Sunday, April 28, 2013

Indian Style Chopped Salad


Last Thanksgiving, we went to my mother in law's new house in Myrtle Beach.  My mother in law was happy to let me cook dinner, so while the family went out to watch my husband run the turkey trot 10k, I stayed home and cooked. Since it was just 6 of us, and we don't eat turkey, I opted for a nontraditional menu with lots of indian flavors, since we LOVE indian food.





Chopped salads are not difficult to make, but they do take a good bit of chopping. This recipe also involves roasting the chick peas and making the dressing, so it can be a bit time consuming, but totally worth the effort. The key is to make sure everything is chopped up nice and small.

Indian Style Chopped Salad

Dressing: 

  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt
  • 1 bunch fresh cilantro, divided
  • 1/4 cup fresh mint
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • salt & pepper, to taste
Whizz all ingredients in a blender or food processor until they are dressing consistency.   

Roasted Chick Peas: 

  • 1 14 ounce can chick peas
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. 

Drain and rinse chick peas.  I like to slip the skins off the chick peas in my colander, but it's not strictly necessary.
Mix the chick peas, oil, and curry powder in a bowl and toss to combine.
Roast chick peas until they dark and starting to get dry.  Somewhere between 15 and 25 minutes.

Salad

  • 1 yellow or orange bell pepper
  • 1 cup green beans, steamed in the microwave
  • 4 cups spinach
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro 
  • 1/2 cup slivered almonds
  • 1 pint grape tomatoes
  • Roasted chick peas




Chop bell pepper and green beans into 1 centimeter cubes.
Chop spinach and cilantro into bite size pieces, or maybe a bit smaller.
Combine all the salad ingredients including the roasted chick peas and serve alongside the dressing.




Enjoy!
Read more >>