What time is it? It’s summer time. The heat waves approaching the Indian sub-continent have already started making their way through our windows. If you step out at noon, we bet you’d bring back some tan, a sweaty T-shirt and loads of dehydration. Given the global warming and unstable climatic conditions, summers seem to have arrived early this year. We can’t really stop the sun from shining bright and making our days hotter, but we can definitely keep ourselves cool right? The Internet must have already started flooding you with the best summer coolers to try this season and how to keep yourself hydrated during the day.
Lemonades, watermelon drinks, high-water content fruits and vegetables, all combined together can help you face that dreaded heat wave. However, here’s another thing that you can add to your list this year, the refreshing Som Tam salad. A Thai specialty, this salad comes packed with water, nutrients and whole lots of freshness and taste. The sweet, spicy and sour flavours brought together on a salad plate is rare but Chef Kirti Bhoutika has shared an amazing recipe for you.
To prepare the raw papaya salad, you need to begin by peeling the green papayas. Shred the papayas in thin slices. This could be a fun and therapeutic exercise according to the chef. Next, chop the tomatoes and long green beans. Move on to the salad dressing which requires garlic, red chillies, lemon juice, soy sauce and tamarind. Pound this together in a stone jar. Drop in your raw shredded papaya into this salad dressing along with the chopped vegetables. Mix all of this together and garnish with roasted and crushed peanuts for additional crunch. Sprinkle some coriander and you are good to go.
Did you know that this Som Tam salad is believed to have originated from Laos? Since this country shares borders with Thailand, it is said that the Chinese settlers in Laos devised the Som Tam in the early 19th century, which was later spread to other neighbouring nations like Thailand. The Laotian fare extensively uses red chiles and raw papaya and so it is said to have invented there.
Now that you’ve got your share of trivia and also found a delicious recipe, why not give it a try this summer? Here is a step-by-step preparation of the salad recipe shared by MasterChef Kirti Bhoutika on her Instagram handle.
Source: Kirti Bhoutika/Instagram