Puffed Rice Salad

Meet my favorite Indian street food snack! This is a quintessential cultural favorite and I have taken out some ingredients to make it more wholesome and nourishing. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 10 min; Cook Time: 20 min

Salad Base Ingredients:

2 cups - Puffed rice

1 Small Onion - Chopped

1/4 Orange Bell Pepper - Chopped

1/4 Yellow Bell Pepper - Chopped

1/4 Red Bell Pepper - Chopped

Toasted cashews (As needed)

Whole roasted peanuts (optional)

Spicy Green Dressing

1 cup mint leaves

2 cups cilantro

2 small green chilies (add less if you want it less spicy)

2 whole limes - Juiced

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup water

Sweet and Tangy dressing:

1/4 cup pitted Medjool dates

2 tsp tamarind

11/2 cups water

2 tsp coconut sugar

1/8 tsp turmeric

1/8 tsp cumin

pinch of pink salt

Instructions:

For Salad base: Mix all ingredients together in a big bowl - Serves 4!!

For Spicy Green Dressing: Blend all ingredients together and set aside

For Sweet & Tangy Dressing:

• Place the dates and tamarind in a bowl and add 1/2 cup of warm water - Set aside till they become soft

• Once soft, blend them into a paste

• In a saucepan, add 1 cup of water and set pan at medium heat

• Add the date-tamarind paste and give it a stir

• Add in the remaining ingredients: turmeric, cumin, and salt - mix it well

• Once the sauce/dressing comes to a low boil, set aside and let it cool - Dressing is ready!!!

For the salad, add one serving of the puffed rice salad base. Add a little bit of each dressing and mix it well. The dressing amount should be just right that the salad is coated well but not too soggy!

Garnish with cilantro and green onions! ENJOY!!