South-indian chickpea salad with roast tomatoes
2 cups garbanzo beans (cooked. do i actually need to point this out?)
juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp shredded fresh coconut (you can get this frozen in most Indian stores)
salt to taste
Roast 16 wee/tiny cherry tomatoes. To do this, halve them, toss with 1 tbsp olive oil, and salt to taste, spread on a baking sheet (cut side up), and roast in an oven at 400°F for 10-20 minutes till they are sizzling and/or slightly caramelized.
In a small sauce-pan (or ladle, or some such) over high heat, add 2 tbsp peanut oil and 1 tsp mustard seeds.
Once the seeds stop crackling, add 1 tbsp puffed chana dal (also called chana dalia, or puffed kala chana) and stir constantly.
After 10 seconds (or less. the puffed chana shoul start turning a light golden brown), add 1 tbsp urad dal still stirring constantly.
10 more seconds, and then add
1/2 chopped serrano pepper
15 curry leaves
and stir for another 10 seconds.
Finally, add a dash of asafoetida (Yeah, this is basically what we call "voggarne" in south india) and add this to the garbanzo bowl, mix well, and let the whole thing sit for around 30 seconds, so that the flavors infuse into each other.
(BTW, this garbanzo mix is called "Sundal" in south-India)
Make a bed of spring greens in 4 bowls, place the garbanzo mix on the greens, and top with the roast tomatoes, and a dab of fresh ricotta
Serve with neutral bread of some kind, and a glass of prosecco, or picpoul di pinet, and enjoy!
Note : If you have access to "desi chickpeas" - the dark Indian variant, also called black chickpeas (kala chana) - go for a 50/50 mix of the regular and desi kinds.
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