Curried Quinoa Salad with Mango

http://www.moderateoven.com/?p=1242

Curried Quinoa Salad with Mangoes
Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone Five Days in the Life of Curried Quinoa Salad

This salad can be made in advance and keeps very well, but you should dress it at the time the quinoa is cooked. The grains take in more of the flavor from the vinaigrette when warm and slightly moist. If you want to prepare this dish with leftover, already cooked quinoa, simply steam the grains to refresh.

I used a combination of curry powder and garam masala for my dressing, because I love it. Feel free to use all curry powder if you don’t have or don’t like garam masala.

This is nice over a bed of salad greens, but perfectly fine on its own.

½ teaspoon salt
1 ⅓ cups quinoa, rinsed thoroughly

2 garlic cloves, pressed
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup plain yogurt
3 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon garam masala (can sub an extra teaspoon of curry powder)
the juice of one lemon
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
2-3 teaspoons white wine vinegar, optional

2 large mangoes, peeled and diced
1 large cucumber, peeled and diced
2 small or 1 large jalapeno, seeded and diced
5 scallions, including 1 inch of the greens, thinly sliced
1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

To cook the quinoa, bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan then add the salt and rinsed quinoa. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 12-15 minutes until the quinoa is tender. There will be excess water in this method of cooking. Drain the quinoa well.

While the quinoa cooks, prepare the dressing. In a medium bowl, combine the garlic, salt, yogurt, curry powder, and lemon juice. Whisk in the olive oil and let the dressing sit for 15 minutes to develop the flavors. Stir in the cilantro and taste. If not tart enough, add the optional white wine vinegar. Salt and pepper as needed.

In a large bowl, toss the still-warm quinoa with the mango, cucumber, jalapeno, scallions, and chickpeas. Add the dressing and fold gently until well combined. Salt and pepper to taste.