When the humidity is thick enough to cut with a sword and hangs like a blanket over your shoulder, making you wish you could live inside your shower, the last thing you want to do is get stuck in the inferno that is your kitchen. In my culinary school, the first thing we were taught was ‘less is more’. For some reason, we tend to do just the opposite. Here are three light dishes that are easy to prepare and taste like the bits of summer that we actually love.
Chicken avocado salad
Everything you need to know about this healthy protein-rich salad is in its name.
Photos: Courtesy
What you’ll need:
- 1 chicken breast, boiled in salt water and shredded with a fork
- 1 ripe avocado cut in cubes
- ½ carrot, shredded
- 1 can sweet corn
For dressing:
- ½ cup chopped coriander
- ½ cup olive oil
- 3 tsp honey
- Juice of half a lime
- Salt and pepper to taste
Mix everything up and serve cold. You might want to taste test the dressing and adjust the flavours according to your preference.
Egg avocado and beef roast open sandwich
This is one of the laziest recipes you’ll find, and yet oh-so-satisfying.
You’ll need:
- 1 egg half boiled (boiled for exactly 4 minutes)
- 2 slices of whole wheat bread, toasted
- 1 ripe avocado, mashed
- Ready-to-eat Bengal Meat roast beef slices
Spread the mashed avocado on the toast slices. Carefully peel the half-boiled egg, and place it on the toast. Layer up with the roast beef slices.
You can stack the toast slices up to make a proper sandwich, or serve as an open sandwich, in which case, you’ll have to divvy up the egg to fit on both slices.
Best to serve with a chilled drink.
Deshi fruit medley
One of the blessings of summer in Bangladesh is the tons of local fruits we’re blessed with. This refreshing recipe makes full use of that.
You’ll need:
- Sofeda fruit, peeled, de-seeded and chopped
- Starfruit, chopped
- Pomegranate, peeled
- Lychees, peeled and de-seeded
- Lotkon fruit, peeled and de-seeded
For the dressing:
- Black salt
- Toasted cumin powder
- ½ cup orange juice
- Sugar to taste
- ½ cup chopped mint
The quantity of fruits you need depends on your preferences. Mix everything up and refrigerate for two hours before serving cold.
The heat and icky, sticky humidity might leave you reluctant to do anything around the apartment, but summer has its perks, like vacations and the promise of thunderstorms. With the right snack in hand, it’s not so bad at all.
