Chickpea Tahini Salad

Chickpea Tahini Salad 

Since I am celebrating salad weeks and its coming to an end here is a very simply Chickpea Tahini Salad.

For the Tahini please check out the recipe here. Recipe for Tahini

Makes 2 servings :-

I usually boil and keep aside chickpea cooked from 1 cup of dried chickpea and I used 6 tbsp cooked chickpea
2 cups of shredded iceberg lettuce
1 tbsp finely minced parsley
Tahini as per taste ( I used 2 tbsp as dressing)
Salt as per taste

Here is a quick tip on boiling chickpea. Till this year's January I have always soaked chickpeas and then cooked it. Then a blogger friend, Rhea shared an article which actually stated that chickpea cooked without soaking yields better flavours. A lot of people who are part of the food group said that ever since they had switched over to this no soak business of cooking chickpea they have not looked back. I tried the method out of curiosity and also because many people swear by it and as it turns out they were 100% correct. Chickpea cooked without pre-soaking it is much more tasty than when soaked and cooked. Please note that the dried chickpea used must not be too old and it does take a bit of extra time for cooking which is completely worth it. I usually use 1.5 cups of dried chickpea and simmer it for over an hour with 7 cups of water, a pinch of salt and a tiny pinch of bi-carbonate of soda which fastens the cooking process.

For the salad simply toss everything together and let the diner top his or her salad with the tahini sauce as dressing.

Tahini from Scratch

Tahini from Scratch 

I am a complete DIY girl. Unless and until it is absolutely impossible to make something from scratch I would usually take the longer route not just because it gives the emotive pleasures of doing it yourself but when it comes to food as per my experience if you use ingredients of good quality the dish comes out way better than the bottled version which would definitely have added artificial preservatives to make it last long.

Some condiments are a staple at my home and the famous Middle Eastern 'Tahini' is one such condiment. Basically the day I found out what Tahini actually is I was both happy because the ingredient used is found in abundance in Kolkata but it brings back fond memories of my grandmother making my favourite sweets out of it. Yes Tahini is basically toasted sesame butter and you make the middle eastern sauce by a simple addition of garlic, cool water , lemon juice and salt and if you serve it as a dip simply chop some parsley leaves on top.

In Bengal most grandmothers make or at least mine would make little sweetmeat balls. The most popular sweetmeat ball is the coconut ball 'Narkel naru' which I cannot stand unless it is made with Plam date jaggery but when it came to 'Tiler Naru' Sesame sweetmeat balls I could finish a dozen in less than 15 minutes. My grandmother would make them bite sized and I adored them.

Later on I myself started using sesame seeds for a number of dishes. For instance I love using it for some of my Chinese recipes. A quick search over the internet gave me the information that these seeds are the oldest seeds used by most traditional cultures. Hence you find it in Chinese cooking, Indian cooking and then of course there are the Middle Eastern delicacies where it is used in abundance.

I had come across this recipe a long time back (2009) and had not taken down the source from where I had noted down the recipe. While writing the recipe I had mistakenly thought that it must have been Mama'sLebanese Kitchen, a Lebanese food blog which I follow but as it turns out her blog does not contain the recipe.

Anyway so the source of this recipe is the internet which is a library of information

This is Tahini in its pure form :-

100gm white sesame seeds
2 tbsp raw sesame oil (Optional) or peanut Oil


Toast the sesame seeds ensuring that you do not burn them. This step is crucial because raw sesame seeds when made into a paste leaves a mildly bitter taste.

Blend it with the oil to make a smooth butter like consistency.

For the sauce :-

The sesame paste from 100gm sesame seeds
150ml cool water
Garlic cloves (In India the garlic cloves are very small and I needed 8 of them. If you are using the large ones 4 are enough)
2 tbsp lemon Juice
Salt as per taste

Blend everything together and voila you have a beautiful nutty creamy condiment. It can used to marinate chicken which you might want to grill or over salads or even as a dip. When using it as a dip finely mince parsley leaves and top the condiment. This is an essential ingredient for the Middle Eastern dish called Hummus.

I store it in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.

Green apple Rocket Salad with chili garlic dressing

Green apple Rocket Salad 

with chili garlic dressing 

If there are two things for which my dedication and passion stays constant it is preparing dishes and working for Market Research.

Quite often my aunt and my husband complain about my sense of punctuality . They say other than something that involves food or my work where I would be earlier than required  I am not at all punctual when it comes to meeting them at a certain time and I am quite ashamed to say that I am guilty as charged. I am working on my sense of time when it comes to matters other than work or food but as for now I am one hundred percent dedicated to my week of celebrating salads.

I love tangy taste and when tangy flavour meets the flavours of chili and garlic it makes me even more happy. As a child I enjoyed mixing raw mango slices with cayenne pepper and salt and would spend each afternoon throughout my summer holidays with a book in my room.

When it comes to Green apples also known as Granny Smith Apples I love the tangy flavour and the crunch hence this salad is a perfect summer time treat for me.

Have it for brunch, lunch or dinner its ultimately healthy and delicious. I have intentionally used rocket leaves for their peppery taste and I feel that the other lettuce leaves would not do justice to this salad because they would not have the unique flavour of rocket leaves. The pimiento stuffed olives gives a Mediterranean touch to the salad and the flavour of the olives with the apples and rocket leaves with the hint of garlic and chili is fantastic.

I usually make my condiments as much as I can and hence my chili garlic paste was homemade but you may use some chili oil if you do not have the inclination to make it at home.

Serves 1

1 Green apple
Half a cup of rocket leaves
10 Pimiento stuffed Olives

For the Dressing

1.5 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4th tsp Chili garlic paste
1/4th tsp fresh thyme leaves
Salt as per taste


Chop the apples. Mix with the rocket leaves and sliced stuffed olives.

I make my chili garlic paste and keep it in the refrigerator for about 2 months to 6 months. What I do is soak 1 head of garlic with 80gm hot dried red chili in enough vinegar to just about soak them. At times I use Rice Wine Vinegar and then there are times that I would go for White wine vinegar or red wine vinegar or any other vinegar of my choice. I let it soak for 2 hours and blend it to make a paste with some salt. This comes handy when I am cooking Chinese dishes as well.

Whisk the dressing with a fork. Pour over the salad and enjoy.

Creamy Potato Dried Fig Salad

Creamy Potato Dried Fig Salad 

For me the best feeling in the world is breaking bread with friends and family over laughter at the dinner table. I would happily spend the entire day in the kitchen preparing dishes and if my guests like what they are served that does make me happy but at the same time it gives me equal pleasure to prepare a dish for myself alone.

As a freelancer who works from home I am not required to step out of my home unless for that trip to the market or a quick visit to the bank or courier service . Then there are times when I want to go out and enjoy a cup of coffee with a friend.

Anyway the point is I would put in the same amount of effort when I am cooking for myself as I would when I cook for 8 guests.

So on a mundane Wednesday afternoon with Lana Del Rey's songs to keep me company I made this salad for myself which includes some of my favourite ingredients. I somehow like a sharp tart taste more than anything else . Hence I used hung curd for this salad and its not just to make the salad healthy. Another favourite ingredient is the humble potato. The softness of the boiled potato alongside the crunch of iceberg lettuce and the sweet taste of dried figs with the creamy dressing made this mundane Wednesday a little less mundane. I do not like overcrowding my dishes with too many flavours hence I used one herb alone.

My father did take a  small serving and he liked it mostly for the yogurt which is quite cooling for this sultry weather.

Here is some absolute random thought from my end :-

"Just because I appear to be a blank page

Do not take the liberty to think that you may scribble all over it 

For I have written all over it with my invisible ink " 

Makes 2 servings :-

Cup used holds 210ml liquid

1.5 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
2 large boiled potatoes
6 to 8 dried figs

For the dressing :-

200gm curd which you make into hung curd by tying it in a cloth and letting the excess liquid drip away for 2 hours
1 tbsp finely minced fresh parsley
Salt as per taste
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil


Boil the potatoes but take care not to over boil the potatoes because if its over boiled it breaks easily and you would be unable to chop them up to a shape of your choice. Cube the potatoes. Chop the figs.

Shred the lettuce and chill the lettuce , figs and potato cubes.

Just before serving make your dressing by whisking the hung curd, EVOO, salt and finely chopped parsley and pour over your salad and enjoy a healthy meal.