SPICY KALE, FRUIT & CHICKPEA SALAD

Diwali has been a time of pure indulgence, so now that the festivities are over it is time to get back to eating healthy. When it comes to healthy salads, I enjoy ones which are a mix of greens, lentils and fruits, with a salad dressing that has a tart-spicy-sweet flavour profile.
In this salad, kale leaves and fruits bring in the much needed fiber content while chickpeas lend protein value to it. Since I am keeping the salad healthy, so my salad dressing is devoid of oil and I have replaced refined sugar with jaggery to cut through the tart flavour of the lemon juice and heat from the spices.
So here is the recipe of arriving at this flavourful salad:

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• 3 cups Kales leaves (plucked from the stem)
• 1 cup Boiled chickpeas
• 1 Apple (medium-sized)
• 1 Dragon fruit (small-sized)
• 1 Kiwi (small-sized)​

For the salad dressing:

• 2 tbsp Fresh lemon juice
• ½ tsp Grated jaggery
• ¼ tsp Crushed black peppercorns
• ¼ tsp Red chilli flakes
• ¼ tsp Kala namak/ padra namak/ black salt
• ¼ tsp Salt ​

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients for the salad dressing in a large mixing bowl and keep aside.
2. Chop apple with the peel intact into ½ inch length pieces. Add the pieces to the salad dressing bowl and toss to coat them with the dressing so that they don’t brown.
3. Peel the dragon fruit, kiwi and chop them into ½ inch length pieces and add them to the salad dressing bowl as well.
4. Tear the kale leaves to the size you desire and add them along with the boiled chickpeas to the salad dressing bowl.
5. Toss all the ingredients together gently ensuring they are coated with the salad dressing.
6. Chill for half an hour before serving.

Do try the recipe and let me know how it turned out.
Till then, HAPPY COOKING...