Climb to the Stars (Stephanie Booth)

Whoo! I’d forgotten how nice and easy to prepare this chick pea salad was. I used to do it quite often pre-India.
Here is my no-fuss meal-for-one version of Roshi Razzaq’s original recipe. It’s “Indian” - the kind of Indian you find in western cookery books - and it’s really yummy.

First, stick the following into a tupperware (or any lid-able recipient):

• 250g cooked chick peas (that’s about one tin)
• 3 tablespoons of fresh chopped mint and corianders leaves
• chilli powder (use paprika if you don’t want it strong), salt, ground cumin (the white “asian” variety) - 1/2 teaspoon of each
• 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
• 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh ginger (in little sticks)

Put the lid on, and shake.
Then, add about 200g of cooked potatoes (cut them up!), plus - follow your inspiration - tomato, cucumber, radish, spring onions (I usually end up with tomatos and spring onions, because I’m too lazy to buy everything).
Mix everything up together with some lemon juice - it’s ready!

You’re supposed to serve it with tamarind sauce, on lettuce leaves, with lots of fancy decoration. The tamarind sauce is really nice but a bit troublesome to prepare for one. If you have guests though, do take the trouble.

Bon appétit! - and tell me if you liked it…