Salad with garbanzo beans and Indian spices

Gone are the days when our affectionate grannies will pull apart our fleshy cheek or tap our heavy thighs to say "Sweetheart! you look just perfect and healthy". Back home in India, the elders panic when you look slim and they considered it as a health problem. (Guess they forgot that the doctor's blood work will give an idea on the body's protein, fat, iron, sodium or sugar level.) So, you will be stuffed with ghee fried sweets, heavy breakfast and elaborate lunches with the hope that you will grow two sizes more from your original one within few days. No exaggerations!!! (well,may be a little :-) Also, don't conclude that Indian kids listen to elders all the time. Mostly, we go by what's convenient to us and there is always two sides to an argument.

In the recent past, the mind sets of both old and young are changing and so is their approach to cooking. Staying fit and eating well balanced food is the order of the day. One of the wonderful cooking creation is a salad. One can get so creative during its preparation. Throw-in this spice, that veggie, those legumes, season with salt/pepper and finally squeeze some lemon juice on top - That's it, you are good to go.

I love legumes. Some days, I boil and eat them with just salt and pepper. They are so filling, also nutritious and importantly so easy to fix. I am not promoting Kareena's size zero here, I am just here to talk about my garbanzo beans salad which is irresistibly tasty and also happens to be healthy :-) Today's salad is made with typical salad veggies and garden fresh cilantro. A dash of zesty lemon juice compliments the dish with perfect tangy taste and the use of ethnic Indian spices creates a plethora of incredible flavors in every mouth. You can also add avocado, fennel or lettuce. Just toss in your favorite veggie and serve. I prefer to serve them cold. I used the tomatoes from my little garden.


This is a perfect salad for those in South beach diet phase 1, 2 or 3 and also for women with gestational diabetes. Stick to 1 to 1.5 cup (maximum) per serving.


Ingredients
2 cans garbanzo beans - Store brought
or
3 cups raw garbanzo beans (soaked overnight and cooked till soft)
1/2 cup onions - finely chopped
1/4 cup raw mango - finely chopped
1/4 cup cucumber - finely chopped
1/4- 1/2 cup tomatoes - finely chopped
1 - 2 tablespoon coriander leaves - finely chopped
1 lemon - squeezed
1/4 teaspoon - chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon - cummin powder
1/2 teaspoon - dry mango powder (amchur powder) - Available in Indian grocery stores
1/2 teaspoon - coriander powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Drain the garbanzo beans and its excess liquid through a colander. Rinse them thoroughly in the running cold water. Store them in the refrigerator.

If using the raw ones, soak the beans overnight and pressure them for 1-2 whistles. Remove and cool it on the kitchen shelf. Place it in the refrigerator to chill.

In a large mixing bowl, add the onions, mangoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, spice powders and give it a complete mix. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Squeeze the lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves on top. Serve immediately.