no croutons required entry

This is the first time I enter 'no croutons required', a competition hosted by Jacqueline over at www.tinnedtomatoes.com. This month we were supposed to pick a topic listed under our birthday month - March in my case. I chose to make an Indian Salad (or Indian-inspired salad if you're in the purist camp!) Indian salad with fresh herbs and blackeye beans - serves 2 as a light lunch

1 fresh red chilli (de-seeded if you don't like it too hot), very finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 scant teaspoon Dijon mustard (yes French, not Indian, I know lol)

Zest and Juice of half a small unwaxed lemon

Small handful each of chopped fresh mint and coriander (or parsley if you like)

Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to taste

Mix this dressing up in a bowl, then get on with the other ingredients:

1/2 small red onion, chopped very finely

About 10 sweet cherry tomatoes, halved

10 cm piece of cucumber, cut into thin ribbons

1x400 g tin of blackeye beans, rinsed

Add this to the dressing and mix well, then leave for 15 - 20 minutes if you can. Check seasoning again before serving. I ate this with a very non-Indian slice of crusty bread which I thought worked well.