Spiced rice salad with chicken
Make a hearty yet healthy salad that can be ready in the fridge to tuck into on busy days. This dish is best made and enjoyed over two days – as the flavours mingle, it just gets better and better. Serves 6-8 Prep 20 mins Cook 20 mins
500g long-grain rice
1 tsp ground turmeric small bunch of coriander, leaves roughly
chopped, stalks reserved
100g toasted cashews, ½ finely chopped 1 cucumber, deseeded and chopped
into chunks
1 large red onion, finely chopped
110g pomegranate seeds
400g can black beans, drained
and rinsed
2 x 130g cooked chicken tikka
pieces, chopped natural yogurt and mini poppadum
crisps, to serve (optional)
FOR THE DRESSING
4 tbsp mango chutney
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp light brown soft sugar
1 tbsp medium curry powder, plus 1 tsp
for the rice
11/2-2 lemons (depending on size), juiced
1 Cook the rice following pack instructions, adding the turmeric and 1 tsp curry powder to the cooking water. Drain well and spread out on a tray lined with kitchen paper to cool. 2 Meanwhile, finely chop the coriander stalks and whisk with the dressing ingredients along with some seasoning.
3 Tip the rice into a large bowl. Using a fork, break up any large lump. Add the cashews, cucumber, onion, coriander leaves, pomegranate seeds, beans and chicken. Pour over the dressing and gently stir, then cover and chill until needed. Eat over the next two days (as long as it’s within the chicken’s use-by date). Keep a big spoon in the bowl so kids can help themselves. To serve, top with natural yogurt and a handful of mini poppadum crisps, if you like.
PER SERVING (8) 473 kcals, fat 9g, saturates 2g,
carbs 76g, sugars 15g, fibre 5g, protein 20g, salt 0.4g