Roasted Corn and Tomato Salad

A very quick, no-nonsense salad... inspired by my visit at the 1000 Oaks in Pune. Special thanks to Rohan for recommending the place umpteen times. And more thanks to Priya for recommending the salad.

“Inspired”, I say because I’m not sure of their recipe. Had been with a few friends, we loved the salad so we ended up discussing what went into its preparation. From the combined knowledge of our taste buds, here’s our best guess…

Ingredients - Roasted corn, diced onions, diced tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes), black/green olives, bread crumbs, basil and olive oil

Place the diced onions, tomatoes and olives in a bowl and allow them to cool in the refrigerator. i.e. if you prefer a slightly cold salad.

Roast the corn in a flat pan. You will notice black spots on either side once it is done. Cut up two bread slices into small squares and fry them. If you are health conscious, just toast them with very minimal butter and get them to be firm and crisp. Ready the corn and bread towards the end, they just look better when served right out of the pan!

You can use mint or coriander instead of basil. That should be good too. Chop it finely and mix with a little bit of olive oil.

To the cold onions, tomatoes and olives, add the corn and bread. Drizzle lightly with the olive oil and basil mix. Add salt and pepper only if and as much as you please and give it a generous toss…

It makes for an excellent light dinner if you are by yourself and a great accompaniment with a sumptuous meal!