Lemon, Chickpea & Cucumber Salad

What I do like about Rinku’s book is that in her introduction she goes into a little bit of a history and geography lesson about Bengal which is quite informative.  In her first chapter she talks about all the different ingredients in Bengali cooking, the tools and the techniques. In Chapter Two she will go about and explain Eating the Bengali Way and different Bengali menus. Throughout her book she gives little tidbits about each recipe that she makes or just an informative piece of information.  What I feel this book is lacking though are pictures for each dish.  There is only a small section in the middle of the book with about 25 of her recipes.  Also, if you are not living in an area that has access to all the different Bengali spices and seasonings, it will be difficult to make some of the recipes in this book as they are not readily available in American supermarkets.  All in all, if you are looking to be adventurous, then this is the book for you.

To see how I made the Lemon, Chickpea and Cucumber Salad, keep reading.

3 kirby cucumbers or 1 regular large one, peeled, seeded and cut into half moon shapes

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup Greek yogurt, whipped

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste

1/2 cup cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/2 tsp. course salt, or to taste

1 tbsp. chopped Cilantro (optional)

Squeeze lemon juice into a large bowl and add the yogurt, sugar, cayenne and salt.  Gently add in the chickpeas and cucumbers.  Mix in the cilantro, if using and serve.

Enjoy!