Fresh Dandelion Greens Salad Recipe |The Mad Scientists Kitchen

When you are fortunate to source fresh dandelion (called hakkaraki palya in Kannada) make the yum salad.

a serving of fresh Dandelion salad — Hakkaraki Salad Recipe

There are so many delicious greens that are healthy but we do not know them and they are treated as weeds. Dandelion greens are one such green. Hello, Welcome to The Mad Scientist's Kitchen, Reinventing the Foodie in you! If you are looking to make a healthy salad from your garden greens then read on. I urge you to subscribe to our newsletter so that you get all our posts. We will not spam you, promise and the subscribe link is below or on the side-bar too.

Dandelion and me!

The other day one of my classmates shared a newspaper clipping about the “ hakkaraki playa” benefits. Apparently, the leaves scientifically called dandelion benefit many diseases like kidney stones, blood pressure, weight reduction etc.

I remembered eating it as a salad in Savitri’s place and then at home. These leaves are not available in Goa, my Bai was in her village. Since I requested she brought back loads for me.

Paired with soups like this delicious Potato Leek Soup Recipe it is one satisfying meal.

So what are Dandelion plants?

Dandelion is a flowering plant species that are edible. The plant grows close to the ground and is a rosette. The yellow to orange coloured flowers grow on a stem that rises over the leaves. The plant needs black soil and the seeds are wind dispersed. The plant is generally treated as a weed.

How do I use Dandelion?

You can eat a dandelion root, leaves and flowers. Avoid the stem on which the flower grows. This stem has a latex that is sticky and white as it is a laxative.
The flowers are either fried or you have heard of dandelion wine?
The leaves of the plant are nutritious and can be eaten raw or cooked.

How do I eat the Dandelion greens? What does it taste like?

Dandelions leaves taste best raw when they are tender and young.
- Still, the discerning palate will find them bitter and earthy. So you need to balance the tastes to suit your palate.
- One word of caution do not use only dandelion leaves for your salad people find it bitter.
Serve it as Hindbeh, a Lebanese dish the cooked greens are tossed in olive oil and loads of garlic. Top them with caramelised onions.
The other option is to leave the leaves in boiling water for 5 minutes. If they continue to taste bitter add them to the second pot of boiling water for 3-5 minutes.

How do I wash Dandelion leaves?

Now since dandelion grows close to the ground they are very dirty and you need to wash them well.

What I did is I separated the leaves, especially the central part and add them to a big bowl of water. Let them stand for about 15 minutes then changed the water again.
As I transferred them to a fresh bowl of water I lightly scrub the leaves.
2-3 times I repeated this procedure and the leaves were clean.
Do not despair this is the only long procedure. In fact, as the leaves are soaking you can chop up your veggies for the tossed salad.

Tossed salad with Hakkaraki Palya — Simple Tossed Salad with Dandelion Leaves

Ingredients for Hattarki Salad:

Dandelion leaves: tender, fresh leaves of the plant. Wash them well and drain them. To wash them add the leaves to a big basin of water and let them soak. I have detailed the method above as the leaves were very dirty.
Cucumber: in the traditional hattarki salad called kosambri the cucumber is diced fine. You could use it in bigger slices like the one used for greek salad.
Tomatoes: regular tomatoes or even cherry tomatoes will do.
Nuts: peanuts are the traditional dressing used. The peanuts are roasted, peeled ground to a coarse powder. I have used different seeds like pumpkin and sesame seeds.
Onion: in the traditional Bhramin community we do not use onions but I have added some, you can choose to add any onion I get only the red ones and have used them.
Green chillies: chopped green chillies adjust to suit your taste and yes the pungency of the chillies.
Lemon juice: ½ a teaspoon of lemon juice it will cut the bitterness of the leaves.
Salt: I have used table salt to taste
Sugar: ½ teaspoon sugar to balance off the taste.

Substitutes and alternatives way to eat Hattarki Palya:

Since all of us do not have access to Dandelion greens you can be substitute them with spinach.
Back home, the dandelion leaves are chopped with cucumber, tomato, freshly grated coconut, coarsely powdered peanuts, green chillies, salt and sugar is mixed well. A tempering of oil, mustard seeds and asafoetida is poured on top. Occasionally a few onions are diced in too.
The nuts you can use are peanuts, walnuts, pecans, pine nuts. Add berries and raisins too they will balance the bitter taste.
You can make a salad by adding chopped tomatoes, cucumber, boiled eggs, and drizzle with a vinaigrette and garlic.
You can also serve the dandelion leaves sautéed with tomatoes and boiled egg. Use a vinaigrette or drizzle olive oil and garlic.
Add fresh basil to the salad
Use roasted garlic oil, cheese maybe feta or goat cheese and nuts of your choice.

How to make the Dandelion Greens Salad:

Dry roast the nuts on low flame till you get a nice aroma. Transfer to a plate and let them cool.
Remove the tops of the cucumber, check the taste, if it is bitter discard it. Wash the knife and cutting board before you test the next one. Yes, cucumbers are bitter too the one way to reduce mild bitterness to rub the top to the cucumber. You will get a slight froth, wash the cucumber and use.
Chop the cucumber I have diced it fine. Add them to the mixing bowl.
Cut tomatoes and onions, fine and add them to the bowl.
Just before serving add salt, lemon juice, sugar.
Roughly chop the washed and drained dandelion leaves. Mix them in the bowl.
Garnish with seeds and nuts of your choice and serve immediately.

Similar Salads that we enjoy:

Recipe Card: