Potato Chickpea Salad

Aarti Party is back for Season 2! I'm so excited. I watched her season premiere last Sunday with my roommate and we just can't wait for more episodes to come.

A few weeks ago, I got a hankering for some Indian food so I turned to an Indian-inspired potato salad that I saw Rachael Ray make on "30 Minute Meals". This recipe had been hanging out on my "To Do" list for a while, so I decided it was time to get serious with it.

I knew the first thing I had to change about Rachael's Lentil-Potato Salad was the lentils. They've gotta go. Lentils are something that I try out every year or so and then realize that I still dislike them. Since I did make an attempt to eat them a few weeks ago, I can check that task off my annual To-Do list. Still awful.

Interestingly enough, I'm (very slowly) beginning to conquer my aversion to beans. Beans have also been on my "naughty" list since I was a kid. But in the past few years, I've begun to enjoy soybeans (aka edamame) and chickpeas. I don't know if there's room in my culinary repertoire to add any more beans, but we'll see. In the meantime, I decided to replace the lentils with chickpeas in my version of this potato salad.

Potato Chickpea Salad
adapted from Rachael Ray's Lentil-Potato Salad recipe

• 2 large potatoes, peeled and diced into uniform-sized pieces
• 4 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large shallot, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 can chickpeas (15.5 oz can)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/3 cup chicken stock (you can use vegetable stock if you like)
• 1 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped roughly
• 3/4 tsp coriander
• 3/4 tsp garam masala
  
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

1) Add the potatoes to a pot of salted, boiling water. Cook until fork-tender, about 10 minutes.

2) In the meantime, add 1 tablespoon of the oil in a medium pan over low heat. Saute the shallots, and garlic until softened.

3) Add the chickpeas and peas to the pan and allow them to heat through for a minute or two.

4) Remove the chickpea mixture from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.

5) In a blender or food processor, add the chicken stock, cilantro, and ginger. Blend until the mixtures is smooth and incorporated.

6) Add the drained potatoes, cilantro mixture, and chickpea mixture in a large bowl.

7) Add 3 tablespoons oil to the bowl, along with all the spices and salt and pepper, to taste. Toss to combine. Serve warm.

Let's face it, I'm a fan of carbohydrates, so this side dish is right up my alley. One of the things that I thought I could skip in the original recipe was boiling the potatoes with an onion and a bay leaf. In the end, I think this would have helped to season the potatoes more thoroughly. If you do end up boiling the potatoes with the onion and bay leaf, you may not need to add as much spices to the recipe as I did.

If you're enticed by a blend of soft potatoes, chickpeas and peas then this would definitely be something you're interested in. The peas are sweet when they pop in your mouth and they balance out the meaty texture of the chickpeas. The blended cilantro brings all the elements together and acts as a fresh dressing that you can taste with each bite. I personally enjoy this Potato Chickpea Salad with a little bit of tamarind sauce on the side, just for that extra tangy and sweet flavor.