Chickpea Salad with Ginger

Chickpea Salad with Ginger has an Indian flavor, and I recently served it as a side dish to go with Vij’s Family’s Chicken Curry.

I adapted the recipe from one by Mark Bittman in his The Best Recipes in the World.  He did not add any oil to the salad, which certainly would make it healthy. I chose to add 1 tablespoon of light (light flavor, not fewer calories) olive oil and I omitted the tablespoon of sugar that he used. I think the oil helps to carry the flavors. Next time, I might use 2 tablespoons of oil, which is really not that much for 4 to 5 servings.

Served on a bed of arugula, I found Chickpea Salad with Ginger to be a refreshing and colorful salad to serve with a rich Indian main dish.

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Chickpea Salad with Ginger

(Adapted from a recipe in The Best Recipes in the World, by Mark Bittman)

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(print the recipe)

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Serves 4 – 5

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3 cups cooked chickpeas (I cooked a pound, but you could use 2 cans of rinsed and drained chickpeas)

2 bell peppers, red, yellow, or orange, stemmed, seeded and diced

½ cup chopped red onion

One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon ground cumin, lightly toasted in a dry pan until fragrant (takes 30 – 60 seconds)

1 – 2 tablespoons light olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Chopped cilantro for garnish

Arugula for serving (Optional)

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1. Toss the chickpeas, peppers, onion, ginger, cumin, oil, and lemon juice together in a large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

2. To serve, put a handful of arugula on each salad plate. Top with the chickpea salad and garnish with the cilantro.