Salads and salad dressings have taken up my world this long, hot summer in Cyprus. The original Ranch dressing served in the 1950s at Hidden Valley Ranch, a guest ranch near Santa Barbara, was made with dry herbs and aromatics. Steve Henson, who created this awesome sauce while working as a contract plumber in Alaska started cooking for his coworkers and perfected this buttermilk dressing recipe. Five years later he moved to California with his wife Gayle and bought a ranch. His famous buttermilk dressing soon became a staple at the dinner table.
I love the original Ranch dressing that I tasted on my visit to California and could not wait to come home and adapt it for my Kerala Kitchen.
This ranch dressing is a version that I love making at home. Of course, I have adapted it to my very South Indian taste buds, keeping all the original ingredients, but using the fresh chopped versions of the dried and powdered herbs and spices. This is my humble (south-Indian) tribute to this famous dressing.
1 cup high quality mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
5 tablespoons thick Coconut Milk
1 and ½ cups Greek yogurt
½ teaspoon grainy mustard
½ medium onion chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 and ½ tablespoons minced fresh dill
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
3 tablespoons minced fresh chives
1 green onion, chopped fine
½ teaspoon salt or to taste
¼ teaspoon black pepper powder
2 teaspoons mild curry
½ teaspoon hot curry
½ teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
½ teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ lemon (squeezed)
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and whisk together until smooth. To get it super smooth, blend using an immersion blender.
Transfer to a bottle or jar for storage, and refrigerate till really cold before serving.
Drizzle this delicious ranch dressing on your favourite roasted vegetable or salad or use it for dipping. My choice would be olive oil roasted quarters of cabbage with oodles of this sauce.
Serene Tharian, arranges South Indian Dinner Clubs in Cyprus, through her cooking club, The Best Exotic Kerala Kitchen. She can be contacted on 99 222462 to book a South Indian meal with your friends. Instagram/Facebook: @thebestexotickeralakitchen
