What’s titillating to the tongue is terrible on one’s tummy, and vice versa! Right? Wrong! With a soupcon of ingenuity, you can bring about a dramatic difference in the taste of even the blandest eatables. For instance, take raw veggies that reign supreme on high nutrition charts. In a jiffy, you can convert them into lip-smacking stuff!

Which means, it’s time to rejoice for those, embarked on the diet journey of salads, to whittle off wads of waist flab. To start with, on roundels of cut tomatoes, just try some sprinkle of ‘pani puri’ masala! You are sure to enjoy its ethereal taste, even if you’re the one who loathe the uninspiring taste of raw tomatoes. (Tomatoes, apart from being highly nutritious, are believed to be anti-cancerous too).

Alternatively, sprinkle on these succulent tomato slices, a mix of “rasam masala/red chilli powder, salt and asafoetida (hing)”. Try a whit of ‘amchur’ too, to make it peppier. Remember, hing is highly efficacious in expelling the digestive gases. It’s also a sure-fire panacea to gas-induced tummy aches.

Vitamin A-rich raw carrot, is yet another inordinately nutritious raw veggie, which is seldom liked by many, because of its unappetising taste. You can make it tangy just by mixing grated carrots with limejuice and salt. You can even try the combo of “grated carrots with salt, chaat masala along with little amchur”.

Remember the clichéd ‘cool as a cucumber’ saying? Yes, cucumber, apart from being considerably nutritious again, keeps the body cool too. You can try freshly crushed ‘pepper and salt’ along with lemon on cucumber slices. (You can use pestle and mortar for crushing). If you like indulging in some ‘palate-scalding’ concoction, then, opt for the spread of ground “mint, green chilli, salt, ginger n’ garlic” on cucumber slices. (You can refrigerate this ground masala, and use it whenever required). Even pani-puri masala tastes pretty yummy on these slices.

All these masalas can also be tried on bland fruits like apples, papayas, sweet lime, etc. In fact, children simply love cramming in these tart n’ tangy masala-coated fruit pieces.

Not to forget the positively nutritious raw radish, which’s believed to have liver-corrective properties as well. You can whip up a scrumptious radish-dish by adding the seasoning of “oil, mustard, cumin, red chilies, curry leaves” to grated raw radish, soaked in curds. (The seasoning drives away the radish’s kachha smell that’s despised by many). Enjoy the double bonanza here, as even curd is downright nutritious, apart from acting as coolant to the body! This is quite an ideal dish with dry rotis.  

If you are looking at lashings of protein in your diet, then simply go for this superlatively healthy ambrosial delight! Just cook ‘sprouted’ green gram (soaked overnight) in a half spoon of ‘oil plus cumin’ seasoning till it’s parboiled. When it’s cold, add loads of finely chopped raw onions, tomatoes, cucumber and grated carrot. Mix in flavour-boosters like chopped coriander leaves, green chilies and lemon/grated raw mangoes. This dish, virtually bereft of oil, could be best devoured as evening snack. For a tad heavier snack, mix in puffed rice to make it into bhel-puri. Add a jot of chaat masala for extra flavour. 

Finally, what’s food without cool drinks to wash them down? Well, this doesn’t mean guzzling down canisters of coke that wreak havoc with your body frame! Instead, go in for Vitamin C-rich lemonade (use sugar-free pellets), or healthy ‘ginger ale’. (Boil crushed ginger in water till the latter gets reduced to half the amount. When cold, strain and blend it with sweet limejuice). Usher in the divine, piquant taste by mixing pani-puri masala to the drink!

Remember, whether you’re a food cognoscente or a fitness fiend or finicky about counting calories, you’re sure to savour these delectable, nutrient-laden concoctions. Happy n’ healthy munching!