Chickpea Salad

Rich in carbohydrates, proteins and minerals such as calcium, iron and phosphorus, chickpeas are the most widely consumed legumes globally. The one thing that immediately comes to mind when talking about chickpeas is definitely chickpea salad. With so many chickpea salad recipes from around the world, such as India, Italy, Morocco and Mexico, one can never complain of monotony, while tossing up this ever-favorite and healthy salad.

Revithia in Greek, ceci in Italian, kichererbse in German and garbanzo bean or Bengal gram in English, chickpeas make for one of the best protein sources in the world. One of the earliest legumes to be cultivated in the world, as evidenced by archeological remains in Turkey, France, Italy and Greece among others, today the highest producer of chickpeas, as of 2008, happens to be India with the yield per year standing at a whopping 5,970,000 tonnes, followed by Pakistan (842,000 tonnes), Turkey (523,553 tonnes), Australia (313,000 tonnes) and then Iran (310,000 tonnes). Chickpea today is used in innumerable food recipes such as to make pilaf, Indian chana masala, sweet chickpea halua in Bangladesh, chholaar daal (lentils) in West Bengal and halo-halo in Philippines. These are only very few examples from the plethora of delicacies that actually use chickpeas. But, among all these, it is the easiest to use these light colored beads to make extremely nutritious chickpea salad. So, I have taken it upon myself to give you some of the most exotic and vibrantly colorful chickpea salad recipes that'll fill the tummy, nourish the body and satiate the tingling taste buds!

Chickpea Salad Recipes

East Indian Chickpea Salad

Since I am an East Indian and a Bengali at that (Bengal gram remember?), I will begin with the East Indian version of this salad. Start by gathering,

Chickpeas, 4Ѕ cups

Leeks, 6 (thinly chopped)

Green chilies, 1 (finely chopped)

Cilantro, 2 tsp. (finely hacked)

Cayenne, ј tsp.

Lemon juice, 2 tbsp.

Salt, ѕ tsp.

Black pepper, ј tsp.

Procedure

First, boil your chickpeas in water. They must become soft and yet stay firm. Drain the water after that and then in a large mixing bowl, blend the chickpeas with the leaks, chilies, cilantro, cayenne, lemon juice and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss until all is well mingled and then chill in the fridge for a good 1 hour. Before serving, toss again and bring it to the room temperature. A perfectly gluten-free, parevine salad great for vegans and vegetarians alike!

Spicy Indian Chickpea Salad

A fast salad to toss up for 6. Get,

Chickpeas, 2 cans (washed, drained and dabbed dry)

Leeks, 2 (thinly sliced)

Whole milk yogurt, ѕ cup

Cilantro, ј cup (finely hacked)

Mint, ј cup (finely cut up)

Peanut oil, 2 tbsp.

Lemon juice, 1Ѕ tbsp.

Mustard seeds, 1 tsp.

Kosher salt, 1 tsp.

Fennel seeds, ѕ tsp.

Cumin seeds, ѕ tsp.

Red pepper, ј tsp. (crushed)

Procedure

Heat the peanut oil in a cooking pan, throw in the mustard seeds and cover and cook for a minute on a high flame. When the seeds start to pop, throw in the fennel and the cumin seeds along with the red pepper and sautй for half a minute more. Place the chickpeas into a mixing bowl and pour the spiced oil over it. Toss once and then add the yogurt, lemon juice, leeks and the herbs to it. Use a wooden spatula to ladle through for a thorough mixing. Season with salt to taste and serve immediately.

Italian Chickpea Salad

This salad for 6 can be lavishly garnished with 150g of crumbled feta, some chopped black olives and capers as well as little pan fried can cubed cabanossi. Gather,

Chickpeas in brine, one 300 gms. can (drained)

Green beans, 150 gms. (parboiled)

Button mushrooms, 125 gms. (quarterned)

Tomatoes, 4 (cubed)

Red onions, 2 (skinned and quarterned)

Red pepper, 1 (cubed)

Balsamic vinaigrette, ѕ cup

Parsley, ј cup (chopped)

Oil, a dash

Procedure

Place the chickpeas, mushrooms and parsley in a mixing bowl and pour in the balsamic vinaigrette. Let the flavors meld for 15 minutes. In the meantime, pour the oil on the red onions and place it in the oven for 15 minutes at a temperature of 220° C. Now, on a plate, arrange the green beans, quartered tomatoes, red pepper and the microwaved onions at the base and then top it off with the marinated chickpeas. Now place a dome shaped round food cover on this and let it stand for half an hour. Serve after mixing in the above mentioned ingredients if you wish.

Mexican Chickpea Salad

To make this side dish, you will need,

Chickpeas, 4 cups (canned, drained)

Jalapeсo chiles, 3 (seeded and minced)

Tomatoes, 3 (medium, vine-ripened, skinned, seeded and cubed)

Chipotle chiles en adobo, 2 (canned, washed, seeded and minced)

Garlic cloves, 2 (finely chopped)

Onion, 1 (medium, minced)

Lime juice, ј cup

Extra-virgin olive oil, ј cup

Cilantro leaves, 3 tbsp. (hacked)

Black pepper, to taste

Procedure

Put all the ingredients together in a bowl and stir with a wooden spatula. Refrigerate covered for 10 hours. Add a little more lime juice if you want and season with salt. Serve cold.

Moroccan Chickpea Salad with Ginger

For a group of 4, try making this tangy salad with,

Chickpeas, 800 gms. (washed and drained)

Virgin olive oil, 5 tbsp.

Garlic cloves, 2 (minced)

Ginger, 1Ѕ" (grated)

Red onion, 1 (large, chopped well)

Coriander, 1 bunch (hacked)

Lemon juice, yield of 1Ѕ lemons

Chili flakes, a pinch

Salt and pepper, to taste

Cumin and paprika, to taste (ground and mixed)

Procedure

Heat a single tablespoon of the oil in a pan and throw in the onion, garlic and ginger. Sautй for 7 minutes and then add the chickpeas and chili flakes. Sautй for half a minute more. Pour in the lemon juice. Now let this cook until all the juice has evaporated and then add the hacked coriander and the seasoning to the mixture. Sautй for a bit and then remove from heat. Once in the serving bowl, drizzle the remaining olive oil and the cumin-paprika from top and serve!

Another Moroccan variation of the chickpea salad can be made by placing 19 oz of drained chickpeas, a single diced celery stalk, 1 medium cubed tomato, 1 chopped capsicum and 6 cubed leeks along with Ѕ a cup of feta cheese in a large mixing bowl and then tossing it well to cake it uniformly with the thick chickpea salad dressing made of 2 tablespoons each of lemon juice and olive oil, 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and a single tablespoon each of fresh parsley and dry ground cumin along with a teaspoonful of fresh mint leaves and salt and pepper to season. This particular recipe is actually very similar to the Mediterranean chickpea salad recipe except that the Mediterranean version always has crumbled feta added to it along with the addition of cucumber.

So, now that you know chickpea salad is tossed up the world over, try it out one of these summer days as it is healthy and light and definitely very easy to make. You can add chopped veggies of your choice along with herbs that taste good to you. You can even add boiled chicken shreds to this. So, what are you waiting for? The grass to grow? Go and try out some of these cholesterol free summer salad recipes now!