Protein packed Quinoa Chickpea Salad
Afternoons are usually my time to make a healthy lunch for just myself. That is also my time to test new recipes and shoot pictures for the blog. That is because the light is perfect and I’m usually hungry enough to devour even recipes that fail. But if you’ve been following us on Instagram, you’ll see that a lot of those experiments are a success. So coming back to the healthy bit about my lunch time, I’ve been trying to use more Bulgur and Quinoa instead of rice in my lunch. I make Quinoa and Bulgur in salads and pulaos mostly for lunch. Why just lunchtime, you ask? Well, because the spouse isn’t the most adventurous person when it comes to trying new food. Especially when it’s something healthy like Quinoa.
Rice, Bulgur or Quinoa?
Our kitchen sees a healthy balance in North- Indian and South- Indian cuisine but the one thing that is constant is rice. Whether I make a Maahn di daal, Chhole or Rajma or Sambar, Ulli theeyal or Coconut Chicken Curry, rice is always there on the table. But lately I’ve been trying to replace it with other grains to cut down on carbs. Quinoa is a rich source of protein which is low on carbs and thus has an added lure.
I always soak extra chickpeas (white or black) when I make Chhole because I keep aside a cup of boiled chickpeas to use in a chaat or hummus. One afternoon I decided to use boiled chickpeas in a salad with Quinoa with a host of other veggies that I found in the fridge.
Putting the ‘Smokey’ in the Quinoa Chickpea Salad!
For the dressing I used lemon juice, Tahina and a delicious Smoked Shatta Sauce by Dima Sharif that I got my hands on in the local farmers market in Dubai. You can use a dressing of your choice according to what is available. But using the Smokey Shatta (Chilli) sauce definitely is the highlight of this recipe. I highly recommend using a smoked chilli sauce or making your own smokey hot sauce if you know how to! (Tell me in the comments if you have a recipe or would want me to come up with one) Or just buy it from Dima’s Mooneh (Oh this is totally #notsponsored. I genuinely love her eggplant jam and her Shatta sauces).
The quinoa, paneer, chickpeas all are enough to balance the heat of a chilli sauce. The smoked Shatta sauce that I used wasn’t as hot though (for the Indian palate). Because this Shatta is a preserve and it has some sweet notes to it. Whatever Shatta or Chilli sauce you use, be sure to use it with caution according to your tolerance to heat.
Here’s how I made this Smokey Quinoa Chickpea Salad Lunch
Ingredients
Boiled White chickpeas, 1 cup
Quinoa, 1/2 cup
Filtered Water, 1 cup
Salt to taste
Ripe Tomato, chopped, 1 medium
Cucumber, diced, 1
Choice of Greens (I used Purslane), 1 tablespoon
Cottage Cheese (Paneer), crumbled, 1 tablespoon- optional
Tahina (sesame paste), 1 tablespoon
Smoked Shatta sauce, 1 tablespoon
Juice of one lime
Black Pepper, a few cracks
Method
Cooking a fluffy bowl of Quinoa
Start by washing and draining the Quinoa in a sieve.
Next transfer the Quinoa in a sauce pan over medium high heat. Roast for 2 minutes by stirring continuously.
Now add a cup of water and salt and stir to mix.
Let the contents come to a simmer. This should take another 5 minutes on a medium high flame.
When the quinoa comes to a simmer, reduce the heat to low and cover and cook till the water evaporates and you see the quinoa bloom.
Preparing the veggies for the Quinoa Chickpea Salad
Gather and wash the vegetables at first.
Now chop the tomatoes, dice the cucumber and chop the greens.
Crumble the Cottage Cheese (paneer) and keep aside.
Assembling the Quinoa Chickpea Salad
Quinoa Chickpea SaladFinally, in a large bowl, transfer the cooked Quinoa, Boiled chickpeas, chopped vegetables and greens.
After this add the crumbled paneer on top and a few cracks of black pepper.
Drizzle the tahina paste, the smoked shatta sauce and lime juice. Alternatively, you may mix these together before adding them to the salad.
Toss the salad to incorporate the dressing.
Serve this Smokey Quinoa Chickpea Salad with some cooling salted Lassi or Chaas to make your lunch complete.
Healthy Quinoa Chickpea Salad for lunch
- Boiled White chickpeas, 1 cup
- Quinoa, 1/2 cup
- Filtered Water, 1 cup
- Salt to taste
- Ripe Tomato, chopped, 1 medium
- Cucumber, diced, 1
- Choice of Greens (I used Purslane), 1 tablespoon
- Cottage Cheese (Paneer), crumbled, 1 tablespoon- optional
- Tahina (sesame paste), 1 tablespoon
- Smoked Shatta sauce, 1 tablespoon
- Juice of one lime
- Black Pepper, a few cracks
- Start by washing and draining the Quinoa in a sieve.
- Next transfer the Quinoa in a sauce pan over medium high heat. Roast for 2 minutes by stirring continuously.
- Now add a cup of water and salt and stir to mix.
- Let the contents come to a simmer. This should take another 5 minutes on a medium high flame.
- When the quinoa comes to a simmer, reduce the heat to low and cover and cook till the water evaporates and you see the quinoa bloom.
- Gather and wash the vegetables.
- Chop the tomatoes, dice the cucumber and chop the greens.
- Crumble the Cottage Cheese (paneer) and keep aside.
- In a large bowl, transfer the cooked Quinoa, Boiled chickpeas, chopped vegetables and greens.
- Add the crumbled paneer on top and a few cracks of black pepper.
- Drizzle the tahina paste, the smoked shatta sauce and lime juice. Alternatively, you may mix these together before adding them to the salad.
- Toss the salad to incorporate the dressing.
- Serve this Quinoa Chickpea Salad with some cooling salted Lassi or Chaas to make your lunch complete.
