Beat the Heat Series ~ Summer Salad with Quail Eggs

I got a few boxes of quail eggs at the supermarket a few weeks ago. I had never tasted these eggs before, but they are slowly becoming popular in the cities now and are so damn cute that I’d buy them even if I didn’t want to eat them.

I’ve had them simply fried, with a dash of salt and pepper. It took about 6 of the quail eggs to make up the quantity of one regular chicken egg.

This time I boiled them and used them in a salad, for added protein. The salad is similar to the ones that regularly feature on this blog. Cucumbers, tomatoes and a little cooked pasta. I added some wedges of pan roasted potatoes to bulk it up and add a bit of a crunch. This was an easy weeknight fix for us. Light, healthy and filling. If you don’t have quail eggs, substitute it with chopped regular hard boiled eggs.

Summer salad with quail eggs (makes 3 generous portions)

6 hard boiled, shelled and halved quail eggs (replace with one regular chicken egg)

2 cups of peeld and chopped cucumber

2 cups chopped ripe tomatoes (replace with cherry tomatoes)

2 tablespoons of fresh coriander leaves

1 cup cooked pasta (I used penne)

1 cup potato wedges

1 teaspoon olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

For the dressing

3 tablespoons tomato sauce / ketchup

1 teaspoon green chilli sauce

½ teaspoonTabascosauce

Pinch of sugar

3 tablespoons thick yogurt / curd

2 tablepoons milk

Whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing and set aside.

Reserve the boiled eggs, toss together all the ingredients for the salad. Pour the dressing over it and mix well. Chill for atleast 30 minutes covered before serving. Before serving, plate into individual serving bowl. Garnish with 2-3 halves of the egg. Crackle some pepper on top and serve.