RupayHalwa

Hello.

So in Pakistan there are a wide variety of salads you find commonly on menu's.

I have 2 questions so far.

Why is Russian Salad called Russian Salad? Does it REALLY have roots in Russia, or is it a made up thing? It tastes like the chef made fruit salad and put cabbage or other veggies in it by mistake. This dish has an identity crisis, is it a dessert or a salad?

Coleslaw - Does anyone else find it quite overly sweet in Pakistan? AND Do Pakistani's really LOVE coleslaw? Is it a woo-hoo dish to have at a dinner party? Does it get you brownie points????

What other salads are mightily popular in Pakistan? What kind of salads should I serve in Pakistan to increase the WOW factor???

diamond321

Good question RupayHalwa......I too wonder why russian salad is called RUSSIAN .....??

Coleslaw is surely very sweet in Pakistan but i just love it yumm.....can have it with so many things.

One thing I would add to your post above .....gujrati families have a salad called "Kachoomar" ....why is it called kachoomar.....it just plain raw salad with salt , black pepper and lemon juice in it !!!!

RupayHalwa

^ Now that sounds nice with all that salt n lemon juice! Mmmmmm. What does kachoomar mean exactly? Maybe it's the gujrati word for salad?

Now a pakistani who agree's coleslaw is sweet. Why is coleslaw appreciated so much? Tell me! Ok, may just bcos it's nice for some.

Does anyone have the answer to Russian Salad????

Xenophanez

kachoomar means CRUSHED.

Chicken Biryani

Yes indeed , i have the answer to your question ... Russian salad has its roots from that region.. just that , they use different kind of fruit and vegies to create that sweet and salty flavour ... and they add various creams in it ..

In Pakistan though , we have the desi version , add boiled potatoes , peas, chickpeas , apples , pineapple, lots of mayo, salt , pepper and sugar and you are done!

Yes its considered a wow thing to have on the menu ... as you might be aware that in pakistan any food that has a foreign name is good enough to create the wow factor ...

I say , you make the usual desi dishes and give them some foreign name and watch your guests get wowed like never before ... its tried and tested technique

RupayHalwa

lol, I will try that next time I go, then wait n c how long it will b b4 the neighbourhood copies it and has it on their menu.

So Russian Salad originates from Russia, really? I am going to check russian recipes now. I still don't think I like it, sweet n salty, not defined enough.

RupayHalwa

Thankyou xeno for your input. I learned something new today. For some reason I keep thinking of "Cucumber" everytime I think of Kachoomar.

RupayHalwa

Is potato salad popular in Paks? Uno, plain old boiled potatoes, mayo n herbs? Or is it considered too bland?

Afro-Sheen

my in laws loved potato salad. Only they felt it was too thick...they like it watery just like russian salad *roll eyes*. But you can kick up potato salad with olives, some juice from the olives...maybe chpped up peppers, onions...hmm

chips6

I think so.
Almost every other dinner party I have attended there in my family or every restaurant that has a salad bar ,has the potato salad....
So I guess people must like it,and not think its a bit bland...

Skittlez

The Russian salad has roots in russia... it's also called the Olivier Salad there because it was first created by a chef by that name. Today's russian salad is much different than the original one, but both are great nonetheless.

RupayHalwa

Oh, now wer r getting somewhere. They have Salad Olivieh in Persian restaurants, chicken, carrots, peas, eggs, olives, gherkins in a mayo dressing. Perhaps this is the same as Mr Olivier's original salad.

RupayHalwa

So there we have it, add some cream and sugar and you get a potato more suited to Pakistani tastes. I don't think I can remember any potato salad anywhere, not even in pizza hut in pakistan, unless my memory has gone.

Definitely the salad bars were v popular tho. I notice to add variety they add canned pineapple and canned carrots and peas. (?)

Skittlez

Yup, thats it RH! Except his original dressing recipe remains a mystery, all that's known is that it was some sort of French wine vinegar, olive oil, and mustard. It also had fish and other cold meats... but now its mostly boiled chicken if anything at all.

CorruptAngel

I don't think they care about any salad in Pakistan. They think it's only for gaaye bakra's.

Afro-Sheen

i wish they had iceberg lettuce or romaine lettuce in pakistan. the only thing ive come close to are some bitter greens that resemble field greens, not as much fuN!

RupayHalwa

???? Where have u both been on your travels to Pakistan??? The cow shed only?

Noooo, the common lettuce there resembles romaine lettuce, long thick stems with green leaves. Difficult to get iceberg tho.

Hmm, thinking, may be the salads are reserved for city dwellers??? (aside from the usual but delicious peeled cucumber, tomato and onion salads that everyone has.)

Next question - R these foreign sounding salads based in the cities where socially aspiring young fellows like to show their sophistication?

RupayHalwa

I think a chef in Pakistan did a "Rachel", got out his world salads book, turned to the page for salad olivieh, started off making that, the page was stuck on the other side to the Fruit Salad with Cream recipe, so he finished off with that.

And thus the riddle is solved, Russian salad is half Salad Olivieh, and half Fruit Salad with Tip-top.

Mystery solved on that one.

CorruptAngel

lol..No, I was in karachi. People I was visiting mostly were punjabis though.

Afro-Sheen

nehi tho. in pindi n islamabad...the only lettuce type i found was probably what u described but that is NOT romaine...n it had a bitter taste.....dunno how some places import salad there. Yeah they have the normal cucumber/tomatoe onion lemon stuff...but i always tend to miss lettuce there

even on the airplane, pia gives u a cabbage salad, no lettuce!!!!