Chickpea Bhel Salad
On the streets of Mumbai, especially around a large water body like the curve of a beach or a lake are colourful gypsy like carts selling bhelpuri (bh-ail-poo-ree) and panipuri (p-aa-nee-poo-ree). Bhelpuri is a very popular street snack made up of puffed rice, tomatoes, onions, coriander, very fine noodles called sev, chili, coriander, lemon, black salt and tamarind chutney amongst other things. It is sweet, sour, tangy and totally addictive. The bhelpuri often called bhel, is my inspiration for today’s recipe.
Instead of puffed rice, I used chickpeas as the base of my recipe. One of the main reasons I chose to go with chickpeas is that I wanted the salad to be crisp and crunchy for a barbecue we were invited to. This salad can be made ahead and it stays fresh even after a good few hours. It tastes great warm or cold. The hefty dose of lime gets the tastebuds going and the protein in the chickpeas thoroughly satisfies. Healthy and perfect as an appetizer or a meal by itself, this salad is easily customised to include more texture, more bite, more greens – you name it! I have made a version of this with kale and almonds and it is as delicious as this one.
Chickpea Bhel Salad
Preparation Time – 15 minutes
Serves – 4
Ingredients
1 400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 green capsicum, diced
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 cucumber, diced
1 carrot, grated
1/4 cup toasted peanuts
bhel dressing
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground red chili
1/4 teaspoon rock salt
1 tablespoon raw sugar
1/4 cup fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
a handful of mint leaves
juice of 1 lime + lime wedges to serve
Method
Combine all ingredients except the lime wedges in a large bowl and gently toss to combine and coat. Garnish with lime wedges and serve at a barbecue or on grilled bread with a dollop of tomato chutney.
My Notes
It might not always be easy to get your hands on rock salt (I usually find it at Indian grocery stores or at organic greengrocers. The Indian rock salt is called kaala namak or black salt), but the addition of rock salt is what makes this salad truly tangy and marvellous. Rock salt has a pungent smell and a delightful salty/tangy flavour. It is one of the key ingredients in bhel and other savoury snacks. It is known to be cooling in nature and aids in digestion.
If you can’t find rock salt, you can substitute with pink or regular salt to taste.
For a picnic or potluck, you can mix the bhel dressing ingredients and carry the dressing in a small mason jar. Simply mix through with the other ingredients and toss for a lovely fresh sald.
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By Blogsdna
That salad looks wonderful. Exactly the kind of chickpea dish I like. Great flavors and fabulous clicks!
Cheers,
Rosa
This salad looks so good, wow. It is the kind of recipe where I have less experience in, and the more I am curious to read about on blogs. Your pictures are stunning.
Lemon´s last [type] ..Liebster Blog Award
I love this salad and the inspiration behind it!
la domestique´s last [type] ..Ingredient of the Week: Rose
I love bhel and this is my favorite kind! Lovely
Kulsum at JourneyKitchen´s last [type] ..Masoor Dal with Bell Peppers and Avocado Ginger Mash
OMG!!!
I love bhel!!!
This is what I can eat day n night, day after day….
Love it… And now totally drooling.
I’m bookmarking this and will make it soon, I really like the flavours in it!
ilva´s last [type] ..Always good to know a tangy tart – Polenta Tart With Lime, gluten-free and normal versions
Love this take on Bhel!
chinmayie @ love food eat´s last [type] ..Oat & Chocolate Parfait
What a gorgeous idea. I’ve got a recipe for chickpeas with cumin dressing but have never paired them with peanuts before. Can imagine the texture contrast is gorgeous. Gorgeous gorgeous photos too
thelittleloaf´s last [type] ..Treacle Tart Ice Cream with Rosemary Sea-Salt Pastry
this salad looks interesting, so good, I want to try it
Refa´s last [type] ..Chocolate Cake Recipe
This salad looks so nutritious and delicious! I love chickpeas. Gorgeous photos as always Sneh.
Jennifer (Delicieux)´s last [type] ..Beetroot & Goats Cheese Jalousie
I seriously can eat this salad everyday! Amazing flavours!
anh´s last [type] ..{GIVE AWAY} FREE Better Homes and Gardens LIVE Tickets – Melbourne 2012
Healthy, filling, appetizing and SO easy to make! I was most thrilled to realize I had all the ingredients right there at home, and would have most of the time! So, what a standby
!
What an absolutely delightful salad, and delicious as it looks I am sure
Happy Valentines Day!
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I always love your props, you have a good eye for interesting pieces, like that coffee bag.
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen´s last [type] ..Chocolate Blackberry Mille-Feuille | For the Love of Chocolate
The flavours are so fresh Sneh! Perfect for our summer-ish weather and i love chickpeas!
I love bhel (street foods!).. So full of flavors and delicious
Nice styling, Sneh!!
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com´s last [type] ..Chocolate chip orange coconut butter
Love the idea of using chickpea in bhel. Lovely clicks
Yummy Morsel´s last [type] ..Gobi Manchurian
Sneh I love these photos! Have you used split toning in Lightroom? I’ve tried it a few times, most recently on my last post. Anyway, the food, photos and recipe looks great! And by the way, I just added you to my blogroll – yipee, sharing the love!
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Healthy and so tasty sounding. I have never tried bhel, but keen to have a go at making some.
Sara (Belly Rumbles)´s last [type] ..What’s On Sydney?
So tasty looking, have also never tried a bhel.
But I love a good bean salads, so this is totally up my alley!
BerlinLunchbox´s last [type] ..Sweet potato & tofu patties with avocado sprout salad and basil salsa
It looks delicious and it’s so healthy! Perfect to bring to work for lunch.
Fab idea, had bhel in bombay LOVED it
Love this Sneh. I’m a huge fan of street food and bhel is my favorite…..I like to add crispy thin sev and some yoghurt to mine though. I fact, we’re having a chaat station including bhel at Maryam’s party this weekend!
Sneh,
I like Chaats of all kinds, especially Bhel without the sweet chutney
In fact, I make a similar chole bhel salad. It is such a great healthy snack..
And, Love that second picture!
Lovely–and congrats on your DMBLGIT win!