Author Notes
This healthy, colorful, and wholesome salad, called "koshimbir" in Marathi, the language spoken in Bombay, is an easy-to-make lunch that is not sad at all. Tadka, or oil seasoning is the beginning step for most Indian vegetarian dishes, but here it plays the role of a vinaigrette. —Annada Rathi
Ingredients
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1/2 cup
soaked and sprouted mung beans
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1/2 cup
grated carrots
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1
medium tomato diced into 1/2-inch pieces
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1/4 cup
fresh or frozen corn kernels
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1 cup
shredded cabbage
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1/4 cup
peeled and cubed (1/2-inch) cucumber
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2 tablespoons
peanut powder (optional)
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3/4 teaspoon
salt, or to taste
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1/2 teaspoon
lime juice, or to taste
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1/4 teaspoon
red chile powder
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2 tablespoons
vegetable oil
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1/2 teaspoon
black or yellow mustard seeds
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1/4 teaspoon
cumin seeds
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1/8 teaspoon
turmeric
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Cilantro, for garnish
Directions
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Mix the beans and vegetables in a bowl. Add salt, lime juice, and red chile powder.
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Peanut powder adds a protein punch to the salad. You can make it by blending store-bought peanuts or roasting raw peanuts on a skillet on medium heat till they become brown and acquire black patches and blending them to a semi-fine powder. Add powder to the vegetable mix.
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For the tadka, heat oil in a small pan. Add mustard and cumin seeds, which will start popping. Stay away from the pan, the flying, popping mustard seeds can sting nasty. Add turmeric and turn the heat off. All eyes on the tadka while making it. No multitasking please!
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Add the tadka to the bean and vegetable bowl. Mix well and garnish with cilantro.
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This is a hearty lunch, which can be easily prepped by cutting vegetables the night before. Serve it as a side along with any meat dish or add it on top of tacos, burritos. That the colors on this salad are eye-popping is the extra treat.
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This recipe is highly flexible. Substitute with any vegetables that you have at home like red onions, lettuce, bell peppers, radishes. You may even add some grain like cooked quinoa or bulgur.
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