Orange Salad with Kasundi Vinaigrette

Orange Salad with Kasundi Vinaigrette – It’s bright, it’s juicy, it’s fresh, and it’s loaded with texture. The most delicious salad for spring and summer time! This orange avocado salad with Indian style vinaigrette is one of my favourite citrus salad yet! It’s made with baby rocket, sliced crunchy fennel, creamy avocado, juicy oranges, crunchy cucumbers, pomegranate arils, and nutty pistachios. The salad turns out best when you use a combination of citrus fruits to get bright and colourful salad. Every bite of this orange avocado salad is crisp, aromatic, salty, and bursting with incredible flavours! Take a break from the regular salads and enjoy this EXTRAORDINARY salad.

Indian cuisine is renowned for its diverse and delicious vegetarian dishes. There are times when we all are looking for a light and refreshing side to complement the rich Indian food. Salads are a great way to complement and balance out the spiciness and richness of the main course. Salads prepared in the Indian cuisines are often raw, flavourful, crisp, spicy, and tangy. You are guaranteed to receive a bowl full of goodness. When a selection of veggies, sprouts or lentils are combined with salt, pepper, lime juice, and frequently some chaat masala, fruits and fresh coconut who will complain.

This salad uses the beautiful spring fennel bulbs with lots of fresh fronds. The rocket leaves, pomegranate arils, cucumber and oranges add a whole lot of texture and flavour. Rocket leaves are peppery, and when you pair it with fennel the combination is nice and complex. Oranges brightens the salad, adds sweetness, juiciness, and a lovely contrasting texture. The avocados add the creaminess and the pistachios the crunch. But like every salad the dressing brings it all together.

What is Kasundi ?

 If you love wasabi, you are going to fall in love with Kasundi – a quintessential part of the Bengali cuisine. Kasundi is fermented mustard sauce from West Bengal. There is mustard and there is Dijon mustard and then there is Kasundi. Pungent, aromatic, spicy – just the type of stuff to awaken your senses. A small amount goes a long way. If you are not into spicy food there are ways to tame down the pungency of this mustard relish. It could be a struggle to find Kasundi outside India. One can make it at home or replace it with grainy mustard and dijon mustard.

Ingredients for Orange Salad with Kasundi Vinaigrette

This easy orange salad is made with just a few ingredients, all of which are easy to find at our local grocery store.

• Rocket Leaves: I personally love rocket leaves, the peppery taste provides the perfect balance in every salad. This salad also works great with baby spinach or salad greens.
• Fennel: this crunchy and refreshing bulb has the light flavour of anise. Fennel adds a crisp bite to the salad, and when shaved thinly melds nicely orangeade avocado without taking over.
• Avocado: add 1 creamy, ripe avocados. The more, the better in my opinion!
• Oranges:  I used a combination of regular oranges, juicing oranges, navel oranges. I love adding blood orange when in season.
• Grapefruit: Zesty grapefruit adds wakes the taste buds.
• Cucumbers: Small Persian cucumbers work best with this salad.
• Pomegranate Arils: Fresh is best for the juiciest pops of colour. They can be fairly tart with a bit of sweetness underneath.

For the Vinaigrette:

• Vegetable Oil
• Orange Juice
• Kasundi or grainy mustard
• Coriander leaves
• Mint leaves
• Black Salt (kala namak)
• Roasted cumin powder
• Fennel powder
• Red chilli powder
• lemon zest + juice
• agave syrup

Note : Kasundi is a very strong ingredient and the strength can vary drastically in different brands. Always add a little at a time, taste and add more as per your taste. In todays recipe i have substituted the kasundi with grainy mustard.

Make the Indian Vinaigrette Dressing:

Pair this delicious orange avocado salad with a simple, homemade Indian vinaigrette dressing. It’s super easy to make and you can enjoy it with other salads, too.

1. Zest half a lemon and squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into a bowl and strain out the pulp and seeds. You’ll need 2 tbsp for the dressing.
2. In a mason jar, add the oil, orange juice, kasundi /mustard, cumin powder, black salt, fennel powder, red chilli powder, black pepper, finely chopped coriander & mint leaves, agave syrup, lemon zest and juice.
3. Screw on the lid and shake to emulsify. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Keep aside.

Assembling the Orange Salad with Kasundi Vinegrette

After preparing all the ingredients, it’s time to assemble the salad! Here’s how assemble my salad.

1. Use a large, deep salad bowl for assembling this salad. Layer the baby rocket or greens into the bowl first, alternating with the sliced fennel and pomegranate arils.
2. Sprinkle the sliced cucumbers over the top and sprinkle some of the chopped pistachios.
3. Next, arrange the oranges and grape fruit randomly over the salad. Fan out the sliced avocado top.
4. Garnish the salad with the rest of the pistachios, some mint leaves and fresh elderflowers (optional). Pour the prepared salad dressing evenly over the top or serve it on the side.

Helpful Tips and Tricks to make Orange Salad with Kasundi Vinaigrette:

• Leave out the pith. This salad should be all about the citrus fruits. To showcase the sweet flavour and juicy texture of the fruit, cutting off the peel and white pith from the oranges and grape fruit is key.
• Prepare in advance. This extraordinary salad is fantastic for entertaining! To prep it ahead of time, whisk together the dressing, shave the fennel, remove the pomegranate arils, and slice the citrus up to a day in advance. Assembling the salad right before serving helps keep it fresh. .
• Substitutions: can substitute the rocket with pea shoots, greens or spinach. You can add red onions for sharpness, and sweet lime for added sweetness.

More Summer Salad Recipes:

If you love salads, try one of these summer salad recipes next :

1. Spring Asparagus and Courgette Salad
2. Easy Asian Bean Sprout Salad
3. Asian Butter Lettuce and Avocado Salad
4. Moong Sprout Salad with Date Dressing

Afraid you’ll miss a post? Subscribe today and receive updates on new posts, and bonus recipes and information! Follow along on Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok and Pinterest for food inspiration and adventures.

Orange Salad with Kasundi (Mustard) Vinaigrette

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 4 voted )

Pin

Print

Ingredients

For the Orange Avocado Salad

• 120g rocket leaves or mixed greens
• 1 cup of fresh pea shoots 
• 1 navel oranges, peeled and sliced
• 1 small orange, peeled and sliced
• 1 small grape fruit or 1 blood orange
• 1 avocado, sliced
• ½ fennel bulb, thinly slices
• 2 small Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced
• ½ cup pomegranate seeds
• 2-3 tbsp pistachios, chopped

For the Indian Vinaigrette

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp fresh orange juice
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
• 1 tbsp finely chopped mint leaves
• 3-4 fresh curry leaves, minced or finely chopped
• 1.25 tsp grainy mustard or kasundi
•  ¾ tsp black salt, (kala namak)
•  ¾ tsp roasted cumin powder, (jeera powder)
• ½ tsp fennel powder, (sauf powder)
• dash of black pepper
• dash od red chilli powder
• 2 tsp  agave syrup
• zest of ½ lemon
• 1-2 tbsp water, only if needed to get the pouring consistency 

Garnish 

• chopped pistachios
• mint leaves 
• edible flowers, I've used elder flowers

method

Prep the ingredients

1.  Wash the fennel and peel away any browned layers and wash it thoroughly. Grab a mandolin slicer or a sharp knife and slice ½ the fennel very thinly. Should roughly be ½ cup. 
2. Next, prepare the oranges. Using a sharp knife, cut away each end first,then prop the fruit straight up and cut away the peel. Cut the oranges into slices. 
3. Thinly slice the cucumbers and set into a bowl.
4. Cut the avocado into half. Peel the avocado cut into quarters. Now slice them. Squeeze some lemon juice to stop it from browning. 
5. peel the pomegranate and remove ½ cup of seeds. 

Make the Vinaigrette

1. Put all the ingredients of the vinaigrette (except the water) into a mason jar. Screw the cap firmly and shake until emulsified. If the vinaigrette is to thick add some water and mix again. 

Assemble the Sala

1. Use a large, deep salad bowl or an oval platter for assembling this salad. Layer the baby rocket and pea shoots into the bowl first, now add the sliced fennel and ½ the pomegranate seeds. 
2. Sprinkle the sliced cucumbers over the top and sprinkle1 tbsp of the chopped pistachios.
3. Next, arrange the oranges randomly, placing  2 to 3 pieces of different colour together over the bed of rocket leaves Fan out the sliced avocado on the top, too.
4. Garnish the salad with the rest of the pistachios, and pomegranate seeds. Add a few mint leaves.  Pour the prepared salad dressing evenly over the top and ENJOY!!

 

Did You Make This Recipe?

If you did, take a picture and tag me on Instagram at @poetryofspices!