Do you think salad is boring? If yes, then you must try a variety of salad dressing. No, I am not asking you to buy expensive ingredients or fancy salad dressing. This blog is all about guiding you to make simple salad dressing at home with minimum, easily available ingredients. Don’t worry, these dressings are super healthy, mostly low in calories, and perfectly go with your Indian taste buds. So read the blog till the end.

If you are struggling with weight loss, diabetes, high blood pressure, fatty liver, thyroid, cholesterol, etc, a healthy diet is not an option but a must for you. Looking at our busy work schedule, having a salad bowl for a meal is convenient and healthy. It takes less time to prepare compared to a traditional Indian meal.

But the problem is salads are not generally tasty. Please note that it’s the salad dressing that generally brings taste to the salad. You can make the dressing spicy, creamy, sweet, and tangy as per your choice.

Keep the basic ingredients handy in your Indian kitchen –

We have five basic tastes – sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. Besides this flavor and texture of the food also play a huge role in the overall acceptance of the food.

The basic ingredients you need to make at least 16 types of salad dressing –

You can combine 1-2 ingredients from each category, mix well and create your salad dressing.

7 Low-Calorie, Tangy Salad Dressing Ideas for the Indian Diet–

1. The Basic –

The good old lemon, salt, and pepper as a salad dressing is not going anywhere. Make sure you squeeze the lemon first and add a pinch of salt & pepper just before eating. This will help to keep the salad crunch intact. Otherwise, your salad is going to be soggy.

2. Basic vinegar dressing –

No lemon in your stock? No problem, use 1 teaspoon or 1 tablespoon of vinegar instead according to the quantity of the salad. Follow the same rule – add vinegar first and put salt and pepper later as per your taste. Try to keep good quality vinegar in stock. You may use apple cider vinegar too.

Click here to buy vinegar online.

Click here to buy apple cider vinegar online

3. Oil-based basic tangy salad dressing –

Ingredients needed –

• Vinegar/ Lemon – 1 tablespoon
• Olive oil/ sesame oil/ groundnut oil – 1 tablespoon
• Salt & pepper – as per taste

Adding good quality oil in salad dressing helps in better absorption of nutrients, and improves the satiety and texture of the salad. Extra virgin olive oil or cold pressed/filtered sesame oil or groundnut oil are the best choices to use in the salad.

Take 1 tablespoon of oil, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar, or squeeze a lemon to it and mix well. Pour the emulsion on the salad and toss with a gentle hand. Add salt and pepper as per taste.

Click here to buy extra virgin olive oil

Click here to buy cold-pressed sesame oil

Click here to buy cold-pressed groundnut oil

4. Oil-based sweet and Tangy salad dressing

Ingredients needed –

• Vinegar/ Lemon – 1 tablespoon
• Olive oil/ sesame oil/ groundnut oil – 1 tablespoon
• Salt & pepper – as per taste
• Honey – 1 teaspoon

If you are a sweet lover, adding little honey to your salad will satisfy your taste bud.  Mix oil, vinegar/ lemon, and honey well. Add it to the salad and toss. Use salt and pepper just before eating.

Note that most of the honey available in the market is adulterated with sugar syrup or glucose. Try to buy good-quality honey instead. Look for unfiltered, unprocessed, unpasteurized, raw honey for the best quality.

Click here to buy honey online.

5. Oil-based sweet, tangy salad dressing with mustard kashundi

Ingredients needed –

• Vinegar/ Lemon – 1 tablespoon
• Olive oil/ sesame oil/ groundnut oil – 1 tablespoon
• Salt & pepper – as per taste
• Honey – 1 teaspoon
• Mustard Kashundi – 1 teaspoon

You may like mustard kashundi or hate it. There is nothing in between. If you love to have an extra punch to your salad, feel free to try this dressing.

As mentioned earlier, whisk oil, vinegar/ lemon, honey, and kashundi well. Add it to the salad and toss with a gentle hand. Use salt and pepper just before eating.

Buy mustard kashundi online.

6. Oil-based tangy salad dressing with green chutney –

Ingredients needed –

• Vinegar/ Lemon – 1 tablespoon
• Olive oil/ sesame oil/ groundnut oil – 1 tablespoon
• Salt – as per taste
• Green chutney – 1 tablespoon

Keeping a basic green chutney at home is always a good idea as a healthy dip. This will help you to stay away from store-bought mayonnaise sauce.  A basic green chutney paste is nothing but a mixture of coriander, mint, green chili, and garlic. If you are a green chutney fan, you can use it in your salad dressing too.

Add oil, vinegar/ lemon to green chutney. Mix it properly and add it to your salad. That’s all you need to do to make your salad super tasty. Don’t forget to add a pinch of salt before having

7. Oil-based tangy salad dressing with red chutney –

Ingredients needed –

• Vinegar/ Lemon – 1 tablespoon
• Olive oil/ sesame oil/ groundnut oil – 1 tablespoon
• Salt & pepper – as per taste
• Red chutney – 1 tablespoon

If you like tomato-based red chutney, store it at home for its multipurpose use. It is low in calories therefore can act as a fantastic taste enhancer without adding any calorie burden.

Just like green chutney, consider giving a twist to your everyday salad dressing by adding red chutney. A basic red chutney can be prepared at home by making a paste of tomato and garlic within 10 minutes.

Add red chutney in vinegar/ lemon and oil. Whisk it properly to get an emulsion. Pour it on the salad and mix. Sprinkle some salt & pepper before eating.

4 Simple & Healthy Curd-based Salad Dressing for Indian Diet–

1. Basic curd-based salad dressing –

Ingredients needed –

• Curd – 1- 2 tablespoon
• Cumin powder – ½ teaspoon
• Salt & pepper – as per taste

If you like curd, you must have tried this earlier. Curd, cumin powder, salt, and pepper – only these 4 ingredients are enough to make the basic dressing.  Curd-based dressings are great during summer.

All you need to do is add curd, salt, and pepper to your salad and mix well. It might make your salad soggy too soon. Therefore, add the mixture just before eating.

2. Basic curd-based salad dressing with honey

Ingredients needed –

• Curd – 1- 2 tablespoon
• Cumin powder – ½ teaspoon
• Salt & pepper – as per taste
• Honey – 1 teaspoon

If you like the typical “khatta mitha” taste, then this dressing is for you. Just add 1 teaspoon of honey with curd and mix well. Spread it all over the salad and sprinkle some salt and pepper on top.

Click here to buy honey online.

3. Curd with green chutney –

Ingredients needed –

• Curd – 1- 2 tablespoon
• Cumin powder – ½ teaspoon
• Salt & pepper – as per taste
• Green Chutney – 1 tablespoon

As mentioned earlier, a homemade green chutney can be used in various forms in multiple dishes. Try adding it to curd and mix it well with a salad dressing. Use salt and pepper as per your taste.

4. Basic curd-based salad dressing with chat masala

Ingredients needed –

• Curd – 1- 2 tablespoon
• Cumin powder – ½ teaspoon
• Salt & pepper – as per taste
• Chat masala – ½ teaspoon

If you love chat masala, then this is a must-try one for you. Again, a very basic dressing with minimum ingredients. Just mix everything, add to your salad, and toss well.

Click here to buy chat masala

Salad dressing: Indian Tarka style –

Ingredients needed –

1. Curry leaves – few
2. sesame oil/ groundnut oil – 1 tablespoon
3. Mustard seed – ½ tsp
4. Green chili/ red chilli – as per taste
5. Lemon – 1
6. Salt – as per taste
7. Grated coconut – 1 tablespoon (Optional)
8. Roasted peanut – 1 fistful (Optional)

You may have always done it to make sabji. Now try this on your salad too. Follow the usual procedure. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Add mustard seed, curry leaves, green chilli/ red chilli to it. You may add 1 fistful of peanut also. Fry for 20 seconds and add it on salad.  Toss the mixture well. Add salt as per taste. You may top it with 1 tablespoon of grated coconut.

4 Healthy and Tasty Creamy Salad Dressing for Indian Diet–

1. Basic creamy salad dressing with peanut butter

Ingredients needed –

1. Peanut butter – 1 tablespoon
2. Olive oil – 1 tablespoon
3. Salt & pepper – as per taste

If you like the taste of peanut butter, you will like it. Peanut butter helps to give a creamy texture to your salad. Try to get a good quality peanut butter without any added sugar or preservatives. You can also make your peanut butter at home. Whisk peanut butter and olive oil together. Mix it with your salad and sprinkle salt & pepper on top.

Click here to find the best peanut butter online – Top 10 brands in India

2. Spicey creamy salad dressing with peanut butter

Ingredients needed –

1. Peanut butter – 1 tablespoon
2. Olive oil – 1 tablespoon
3. Chili oil – ½ teaspoon
4. Salt – as per taste

Salad may not be spice less always. If you love having spicey food, you will love this dressing. Mix Peanut butter, olive oil and chilli oil together and taste the magic. Add the combo with salad and sprinkle some salt as per taste.

Buy chili oil online

3. Sweet creamy salad dressing with peanut butter

Ingredients needed –

5. Peanut butter – 1 tablespoon
6. Olive oil – 1 tablespoon
7. Honey – 1 teaspoon
8. Salt – as per taste

This dressing tastes subtle and creamy. Again, follow the usual procedure of mixing all the ingredients together and spread over your salad.

4. Creamy salad dressing with Sesame paste (Tahini)

Ingredients needed –

1. Sesame paste (Tahini) – 1 tablespoon
2. Salt &Pepper – A per taste
3. Olive oil – 1 tablespoon
4. Lemon – 1 (optional)

Have you tried tahini ever? If not, give it a shot. Mix tahini and olive oil. Add some salt and pepper. You may squeeze a lemon also. Add the dressing to the salad and toss with gentle hand.

Click here to buy tahini online.

Tips to keep the salad crunchy not soggy –

1. Drain the water from your salad after chopping
2. Keep the salad in refrigerator in an air tight container before adding the dressing.
3. If your dressing is hot, let it cool first and then add it to salad.
4. Add salad dressing just before eating the salad.
5. Salt must be added at the end.

Bottomline –

Healthy food does not always have to be bland. It can be tasty too without putting much effort. All the salad dressing ideas shared here require minimum number of ingredients. All the ingredients are easily available in store or online. Feel free to try the these healthy, simple, low calorie salad dressing as a part of your Indian diet.