How to Make Vegetarian Green Papaya Salad

You are quite excited about a dinner as you are expecting some old friends… You want to do your best but at the same time don’t want to miss those gossip sessions with them. Usually the host is busy in the kitchen and missing all the fun. Here is a recipe for you, which can be prepared one day in advance to avoid that last minute rush. One important thing you need before making this salad is a mortar and a pestle, big enough to hold all your ingredients. Don’t worry if you don’t have it. Simply put all the ingredients in a plastic bag and pound it with a rolling pin.

All you need is….

• 2 cups green papaya, raw, deseeded and julienned in strips.
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 2 Thai chilies
• ½-cup beans
• ½-cup carrots
• 5 cherry tomatoes

Optional

• You can add roasted peanuts,
• 2 tbsp. coarsely chopped coriander leaves and
• 2 tbsp. coarsely chopped Thai basil leaves.

For the sauce

• ½ tbsp. Tamarind concentrate
• Juice of 3 lemons
• 3 tbsp. fish sauce
• 3 tbsp. coconut sugar melted in 1 tbsp. warm water

Instructions

• The green papaya should be unripe. It should be peeled properly and deseeded. Then julienned in 2-3 inch long strips.
• The carrots should also be julienned into 2-3 inch long strips.
• The beans should trimmed from the ends and cut into 2 inch long segments.
• Garlic should be peeled and roughly chopped.
• Chilies should be deseeded and cut.
• Cherry tomatoes should be halved.

Procedure

• Mix together all the sauce ingredients in a bowl.
• Crush garlic and chilies together in a mortar and pestle until you get a fine paste.
• Now add beans and green papaya. Pound well. Add carrots. Bruise them nicely so that they absorb the flavors well.
• Add the sauce.
• Add tomatoes.
• Now transfer all of it in a covered bowl and leave it in the refrigerator for a few hours. This will allow the flavors to blend well.
• You can also add the optional ingredients given above. These are to be added to garnish your dish. So, finally add peanuts, coriander and basil.

Kindly note that the papaya slices should be 1/8” thick. If they are thin they might get mushy and if thick, they won’t absorb the flavour.