Tomato Salad on Cumin-Spiced Yogurt

Tomato Salad on Cumin-Spiced Yogurt
Gentl and Hyers for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Rebecca Bartoshesky
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(268)
Comments
Read comments

This simple tomato salad is ready in minutes, and works best with a mix of ripe tomatoes from the market that are delicious enough to eat raw. Layered on cumin-spiced yogurt, and slathered in a bright herb dressing, it’s hearty enough to have as a late summer meal with a piece of grilled bread. The recipe comes from chef Preeti Mistry, who ran a restaurant in Oakland called Juhu Beach Club, inspired by her unique experience as an Indian-American born in London to Asian parents from East Africa, raised in the American Midwest, who was cheffing in northern California. —Tejal Rao

Featured in: The Last Great Tomato Salad of the Year

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
    Subscribe
  • Print Options


Advertisement


Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • ½teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1cup full-fat Greek yogurt, plus 2 tablespoons
  • ¼teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1teaspoon kosher salt, divided
  • 1clove garlic
  • 1handful scallion greens
  • 1handful dill
  • ¼cup mellow white wine vinegar
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • ½cup neutral oil, such as grapeseed
  • 1½ to 2pounds ripe tomatoes, a variety of sizes and shapes, cut into wedges or halved if small
  • Maldon salt, to finish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

356 calories; 32 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 8 grams polyunsaturated fat; 12 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 8 grams protein; 759 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by
Cooking Newsletter illustration

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a small, dry saucepan over medium heat, toast the cumin seeds until they are toasted and aromatic (do not let them burn!), about 2 minutes. Use a mortar and pestle or spice grinder to grind into a powder. In a small bowl, mix toasted cumin with 2 tablespoons yogurt, turmeric and ½ teaspoon salt, until no streaks remain. Set aside.

  2. Step 2

    To make the dressing, put the garlic, herbs, yogurt, vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt and pepper in a food processor, and purée until smooth. With the machine running, pour the oil into the bowl in a slow steady stream. The dressing will become a thin, light green vinaigrette.

  3. Step 3

    To assemble the salad, spread the remaining 1 cup yogurt on the bottom of a large serving dish. Toss the cut tomatoes with the vinaigrette, and pile them on top of the yogurt. Pour any remaining dressing all over the tomatoes and yogurt. Finish with a sprinkle of Maldon or other crunchy salt, and serve, spooning up the yogurt, tomatoes and dressing all together.

Ratings

4 out of 5
268 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

I understood that the Yogurt amount is one cup and 2 spoonfuls. First you prepare the spices and add them to the yogurt. Then, step 3 - you work with your prepared yogurt and when ready , step 4 - you assemble the salad. Most of the yogurt is on the bottom, some of it - you pour on the top. Hope this helps:)

In step 1, make sure to let the cumin seeds cool before grinding them. They will be soft and chalky straight out of the skillet - cooling hardens them back up.

Haha! No, we're absolutely NOT all cooks - I'm a beginner and am paying extra for the subscription in an effort to learn! The comments are invaluable for figuring out how it all works.

This is so good. The recipe could be a little easier to follow for novice cooks. The 2 tablespoons of spiced yogurt are added to the dressing with the vinegar, oil, garlic, and fresh herb. It makes a delicious creamy dressing. I followed the recipe, only adding a little extra vinegar to the dressing. Absolutely delicious.

This recipe is still confusing even tho the authors claim they clarified about the yogurt. Are the cumin and turmeric spices supposed to be in just the 2 tablespoons of yogurt that goes in the dressing, or in all of the yogurt, including the yogurt spread on the plate that is underneath the tomatoes? From reading the recipe, it seems the spices just go into the 2 tablespoons of yogurt for the dressing. However, that does not align with the name of this recipe!

I used Labneh instead of Greek yogurt and it was amazing. Probably not that noticeable in the dressing but a really great accompaniment to the tomatoes and dressing

Private comments are only visible to you.

Credits

Adapted from Preeti Mistry

Advertisement

or to save this recipe.