This was one of the most famous salads served at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay at the time when I worked there. I do believe that it was the most popular salad in the Taj Group of Hotels also during that period. It is simple and easy to prepare. The end result for all those liking a little zing is absolutely fabulous. It makes an excellent accompaniment to crumb- fried food or seafood fried in semolina. For the die- hard vegetarian you can skip the boiled egg and use a mayonnaise without eggs.
METHOD
1. Break the lettuce leaves into inch sized pieces or smaller, wash and drain well.
2. Take the minced garlic, the green chilli and the coriander and add to a large bowl, big enough to take in all the combined ingredients.
3. Peel the boiled eggs and dice them up coarsely. The size of the dice should be approximately ½cm. Keep these in another small bowl or a small plate
4. Now add the mayonnaise to the bowl and blend well with the garlic, chilli and coriander. Season with the salt and limejuice and taste again.
5. Add the diced eggs and lettuce leaves and mix well. Do not over mix as the lettuce with go limp very rapidly. Only start this process when you are ready to serve.
6. Add half the croutons whilst mixing and reserve the remaining for the final service.
7. Serve in a bowl or a platter and sprinkle the remaining croutons on the top and some fresh chopped coriander if you like.
8. Unfortunately this salad does not keep well once mixed and therefore all preparation should be complete prior to blending.
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Serves: 4
COS LETTUCE or any large leafy lettuce 250 gm
MAYONNAISE 200 gm
GREEN CHILLI two, medium sized very finely minced
FRESH CORIANDER two heaped tablespoons chopped
GARLIC CLOVE two to three finely minced
FRIED CROUTONS small dices cut from four slices of thin sliced
WHITE BREAD deep fried and well drained
BOILED EGGS four whole
SALT as desired after blending the mayonnaise
LIME JUICE half a lime or more as desired