The Four O'Clock Salad

The office kitchen has a chopping board nobody claims and a knife that has never been sharp. I brought this salad into that kitchen on a Tuesday because the four o'clock samosa run had started to feel like a small daily surrender.

The prep is barely prep. Everything gets diced the night before and carried in one box; the dressing rides separately in an old pickle jar. At four, when the floor goes quiet and screens start to blur, I tip the box into the biggest bowl the pantry owns, shake the jar and pour.

The mustard oil announces itself immediately. Someone two desks away asks what that smell is, in the tone people use when they mean it kindly. By the time I've tossed it, three colleagues have wandered over holding empty coffee cups, which is how office food gets eaten — sideways, standing up, off whatever is nearest.

It disappears in under ten minutes. The sprouts still snap, the corn is sweet against the sharp oil, and the paneer takes on just enough lemon to stop tasting plain. Nobody goes back to their desk heavy. That, more than anything, is the argument for it: at half past four you are still awake, which a samosa never once managed for me.

Assamese Raw Mixed Salad with Paneer

An uncooked mixed salad — sprouts, capsicum, tender peas, corn and paneer tossed in raw mustard oil, lemon and green chilli.

Serves 4   ·   Preparation 20 minutes   ·   No cooking required

Salad

250 g	Paneer, cut into small cubes
1½ cups	Mung bean sprouts
1 cup	Capsicum, diced small (green, or a mix of colours)
¾ cup	Tender green peas, shelled
1 cup	Carrot, finely diced
1 cup	Sweet corn kernels, tender
½ cup	Black chana, sprouted
2	Medium onions, thinly sliced

Dressing

2 tbsp	Raw mustard oil (kachi ghani)
2 tbsp	Lemon juice
2	Green chillies, finely chopped
1 small piece	Ginger, finely julienned
1 tsp	Salt, or to taste
½ tsp	Freshly crushed black pepper
4 tbsp	Fresh coriander, chopped

Method

1.  Wash and drain the sprouts

Rinse the mung sprouts and sprouted black chana in several changes of cold water, then drain thoroughly in a colander. Pat dry — wet sprouts dilute the dressing.

2.  Prep the onion and vegetables

Soak the sliced onion in cold water for about 10 minutes while you prep everything else, then drain well. This takes the harsh bite off without cooking it. Dice the capsicum and carrot small, and shell the peas if using fresh pods.

3.  Combine in a wide bowl

Tip the paneer, sprouts, capsicum, peas, carrot, sweet corn and drained onion into a wide bowl. Use a bowl bigger than you think you need so you can toss without crushing anything.

4.  Mix the dressing

Whisk the mustard oil with the lemon juice, green chillies, salt, pepper and ginger. Let it sit for two minutes so the chilli and ginger infuse the oil.

5.  Dress and serve immediately

Pour the dressing over and toss gently with your hands or two spoons until everything is coated. Scatter the coriander over the top and serve straight away, while the sprouts and capsicum are still crisp.

Notes

•    Mustard oil is the whole character of this salad. Use unrefined kachi ghani, and don't substitute a neutral oil, or it will taste flat. Raw mustard oil is sharp and nose-tingling by design.

•    Dice the capsicum to roughly the size of the corn kernels so no single spoonful is dominated by it — raw capsicum is assertive and can bully the sweeter ingredients.

•    Raw green peas and corn only work if they are young and sweet. Older ones are starchy and chalky uncooked.

•    Wash the sprouts thoroughly and use them within a day of buying. Raw sprouts carry some bacterial risk, so if you're serving young children, elderly guests or anyone pregnant, give them a 60-second dip in boiling water first.

•    Everything can be chopped a few hours ahead and kept covered in the fridge, but only dress it right before serving — salt and lemon draw water out fast, and the salad turns soggy within the hour.