Here, I have paired the green mango with bland garbanzo beans and contrasting sweet coconut. The result is a warm, inviting salad with a wonderful hint of tangy taste. Try this vegetarian spring salad for light lunch or as an appetizer for dinner. If you have leftover cooked chicken or lamb in your refrigerator, by all means use in this salad.
I make this salad so many times and forget to take a photo of the dish, I will take the picture next time and share it. In the meantime, enjoy the easy salad.
- 1 medium green mango, unpeeled
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon brown or yellow mustard seeds
- 2 dried red chiles, such as cayennes or chiles de arbol, stemmed, and broken into rough pieces
- 2 cups cooked garbanzo beans (freshly cooked or canned, drained)
- 2 tablespoons grated fresh or defrosted frozen coconut
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 small avocado
Wash and wipe the mango thoroughly. Peel the mango with a vegetable peeler. Using a hand grater (the fine holes of a hand grater result in a fine, fluffy texture) grate the mango, about half inch on all sides, then grate remaining fruit carefully, avoiding the large flat pit. Measure 1 cup and set aside.
Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds; immediately cover with a spatter screen, and cook until the seeds stop popping, about 30 seconds. Toss in the chiles. Cook few seconds until crisp and lightly browned in spots. Add the mango, garbanzo beans, coconut and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, 5 to 6 minutes.
Mound the salad in the center of a decorative deep dish. Peel, pit, and dice avocado, and sprinkle over top of the salad and serve right away.
Serves 4 to 6 as an accompaniment.
