Today’s vegan, gluten free salad is offering a bit of an ethnic flair. Recently we grabbed a copy of the Healthy Indian Diet by physician Raj Patel. Dr. Patel looks at the latest medical research to explore how so much of it is pointing back to the fact that traditional diets, as opposed to modern diets, may be the key to reversing the incidences of obesity, diabetes and heart disease that are rising at disastrous rates.

While we noted straight away that Dr. Patel did include some meat dishes, we were delighted that most of the recipes in the vegetarian chapter were, in fact, vegan! Of course, us crafty people who prefer to leave the animal out of our dishes know that we can take even the meat dishes to delicious vegetarian heights!

The salad featured today is called shakarkandi chaat, or more simply, sweet potato salad. Dr. Patel favors sweet potatoes, especially over regular potatoes, because they are high in complex carbohydrates and dietary fiber. They are also chock-full of beta-carotene, vitamin C and vitamin B6. The extra flair to this dish is the addition of chaat masala, a spice that features a sweet and salty taste and is used in many Indian dishes.

Vegan, Gluten Free Shakarkandi Chaat – Sweet Potato Salad

Ingredients:

• Sweet potatoes – 3 medium (boiled, peeled and chopped)
• Cucumber – 1 (peeled and chopped)
• Clementine oranges (or any favorite variety) same amount as cucumber, chopped segments
• Salt – to taste
• Red chili powder – to taste
• Chaat masala – to taste
• Lemon/lime juice – to taste
• Chopped almonds/walnuts – 1/4 cup
• Dried cranberries – handful or to taste
• Mint leaves – handful, chopped

Directions:

Chop sweet potatoes, cucumber and oranges into similar-sized pieces. Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix well.
Serve immediately. If serving later, add lemon/lime juice just before serving to prevent it from becoming dry.

To make this dish really pop, serve it on a beautiful bed of greens!

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