As you well know, my new favorite source of protein has become Paneer, and I came up with this particular salad while meditating on how I was going to make use of the red chickpeas I had soaked and cooked off the day-before, along with the sprouted chickpeas I had just picked up at the Star Bazaar. Today was my Bikram Yoga/Metabolic day, in other words, I get to “carb up”, and as chickpeas are pretty high in complex carbs, (1 cup has 44 g, the same as brown rice), it made sense to use the beans in my post-workout meal. This is yet another very simple dish to make, as long as you have the chickpeas ready-to-go, (you can use canned chickpeas, yes, but preparing your own is just sooooo simple!).
what you will need for the dressing:
1 tsp minced shallots
juice of 1/2 small lime
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 tsp rice vinegar
salt to taste
for the salad:
3-4 oz paneer, cut into 1″ cubes
1-2 tsp olive oil
pinch salt
3/4 cup cooked chickpeas
1/4 cup sprouted chickpeas
6 sweet cherry tomatoes, halved
1 Tablespoon crumbled feta
pinch of chat masala spice
Place all the ingredients for the dressing in the bowl your going to be eating from. Get a skillet on med-high heat and add the olive oil and salt. When it is up to temperature, add your paneer and let brown on 3 or 4 sides, (4 minutes or so). Meanwhile, put the rest of the ingredients into the bowl and toss lightly, top with the paneer when it is done, and adjust the seasoning if needed.
