Lebanese Beans Salad | How to make Lebanese Beans Salad | Salad Recipes

Lebanese Beans Salad #Recipes

Lebanese Beans Salad is a simple, flavourful salad but is power packed with protein. Beans are extensively used in Lebanese cuisine and this salad is one of the great ways to add some veggies and beans to your diet.

I was very much hoping that I would be able to keep up with my schedule for the blogging marathon this month. I had been taking part in it since last 2 months so that I could keep this blog running. But, this month my schedule went haywire. A little lack of planning on my part and some unexpected writing assignments that came my way kept me busy and this little space was ignored. I am going to make up for it and will be posting my recipes here now.

My chosen theme for week #1 is Lebanese cuisine and as a part of it, I had posted my version of Fattoush Salad and a recipe for Hummus (without Tahini). The third and final recipe for the 1st-week theme is this 'Lebanese Beans Salad'.

Let's check the recipe now.

Lebanese Beans Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup boiled chickpeas
1 cup boiled red kidney beans
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 medium cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks
a handful of coriander leaves, chopped
a handful of mint leaves, chopped

For the dressing
Juice of 1 lemon
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic finely crushed
salt and pepper to taste

Process:

1. Mix all the ingredients of the dressing in a bowl and whisk nicely.

2. In a large bowl add the salad ingredients and drizzle over the dressing. Shake well so that the dressing is well incorporated.

3. Cover the bowl and let it rest for at least half an hour in the refrigerator. Take it out, shake it and serve.

Notes:

1. If you are using canned beans, make sure you rinse them well with water before adding to the salad.

2. When using dried beans, soak the beans overnight and cook separately in a pressure cooker till they are thoroughly cooked but not mushy.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#79

Hummus Recipe | How to make Hummus without Tahini | Lebanese Recipes

How to Make Hummus without Tahini #Recipe

Hummus is served in many ways - you can serve it as a dip with pita bread, it is also used as a spread for falafel wraps. For those who are interested in healthy snacking, you can have dollops of it with carrot sticks or cucumber pieces.

When you think Lebanese cuisine, the first dip that is likely to come to your mind is - Hummus.

The basic version of it is typically made with chickpeas, olive oil, seasonings and lemon juice. So, for my second post of BM #79 under Lebanese Cuisine, I am sharing a simple recipe for this ubiquitous dip.

The recipe for hummus I am sharing today is without tahini. Tahini, one of the optional ingredients in hummus is actually sesame paste made with a little bit of oil. I had hummus for the first time when I was living in Dublin and to tell you the truth, I was not very delighted with its taste. For our Indian palate it seemed a little too bland - in my view, the one I had wasn't seasoned well - it could do with a little more salt and lemon juice.

In the versions I have tried at home, I use lemon juice a little too generously. Let's check out how I make the basic version of hummus.

Hummus Without Tahini Recipe

Ingredients:

1½ cup chickpeas, cooked

2 fat cloves of garlic, crushed

2 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Process:

1. Add everything in a blender jar and start churning; add water as needed to make a smooth paste.

2. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Serve drizzled with little olive oil and lemon juice with carrot and cucumber sticks or with some pita bread chips.

Looking for more Lebanese inspired dishes, check out

Fattoush Salad
Lebanese Bean Salad

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#79

Fattoush Salad | How to Make Fattoush Salad | Lebanese Recipes | Salad Recipes

Fattoush Salad #Recipe

Fattoush Salad is a Lebanese bread salad - greens, veggies and toasted pita bread pieces are the main ingredients. But, I have never loved bread croutons in my salad and for that reason, I have skipped the toasted pita chips in the fattoush salad I made.

The dressing for fattoush salad has two vital ingredients among others - sumac and pomegranate molasses. Sumac is tangy dried powder made from a kind of Middle Eastern red berry. Pomegranate molasses as the name says is made from pomegranate and is a commonly used ingredient in Middle Eastern cooking. I didn't have both these ingredients at hand, so I made the dressing without them. I have read that these two ingredients can make a lot of difference to the salad and I will surely try them whenever I get to buy them.

I did search about making pomegranate molasses at home and there were many links that said you could make it by cooking pomegranate juice over a low heat for a long time. But, then I am really wary of cooking fruit juices. So, I dropped the idea and went ahead to make my customised Fattoush Salad.

Last month had been an indulgent one for me foodwise. If you have checked my last month's posts, you will notice I posted mostly sweet dishes - brownies, kheer, peda. All that was part of the themes I chose to do for that month's blogging marathon.

But, the result is now seen when I stand on the bathroom scale!

Such is the life of a food blogger - I want to cook all the delicious dishes in the world, but then I have to take some steps back as ultimately I will be on the receiving end.

So, for this month, I decided I would blog about something really healthy. My chosen theme for the first week of BM#79 is Lebanese cuisine. And today I am posting the recipe for Fattoush Salad, albeit a customised one.

Let's check out how I made my Fattoush Salad.

Fattoush Salad Recipe

Inspired from here

Ingredients:

4-5 Romaine Lettuce leaves washed and chopped
1 large tomato, chopped in chunks
1 small cucumber, chopped in chunks
1 small onion, sliced
a handful of mint leaves
a handful of coriander leaves, chopped
1 cup chopped pita bread pieces toasted ( I didn't use)

Dressing:
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3-4 tbsp lemon juice
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp sumac ( I didn't use)
2 tsp pomegranate molasses ( I didn't use)

Process:

1. Mix all the ingredients for the salad dressing in a bowl and whisk nicely.
2. Mix all the salad ingredients except toasted pita bread pieces.
3. Right before serving, add the dressing to the salad. Top it with pita chips (if you like) and serve immediately.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#79

Yellow Moong Dal Dhokla | How to Make Moong Dal Dhokla From Scratch | Gujarati Steamed Snack

Yellow Moong Dal Dhokla #Recipe

Yellow Moong Dal Dhokla is a Gujarati steamed snack. It is protein packed and is quite healthy. Those who do not have much idea about this Indian snack, dhokla is a sort of steamed savoury cake made with yellow moong batter. It is tempered and is then served with Indian chutneys.

Summer is the season to stay away from oily and greasy food. No 'pakoras' and 'wadas' for me - at least till the rain sets in. So, when I think of snacks these days - I think of all the healthy things I can indulge in and things like Khaman Dhokla, Khandvi or a bowl of hearty Chickpea Salad comes to my mind. 

So, one fine day when I was feeling inspired I decided to try making yellow moong dal dhokla instead of this regular khaman dhokla. I pretty much made it the same way and the results were good. These Dhoklas are packed with nutrition and tastes best when eaten fresh with dollops of green chutney and tamarind chutney. If you are making in bulk, you can reheat it in microwave with some sprinkling of water and they are as good as fresh.

Yellow Moong Dal Dhokla Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup yellow moong dal, soaked overnight 

1 tbsp ginger- chili paste

1/4 tsp hing

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp ENO fruit salt

Oil for greasing the dhokla plates

For tempering

A sprig of curry leaves

2-3 chilies

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp sesame seeds

1/2 to 1 tsp red chili powder

2 tbsp oil

Handful of chopped coriander leaves

Yellow Moong Dal Dhokla. A Steamed & Healthy Gujarati Snack.

Process:

1. Drain the water from the soaked moong dal. Tip the soaked dal into a grinder jar and using about 1/4 cup water grind it to a smooth paste.

2. In a large mixing bowl, add the moong dal paste. Add rest of the ingredients except ENO. Mix it to form a batter. If it seems too thick add water little by little till you get a pouring consistency batter. 

3. Add water to dhokla steamer and put it on high heat. Grease the plates on which you will pour the batter.

4. When steam starts forming in the steamer, lower the heat to medium. Add ENO to the prepared batter and stir gently. Pour the batter into the greased plates and place them inside the steamer. Cover and steam for 15-20 mins.

5. When done, take off the lid and check for done-ness. Take the plates out. Set aside to cool while you prepare the tempering.

6. Heat the oil for tempering. When hot, add the mustard seeds, sesame seeds, green chilies and curry leaves. When it splutters add the red chili powder. Take it off gas and spread the tempering over the Dhokla.

7. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve with green chutney, tamarind and dates chutney or good old tomato ketchup.

Notes:

1. This recipe requires no fermentation. ENO is used for leavening, so put the batter to steam as soon as you add it.

2. Moong Dal need to be soaked over-night for best results. So, a bit of planning is needed if you want to make these.

3. I have used a dhokla steamer to make these. If you do not have it, then use a large kadhai or saucepan with lid to steam. You can use a can tin that fits into the saucepan to steam the batter in.

4. I used 2 around 6" inch plates for this quantity of batter. If you are adding all of it in one smaller plate/tin, you will have to steam it 10-15 mins more.

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Khaman Dhokla ~ Savoury Steamed Spongy Chickpea Flour Cake

I absolutely love Khaman Dhokla. Most of the time I make it with ready to use Dhokla mix. They are really a great time saver. But there are times when I run out of these instant packs. It was one of those occasions when I decided to make it from scratch. I have tried a lot of different recipes and I have finally zeroed on this one. It is really a simple and quick recipe.

Khaman Dhokla is a Gujarati snack but it popular through out India. The best thing about it is steamed and hence, is healthy and low calorie. So, even if your new year resolution says to stay away from fast food, you can relish this quick snack.

Recipe Source: Shveta's Cooking Blog

Khaman Dhokla ~ Savoury Steamed Spongy Chickpea Flour Cake

1 cup chick pea flour
2 tbsp sun flower oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
11/2 tbsp sugar
About 1/2 cup water
1 tsp Eno fruit salt

For tempering

1 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
4-5 curry leaves
1-2 green chillies slit
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
2-3 tbsp water
2 tbsp sugar

For garnishing
Chopped coriander

Process:

1. In a large bowl add the chickpea flour, salt, sugar, oil and lemon juice. Stir and add water little by little to make a smooth thin batter (a little thinner than cake batter).
2. Place a large pan on heat. Add about a cup of water and a ring on which to place the pan for steaming Dhokla.
3. Grease a 8" sandwich cake tin with oil. Keep aside. Add Eno fruit salt to the batter and whisk lightly. The batter will increase in volume. Pour the batter in the prepared tin and place it in the pan of boiling water. Cover and steam for 12-15 minutes on medium heat. When done, a skewer inserted in the Dhokla will come out clean. Take it off heat and let it cool down.
4. Heat the oil for tempering. When hot, add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. When it splutters add the green chili and red chili powder. Take it off gas. Set aside.
5. Mix water, sugar and lemon juice. Add it to the tempering mixture. Spoon it over the cooled Dhokla  Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves. Serve with green chutney, sweet dates and tamarind chutney or tomato ketchup! Enjoy!

Note: You can also add some sesame seeds to the tempering and fresh shredded coconut for garnishing. I skipped it as I didn't have it at hand.

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Chickpea Salad with Yogurt Mint Dressing ~ Healthy Food

There are days when I am in no mood for an elaborate meal. That happens mostly when I have to prepare something solely for myself. Cooking for self has never motivated me to go for elaborate cooking. In such cases I try to go healthy and make some healthy filling salad or a one pot meal like khichdi or sometimes a large glass of smoothie. This chickpea salad is one I make quite regularly because it is healthy as well as filling. And if I am in a mood to indulge a little, I can go for a decadent brownie for dessert (an ardent brownie fan I am!).

I used to make a simple Chickpea Salad often but I got the idea of pairing it with a minty yogurt dressing from Rachel Allen recipe I spotted in this book.

This is how I make it:

Salad:

1 cup boiled Chickpeas
1 tomato chopped finely
2-3 tbsp chopped red onion
2-3 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
2 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Dressing:

1/2 cup low fat yogurt
1 tsp crushed dried mint
1 tsp sugar/honey
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt to taste

Process:

1. Mix the salad ingredients together and toss them well. Keep it in fridge until needed.
2. Whisk all the dressing ingredients and keep it in fridge until needed.
3. Before serving pour the dressing over the salad and serve. Enjoy!

Linking it to Show Me Your HITS~Lentils N Legumes and Lets make Salads.

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!