Lentil Salad With Tahini Lemon Honey Dressing | Mixed Beans & Paneer Salad
Lentil salad, a hearty salad with mixed beans, paneer and crunchy vegetables. This hearty lentil salad is flavored with creamy tahini lemon and honey dressing. A flavorsome and crunchy salad.
Lentil salad | Paneer salad | Hearty salad | Colorful Salads | Tahini lemon dressing | Tahini honey dressing | Salad with fresh vegetables and lentils | Paneer salad | Mixed Beans Salad | Beans Salad | Paneer and vegetable salad
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Salads : A Hearty Meal
If you noticed, i have recently started sharing hearty salad recipes. The Tricolor vegetable salad made few days back, was a big hit at home. Even my mother loved it.
Husband now prefers to have a salad day every week. This was something he was following for 20 years now. Previously he used to just take raw vegetables and cut fruits, but now i make sure i give him a good filling salad and a dressing of lemon juice and pepper separately.
I personally prefer salads combining vegetables and a grain. I have a mental block if i don't eat that carb, i wont function well. So, my favorite salads are Quinoa Kosambari , quinoa chickpeas salad and this rice and mixed bean salad. If you love fresh greens in your salads, you should check this Bean salad with spinach, with a zingy mint vinaigrette.
I also make this bulgur salad, sometimes replacing the bulgur with couscous. The thing with salad is, once you start making them and really enjoy them, you have endless options.
With summer around the corner, mangoes will be coming soon to the market and i m waiting to try this mango & sprouts salad and this hot n cold salad with ripened mangoes.
Lentil & Paneer Salad
Today's salad is an experiment for our salad day. I have never combined cheese into my salads except this Watermelon feta salad. We loved the combination of fresh crunchy vegetables with soft cooked paneer.
To make this simple paneer salad more nutritious, i have added soft cooked sprouted lentils. Horse gram and cow peas are nutrient dense. They make the salad hearty and colorful.
The crunchy walnuts adds a nutty texture to the colorful salad. The lemon tahini dressing adds amazing flavor and creaminess to the lentil salad.
If you prefer tofu to paneer in this is summer salad, check this fried tofu recipe, must add a nice bite to the salad.
Ingredients for Mixed Beans Salad
- Lentils : I have used horse gram, known as kulith in India, along with cow peas. Both the beans are soaked and sprouted.
- Vegetables : I have used a mix of cucumber, carrot, avocado and cherry tomatoes in this colorful lentil and vegetable salad.
- Protein : I have used pan sauteed paneer in this mixed beans salad. Add a nice a texture and an easy protein to the crunchy salad. You can replace paneer with tofu.
- Salad Dressing : A creamy dressing with tahini, honey, lime juice, olive oil with a dash of pepper
- Garnishes : I have used handful of walnuts and fresh coriander leaves as garnish in the colorful lentil salad.
Recommended : More Lentil Recipes
How to make Lentil & Paneer Salad
Please check recipe card below for exact measurements of each ingredient used and also for the detailed instructions
- Wash, soak the lentil separately in water for 8 hours. Drain and leave it overnight in a colander to sprout.
- Pressure cook both the lentils with water and a pinch of baking soda for 3-4 whistles. Let the pressure drop on its own. Drain and keep aside.
- While the beans is cooking, make the salad dressing. Just whisk everything together in a bowl or bottle and keep aside.
- Saute the paneer in a pan with a teaspoon of oil. Keep in a medium flame until all sides turn brown.
- Wash and prepare all the vegetables. Chop them all into small cubes.
- Assemble all the vegetables and paneer along with the cooked beans in a large bowl.
- Add the dressing, mix it well, top it with walnuts, coriander leaves and serve immediately.
Lentil Salad With Tahini Lemon Honey Dressing | Mixed Beans & Paneer Salad
Equipment
- Pressure cooker/instant pot to cook the mixed beans
- Heavy bottom pan to saute the paneer
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup sprouted horsegram / Kulith soaked for 8 hours, drained and left overnight to sprout
- ⅓ cup sprouted red cowpeas / Thatta payaru soaked for 8 hours, drained and left overnight to sprout
- 100 grams paneer
- 1 cucumber
- 2 carrots
- ½ avocado
- 8-10 cherry tomatoes i have used a mix of red and yellow tomatoes
- 8-10 walnuts
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander leaves
Tahini Lemon Honey Dressing
- 2 tablespoon Tahini
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns pounded
- 2-3 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- I have used a mix of horse gram and cow peas in this salad. Both the beans are soaked for 8 hours, drained and left overnight in a colander to sprout.
- Take the both the beans in a bowl, add a pinch of baking soda and enough water to immerse them. Baking soda helps to cook the beans faster.
- Pressure the beans for 4 whistles. Let the pressure drop on its own. Open the cooker and remove the beans bowl. Drain and keep aside.
Saute the paneer
- When the beans is pressure cooking, lets prepare the paneer. If using frozen paneer, remove and keep it outside to thaw. Or keep it immersed in hot water for 10 minutes, it will soften quick.
- In pan, add a teaspoon of oil, add the paneer and roast them in a medium flame, flip and cook, until it turns brown on all sides . Remove and keep aside.
Prepare the Vegetables
- Wash the vegetables in water. Peel the carrots. Chop the cucumber with peel. I have chopped the vegetables into cubes.
- Chop the cherry tomatoes into quarters. I have used ½ an avocado. Chop them into cubes. Wash and chop the coriander leaves.
Tahini Lemon Dressing
- Mix everything together in a glass jar or bowl. Refrigerate until use. The dressing thickens as it rests, you can 1-2 tablespoon of cold water to thin it down.
Lets Assemble the Salad
- In a wide bowl, add the soft cooked lentils, vegetables and paneer. Add enough dressing on top, Mix it well, add walnuts and fresh coriander leaves and Serve immediately.
Storing & Serving
- If planning to store the salad, then i would recommend adding the dressing just before serving. You can refrigerate the prepared vegetables and paneer and the cooked beans in separate air-tight containers.
- Just before serving, mix them all together, add the dressing, garnish and serve fresh.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
I m not a Doctor or a Nutritionist The Nutrition information provided above comes from the plugin and is only an estimate.
Lentil salad with tahini lemon dressing is delish! A great combination of flavors. Made this for weekend, replacing paneer with tofu! Everyone enjoyed it! This is now part of our regular meals! Thank you for the recipe!
Lentil and Paneer salad is so nutrient dense and bursting with flavors . Love the tahini dressing in this salad . It is a hearty meal . This is one of my go to salad anytime .
Easy salads such as these make for perfect lunch /brunch option for the summery days . Perfect nutrition balance too, priya
I am pretty sure I will get a thumbs-up on this salad for a couple of good reasons. The dressing looks so creamy and no doubt I will love it as I like tahini.
This one is a hearty colorful salad loaded with protein and other vital nutrients. I can happily have it as a meal when I am in no mood to cook. definitely going to try this lentil salad with tahini dressing.