Friday, July 30, 2010

Desi Chickpea Salad

Beat the summer heat with cold chickpea salad. Very easy to prepare recipe and needs few ingredients.
But why the name 'desi chickpeas' ? This is majorly cultivated in the Indian subcontinent and is otherwise called as 'kala chana' or' black chickpea'. There are 2 varieties of chickpea: Desi chickpea and Kabuli chickpea. The first variety is bit smaller,darker in color,rough and high in fibre content and low in glycemic index compared to the 'kabuli '.On the other hand, Kabuli chickpea are the regular type which are larger,light golden in color and much smoother than desi variety.

You need:

1 cup of desi chickpea / kala chana
1/4 cup of grated carrot
1/4 cup of shredded raw mango
1/4 cup of sprouts
2 tbsp of lemon juice
1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
1 green chilly cut and split
Asafoetida or hing a little
salt to taste
1 tsp of oil

* Soak the chickpeas overnight and cook them well till soft. Drain excess water and transfer to a bowl.
* Heat oil in a small pan to splutter mustard seeds, add split green chilly and asafoetida.Switch off the heat and add the spluttered contents to the bowl of chickpea.
* Add carrot, mango and sprouts and squeeze the juice from the lemon and add salt.
* Give a big toss and voila the salad is ready.
* Salad can be chilled in refrigerator for 1-2 hours before serving. This can also be served hot.


Posted by Picasa