Apple and Kidney Bean Salad with Guacamole

This salad sits somewhere between a chaat and a guacamole, and I like it for exactly that reason. Rajma, the red kidney bean that shows up all over North Indian home cooking, is usually simmered into a thick curry. Here it gets soaked, boiled, and then crushed lightly with the back of a spoon, so it turns soft and almost meaty in the bowl without going mushy. Once you have cooked beans in the fridge, this takes about as long as it takes to set the table.

A little food fact that changed how I make it: avocado keeps its colour best when it is mashed with acid right away. That is why the lemon juice goes in with the avocado and tomato at the start, not at the end. The fat in the avocado also carries the flavour of the salt and lemon into every bite, so the dressing tastes finished before you add anything else. Leave the skin on the apple. It gives you little flecks of red and a bit of bite against the soft beans.

For storage, I would not hold this one for long. The apple softens and the avocado starts to brown within a few hours, even with lemon. If you have leftover rajma, keep it covered in the fridge for a day or two and make the dressing fresh. The beans are also excellent warmed with a pinch of cumin and spooned over rice, which is a good way to use up a larger pot. If you are cooking dried beans from scratch, soak them overnight and cook them until a grain of rice-sized bean squashes easily between your fingers. Salt goes in once they are tender, not before.

What I like to serve alongside is something warm and simple. A plate of chapati or a bowl of plain steamed rice balances the cool, tangy salad. Some people add a spoonful of plain yoghurt on the side, which softens the lemon. For a crunchier lunch, pair it with a bowl of Silky Celery and Green Pea Soup so the meal has something smooth and warm next to the crisp apple. A cup of Crunchy Roasted Seed Mukhwas after the meal is a nice way to finish, and it gives you something to nibble on if you are still hungry.

Taste the salad before you serve it. Avocados vary a lot in richness, and sometimes the lemon needs a little more lift. Trust your palate here, and add salt slowly, one pinch at a time, until the apple tastes bright and the avocado tastes like itself.