mango and curried chickpea salad – This is the best thing that can happen to you on a rainy afternoon

I don’t like meat but my family gets anxious when they can’t get enough. Every time I want to eat vegs I have to impress them. I think the vegetarian/vegan way of cooking gives inspiration and a good opportunity to be more creative with textures, colours and spices. This is a dish without compromises, even my daughter – who is addicted to meat – said if all the meatless food would be like this, she would choose the vegetarian way too.

INGREDIENTS:

serves 4

220g cooked chickpeas

1tsp coriander seeds +1tsp grounded coriander

1 tsp (black) mustard seeds 

½ tsp cumin seeds 

1-1 tsp curry powder 

½ tsp ground curcuma

1 tsp superfine sugar 

80 ml sunflower oil 

1 large onion, thinly sliced

200 g or 1 small cauliflower, broken into bite-sized florets

350-400 g mango, peeled and cut into 2 cm dice 

1 medium-hot chilli pepper, seeded and finely chopped 

15g coriander leaves, chopped 

3 tbsp lime juice

100 g baby spinach leaves 

salt

METHOD

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, throw in the cauliflower, and blanch for 5-8 minutes. Drain, and set aside to dry thoroughly.

2. Place the coriander, mustard, and cumin seeds in a large pan and dry roast them until they begin to pop. 

3. Crush them to powder in a mortar and then mix with 1tsp curry powder, the curcuma, sugar, and teaspoon salt; set aside. 

4. In the same pan, heat HALF the oil over high heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it starts to gain some colour. Add the spice mix, turn down the heat to medium, and cook, stirring, for another 5 minutes, until the onion is completely soft. Add the chickpea and cook a minute to melt the flavours together. Stir occasionally. Transfer the chickpea-onion mix into a bowl and keep it aside.

5.  Once the cauliflower is completely dry, heat the remaining oil in the same pan you cooked the onion in (you don't need to clean it), add 1tsp curry, 1 tsp grounded coriander, the cauliflower and ½ teaspoon salt. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes, just to give it colour. Add the hot cauliflower and any oil from the pan to the onion and chickpeas and stir well. Leave for 5 minutes if you want the salad warm or longer for room temperature. Add the mangoes, chile, coriander leaves, lime juice, and spinach. Stir well and serve at once, or chill and serve within 24 hours.