Simple, quick and easy, this salad can be prepared in minutes. Capsicum is a much ignored salad vegetable that has been combined with lots of colours and flavours which perfectly complements the delicate flavour of sweet lime. This salad is a great accompaniment for a continental main course and is also a good choice for takeaway lunches. To keep salad fresh and crisp add salt just before you eat it. This is because salt in a salad draws out all the water from the vegetables and leaving them limp.

Methambo is one of the best known pickles. Gujaratis are great consumers of all sorts of sweet and spicy pickles, with methambo being one of their favourites. Mustard seeds and round red chillies are first added to the oil, then the mango pieces dressed with turmeric powder and salt are sautéed till tender, after which jaggery is added and cooked till it has dissolved. After the methambo has cooled down completely, it is spiced with chilli powder. Methambo is very similar to golkeri, but the only difference is that methambo is tempered with whole spices whereas golkeri is not. It is an excellent accompaniment for almost all meals.

Plain ridge gourd subzi gets transformed into a yummy dish with the addition of poppy seeds and chillies. Very little fat and loads of fibre make it perfect for mothers keen to lose their pregnancy kilos.

A very healthy and tasty dish. Quick and easy to make. I frequently make this dish for my office lunch or sometimes even have it as a snack.