Spicy Eggplant & Chickpea Salad

This is one of my all time favorite dishes  - I absolutely love the flavor and the texture that the mix of veggies bring out. It's pretty simple to make and doesn't require much prep except that you need to soak the chickpeas (chole) well in advance. I usually make this for dinner, but I suppose it would make for a yummy lunch option too. I know there are people who are not big fans of eggplant and I have one such person in my family but even he loves this version of eggplant, so I suggest you give it a try.

Serves 3

Ingredients:

• 1 medium size eggplant 
• 2 Persian cucumbers (1 regular cucumber)
• 1 cup uncooked chickpeas (or 1.5 cups cooked)
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 red pepper
• Cilantro
• Roasted peanuts (optional)
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• Olive oil

Dressing

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 to 1.5 tbsp honey
• salt to taste

Process:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F
2. In a bowl mix all the dry spices - 1 tsp salt + 1 tsp garlic powder + 1 tsp chili powder + 1/2 tsp cumin powder + 1/2 tsp turmeric powder.
3. Put the chickpeas in a cooker or pan and let them get fully done (2-3 whistles in a cooker)
4. While the chickpeas are cooking, chop the eggplant into bite sized pieces (about 2 inches wide at most) and sprinkle half of the above spice mix along with 1 tbsp of olive oil to the eggplant. Mix well and roast it in the oven for about 20 mins or till its fully cooked.
5. Once the chickpeas are done, drain the water completely - I use a strainer and let them sit in it for a few minutes. Now mix the remaining half of the spice mixture to the chole
6. Dice the cucumbers, red pepper and onion and cilantro and mix them all in a bowl.
7. Stir together the dressing ingredients in another small bowl and add it to the above cucumber mix. You can adjust the dressing as per your taste - you want the mixture to be mildly sweet and sour so pour dressing a bit conservatively on your first go.
8. Serve: Place the cucumber mix on each plate, top it with the chickpeas and roasted eggplant. Garnish with additional cilantro and roasted peanuts and eat it alone or with chapatis or pita bread. We love it simply on its own.

Cucumber Mix 

Roasted Eggplant

Chickpea Mix