“Here is a refreshing hearty vegetable salad that can serve as a main meal for vegetarians and vegans. Black garbanzo ,  also known as bengal gram or kala chana never gets mushy no matter how long you pressure cook it. This makes it ideal for using in salads because it will always hold its shape and has a strong, earthy taste, with thick skin & soft nutty inside. It has a low glycemic index and good protein option for diabetics. This recipe is a  twist to Indian Chana Chaat  in that it has all the added goodness of  tomatoes, potatoes, mangoes, cucumber, corn, cilantro, green onions and spices .”

 

Ingredients

3 cups black garbanzo beans/kala chana, soaked overnight ( found at Indian grocery stores; I get them from Azure standard )

2 tsp baking soda

2 red potatoes, boiled, peeled & diced

1 bag of frozen sweet corn

3 Persian cucumbers or English cucumbers, chopped

Meat of 2 mangoes, diced (you can substitute with fresh pineapple chunks and/or  avocado )

A basket of cherry tomatoes, diced

A bunch of green onions, chopped

3 to 4 green chilies, minced

1 tbsp chaat masala ( if you don’t have this, substitute with a mixture of cumin, black pepper,  & ginger)

Sea salt and to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

A bunch of coriander leaves/cilantro, minced

Juice of 2 limes plus lime zest

2 tbsp sherry vinegar or white balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

 

Directions

 

Pressure cook soaked black garbanzo beans an baking soda till beans are soft inside. Drain.  The liquid is highly nutritious so save it to add in soup or as a drink.

Add remaining ingredients and toss to combine. Serve immediately.

*Note: We love eating this on top of romaine lettuce leaves, as lettuce wraps .  Tortilla chips are great with this too.