The Colors Of Indian Cooking: A Simple Indian Summer Salad of ...

?? A few weeks ago, after we had our #Indianfoodpalooza I got an email from my friend Amanda of Dabblings and Whimsey. Amanda was embarking on her own Indian cooking binge and asked me if I'd like to contribute a guest post to her blog. Someone new taking up Indian food? How could I resist?

? Amanda told me that I could give her any sort of recipe I wanted, and since we've had really warm temperatures around here, my mind has been drifting ahead to Summer weather. I've been thinking of cook outs, Tuesday night picnics at the Sonoma Farmer's Market and various Summer backyard pot luck parties. Of course with all this going on, one wants to spend the least amount of time one can in the kitchen during warm weather, so this black eyed pea salad recipe seemed perfect to share for many reasons.

?? One, it's easy

?? Two, it's got very simple ingredients

?? Three, it's fast!

?? Four, it can be made ahead and served at room temperature.

?? This easy peasy (yeah bad joke I know) Indian version of potato salad will kick those baked beans to the curb every time.

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Here's What You Need:

1 package of frozen black eyed peas ( I love Stahlbush Island Farms? brand) or 3 cups of cooked black eyed peas.
3 Tbs of vegetable oil
3 peppercorns
2 cloves
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp seeded chopped fresh green chili
1 cup of finely chopped onion
1 cup of finely chopped tomato (you can also use unsalted canned)
1 tsp of salt
2 Tbs of sour cream
1/4 to 1/2 tsp of Kashmiri chili, or a half and half mix of cayenne and paprika
A handful of chopped fresh cilantro

Here's What To Do:

In a kadhai or skillet heat 3 Tbs of vegetable oil.
When the oil is hot toss in the cloves, bay leaf, peppercorns, and green chili.
Stir everything around for a minute or so and then add in the onions.
Cook the onions until they're slightly brown, about 10 minutes or so.
Add in the tomatoes? and cook them down for about 5 minutes, or until they're softened.
Add in the black eyed peas, sour cream, salt, Kashmiri chili or cayenne paprika mix.
Cook everything for another 8 minutes or until the black eyed peas are warmed through.
Make sure you keep the heat on the low side so that the sour cream doesn't curdle.
Sprinkle the dish with chopped fresh cilantro.
Bring it to room temperature before serving.

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??? I served this salad up with some grilled chicken, and couldn't resist using a gorgeous plate currently on loan to me for photographic purposes. The plate was made by Paula Wolfert's husband? novelist William Bayer who also as you can see, happens to be a very gifted potter.

?? So thanks so much to Amanda, for giving me this opportunity to share a favorite dish with a whole new group of people. Coming up next, I get a real scale? and you can get one too courtesy of OXO. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori??

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