and mix well
Add the sugar, vinegar, coriander leaves and mint leaves and toss well again
Add the salt and freshly ground pepper, mix well and serve at room temperature
or if you prefer it cold, keep in the refrigerator for a short while and serve chilled