Reader recipe: Puffed rice salad

This recipe by Ritu Kapoor came in 3rd place in our Springtime reader recipe competition. She says: This dish is inspired by bhel puri, a popular Indian street food. I have added cucumber, tomatoes, herbs and peanuts and substituted the fried base for puffed rice, making it lighter, healthier and yummy. It is a great snack, side salad, light lunch or supper. Perfect for spring and summer!

Ingredients

1 ½ cups	Waxy potatoes, diced
1 ½ cups	Puffed rice (Main)
1 Tbsp	Red onion, finely diced
1	Green chilli, finely diced, use up to 2 chillies
¾ cup	Lebanese cucumber, deseeded and diced
¾ cup	Acid-free tomatoes, diced
¼ cup	Coriander leaves, chopped
¼ cup	Chopped mint
¼ cup	Roasted peanuts, chopped
1	Lime, juice only
1 sprinkle	Chat Masala, the savoury, tangy spice mix is available from Indian grocers

Directions

1. Boil the potatoes until cooked but firm, put aside to cool.
2. Dry roast the puffed rice until lightly toasted, put aside to cool. This step is optional.
3. In a bowl mix the onion, chillies, cucumber, tomatoes, coriander, mint and potatoes. Squeeze the lime over the mix (you may need more than one lime), season to taste with salt and pepper and add the chat masalaa few sprinkles at a time until you are happy with the balance. The mixture should be quite tangy and slightly over seasoned.
4. Just before serving, add the puffed rice and mix.
5. Garnish with some extra mint and coriander and sprinkle with the peanuts.