Are you familiar with the Vacation Food Phenomenon? It’s a term I just made up to describe this curiosity: Any food eaten on vacation tastes better than the same or equivalent food eaten back home.

Am I right?!

Back in September, I visited Vancouver and had the most amazing salad, courtesy of Vij’s Railway Express food truck. It was delicious – and I can only partially attribute that to the Vacation Food Phenomenon. The locals seemed equally smitten with this Indian food truck’s offerings.

Like any good food blogger, I had to recreate this inspiring salad when I got back home.

I stuck to ingredients that I already had on hand to save on cost, and ended up with a salad that tasted quite a bit like the original – if my memory serves me correctly.

This was the original salad (below). For authenticity, feel free to add some sliced red onion, fresh peas, and puffed rice. I left those ingredients out so I could use what I already had on hand in the kitchen (and to save some money, of course!)

 

A photo posted by Haley (@cheaprecipeblog) on Dec 12, 2014 at 7:18pm PST

Like foods flavored with Indian spices? Me too! Check out this Indian-spiced bar mix that I made earlier this year.

• Gobi manchurian: Indian-style cauliflower
• Aloo matar: Pea and potato curry

And while you’re here, don’t forget to follow Cheap Recipe Blog on Pinterest. Let’s stay in touch!

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Indian-Spiced Chickpea and Peanut Salad

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

For a main course-worthy salad, add some grilled chicken and naan bread on the side.

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Ingredients

For salad:

• Coconut oil, for frying
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
• 1/2 cup unsalted peanuts
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 4 scallions, chopped

For dressing:

• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons garam masala (or other Indian spice mix)

Instructions

1. Heat a tablespoon of coconut oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add chickpeas and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until chickpeas turn golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside. Wipe out skillet.
2. Heat another tablespoon of coconut oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add peanuts and stir-fry for a couple of minutes, until peanuts are lightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Place chickpeas and peanuts in a bowl and toss with curry powder. Place on a serving platter. Top with red pepper and scallions.
4. Place all dressing ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously, until well combined. Pour dressing over salad. Serve with lime wedges on the side.