RAWALPINDI: Though they had always been offering some salads in their outlets, various bakeries in the city have started serving multiple varieties of salads, including Turkish and Russian salads, due to their increasing popularity.

A variety of ingredients are being used in these salads, including fruit, chicken, mutton, beef and nuts in order to offer a complete and nutritious meal to the more health conscious residents of the garrison city.

The dry salads include fattoush, noodle salad, beef macaroni, smoked chicken pasta, cheese and egg pasta, red beans, sweet corn, cucumber, egg pasta and others.

The salads which are heavier and include cream are fruit and nuts salads, pine apple and chicken, banana and chicken, Russian vegetable salads, Italian chicken macaroni, mango and fresh cream and strawberry and fresh cream.

These salads are served in small, medium and large servings at various bakeries, and a few bakeries in Saddar have now become famous for their salads.

“Our smoothies, juices and bakery items have always been popular in the city but the more health conscious people prefer buying salads, especially customers who usually have lunch in their offices and are looking for a light bite to eat before they shop in the bazaar,’ said Hadees Chaudhry, the manager of Tehzeeb Bakers.

“We prepare a mayonnaise made of desi eggs for the salads, which are used in the cream based salads. We also use different meats to give people a choice, including beef, chicken, mutton and sausages,” he said.

He added that most people come in to the bakery looking for a light bite to eat and for healthier alternatives to pizzas, biscuits and other snacks and end up buying salads instead.

“It is important for us that the ingredients are fresh and because we do not use any preservatives, we have to make the salads fresh every day. People can judge the quality and freshness of food and you cannot compromise on the ingredients,’ he said.

“I always prefer having a salad when I am out shopping at the bazaar as it is a better alternative to chaats and dahi bhalas,” said a customer, Quratulain Sheikh, adding that she liked the combination of vegetables, fruits, pastas and chicken.

“It is also a healthier snack for children compared to chips and other fast food items,” she said.

Lately, she said, salads were also becoming popular for serving guests with tea along with other snacks, cakes and biscuits.

A customer at a local bakery, Moeen Malik said he always gets a medium cup of salad for lunch and fills it with various flavours to make it more interesting.

“That bakeries are now offering more salads has made choosing what to have for lunch easier, because before, we just had sandwiches and other snacks,’ he said.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2016