Cilantro-Ginger Dressing

This multipurpose cilantro-ginger dressing bring flavor to pretty much everything: salads, sandwiches, oriental-style noodles, vegan sushi rolls, Buddha bowls, Indian meals and chaat*. The best feature of  this dressing is that it does not have any oil and is low in sodium.

This multipurpose cilantro-ginger dressing is greatly inspired by Indian (fresh) cilantro chutney, which is especially popular during the summer months in India. You can also find the recipe for Indian green chutney on TLC as well.

Cilantro-Mint Chutney

The best thing about this dressing is its versatility-it goes pretty much with any meal ideas. Since this dressing doesn't contain salt like the store-bought dressings, you can use this cilantro-ginger dressing in generous amounts to add a burst of flavor to your food.

This cilantro-ginger dressing explifies that we don't really need a lot of salt or oil to make food taste good. Here is how to make it:

I usually use cilantro, but a combination of cilantro and parsley would work just as well. Green onions add some body as well as flavor to the dressing.

In the Indian chutney version (stay tuned for the recipe) usually raw mango is used to give body as well as a tarty flavor. I generally use unsweetened apple sauce.  To get a slight variation in taste, I often replace apple sauce with Granny Smith apple or overripe pear. I belive any variety of apple should work. When in season, you can also use ripe peaches.

Jalapeño peppers (can replace with green chillies), ginger, garlic, rice vinegar (can sub with white vinegar), maple syrup (can sub with honey), and coconut aminos (can sub with low-sodium soy sauce) render a gamut of flavors to this cilantro-ginger dressing.

Unbelievably, I forgot to include lemons in the list of pictured ingredients above. I found that out after I made the dressing for this blogpost and tasted it. I could immediately tell that a key ingredient was missing. Lemon is such an essential ingredient in this cilantro-ginger dressing that I felt compelled to add a pic so that you don't forget to include it.

After you have assembled all the ingredients in one place, process them in a blender till well mixed.

This dressing will last in referigerator for 3-4 days in an air-tight container. I usually don't use plastic container to store wet food items. But if you do, please be aware that this dressing may leave a hard-to-remove aroma in a plastic container.

If you are CSA member and have an overload of cilantro, parsley, and green onions, you can make 2-3 batches and freeze. You can freeze this dressing for unto 4 weeks. Please be aware that the flavor gets a bit diluted.

You can enjoy this dressing on your salads, in sandwiches, and much more (stay tuned). Enjoy.

*Chaat is an Indian food category comprising of savory snacks with a gamut of flavors, especially sweet and sour. The chaat snacks incorporate a certain set of spices and are almost always accompanied by yogurt and  tamarind and cilantro-mint chutneys (sauces). Please stay tuned for TLC chaat recipes.

Other condiments on TLC..

Cilantro-Mint Chutney

Homemade Multipurpose Italian-style Tomato Sauce

Homemade Sweet & Sour Tomato Chutney

Find more Sauces, Chutneys, Dressings, and Spices on TLC..