Spiced chickpea salad

A touch of Indian spice mix peps up the lemony dressing for this tasty combo of tomato, chickpeas, green vegies and fresh coriander.

Preparation Time 10 minutes
Cooking Time 5 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4)
* 1 tsp garam masala
* 1 tbs olive oil
* 1 tbs fresh lemon juice
* 1 x 400g can chickpeas, rinsed, drained
* 200g green beans, topped, halved
* 1 x 250g punnet grape tomatoes, halved
* 1 Lebanese cucumber, ends trimmed, halved, thinly sliced diagonally
* 4 shallots, white part only, ends trimmed, thinly sliced
* 1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves
* Natural yoghurt (optional), to serve


Method
1. Whisk together the garam masala, olive oil and lemon juice in a large bowl. Add the chickpeas and toss to coat.
2. Cook the beans in a saucepan of boiling water for 2-3 minutes or until bright green and tender crisp. Refresh under cold running water. Drain.
3. Add the beans, tomato, cucumber, shallot and coriander to the chickpea mixture and gently toss until just combined. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with yoghurt, if desired.

Notes & tips
* Variation: To give this Indian salad a Mexican twist, simply replace the garam masala with ground cumin and the chickpeas with canned three-bean mix. Instead of yoghurt, crumble some feta over the salad to serve.

Source
Australian Good Taste - Page 58
Recipe by Chrissy Freer