Refreshing Summer Salad

Salad – The variety is endless these days from vegetables, pasta, rice, legumes, grains and many more. Summer is just around the corner (hopefully) and for me the need to eat something crispy, refreshing is a salad. The other day I was sitting next to my coworker who was indulging in a protein rich salad with legumes and feta was enticing and I decided that I had to have it for lunch the next. I did not do anything fancy but something that will be enjoyed by my husband and my son and most of all, it could substitute the daily intake of protein for all of us other than Dal.
It was very easy to put together ahead of time unless some salads and believe my it was super refreshing. I would classify it much like a chaat which we all love. Well, this is not just a summer salad but all time.

Fresh, Refreshing All Time Salad

Ingredients:

1 can (8 – 10oz) chickpeas
1 cup sprouted mung bean
1 small onion diced
1 small tomato diced
1/2 tbsp lime or lemon juice
1 tsp chaat masala (optional)
A few sprigs of fresh cilantro chopped
Salt as per taste

Directions:
Mix all the ingredients together except cilantro and cover it with a plastic wrap and refrigerate it in the morning if you would like to eat it in the evening. The lime juice tends to tenderize the sprout and makes it a little soft and blend more well into the salad. Serve chilled by garnishing with cilantro. You will be so glad you tried this recipe which is as simple as this yet so fulfilling and delicious.

Hearty, Wholesome Salad ~ A Crowd Pleaser

TIP: You can get mung beans from whole foods market. You can sprout it at home by soaking it overnight and removing the water in the morning and covering it with any lid with a hole in it. It will sprout in a day or two depending on the weather.