I have a confession to make …. I HATE SALADS!!  Maybe hate is too strong of a word, I very much dislike salads.  I generally just hate cold food and since salads are usually cold, I tend to stay away from them.  I think flavors develop with heat.  Even while cooking, if you want more intense flavor from your ingredients, you should toast them… so my logic tells me heat = flavor, consequently, cold = lack of flavor.  But this salad…?  this salad has some real spicy kick, which makes it oh so delicious 🙂

The thing I love about this salad is that it’s super interchangeable.  You can pretty much throw in any veggies/greens you prefer in your salad and it’ll be great.  All the required ingredients are super accessible.  Another plus is that this will take you about 20 minutes in total to make.

I love the raita, yogurt sauce, on this salad.  The chickpeas are spicy and the yogurt sauce is perfect to cool it down in your mouth.  It creates a great balance of spicy/cool and hot/cold.

Ingredients:

For the Chickpeas

• 2 cans of chickpeas (15 oz cans)
• 1 teaspoon of cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon of coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon of chili powder (less if you don’t like it too spicy or you can substitute for paprika)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed or whole (this is completely optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil (or vegetable oil)

For the Salad (this is completely up to your preference, but this is what I picked out)

• 2 cup of thinly sliced romaine lettuce
• 1 cup of thinly sliced cucumber
• 1/2 cup of thinly sliced red onions
• 1 avocado, cubed or sliced
• A handful of chopped cilantro

For the Raita (Yogurt Sauce)

• 1/2 cup of plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup of sour cream
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Drain the chickpeas to get rid of all the liquids from the can.
• Toss the chickpeas, garlic, cumin, coriander, chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and olive oil in a bowl.
• Bake the chickpeas on a baking sheet for about 15-20 minutes.
• While that’s roasting, cut up all your greens/veggies.
• Mix the yogurt, sour cream, lemon juice and a dash of salt & pepper for the sauce.
• Once the chickpeas are done, throw them with the greens and drizzle the yogurt sauce on top.

**Note: I like my chickpeas hot outta the oven (… I hate cold food remember?), but it’s just as good at room temperature.