What Makes This Homemade Ranch Dressing Irresistible Will Surprise You

“There’s no reason why Indian American cuisine shouldn’t thrive in [the salad] department,” award-winning food writer Khushbu Shah writes in her new cookbook, AMRIKAN: 125 Recipes from the Indian American Diaspora. Her unique ranch salad recipe is out to prove you’ve been underestimating Indian American flavors when puzzling over what to pair with your leafy greens.

Here, Shah uses two key ingredients to give this salad an exquisitely varied texture: “I love a salad with…enough heft to be a meal on its own, so I added garam masala­-roasted chickpeas and sunflower seeds for crunch.” And if you think ranch dressing is a snooze, you’ll enjoy Shah’s decision to add amchur — or dried mango powder, which Shah says “adds a sour punch to the rich dressing.” Sounds like the perfect secret ingredient.

The recipe calls for romaine hearts as the base of the salad, but Shah says you can adapt according to the contents of your fridge: “While the dressing is wonderful with several types of salad greens, this salad is at its peak when made with Little Gem, romaine hearts, or red leaf lettuce.”

Amchur Ranch Salad With Crispy Chickpeas Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

Crispy Chickpeas

• 1 (15-­ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons Garam Masala (page 62)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Amchur Ranch

Satisfy your appetite, with easy recipes delivered weekly.

By joining you accept KCM Terms of Service & Privacy Policy

Close

Email

source

coi_opened

coi_day_of_week

last_referral_date

total_referrals

referral_email

referral_name

source_detail

Submit

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream or plain full-­fat
  Greek yogurt
• 1 to 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons garlic paste or 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons amchur
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried chives
• 1/2 teaspoon kalonji (nigella seeds), optional
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Salad

• 2 to 3 romaine lettuce hearts, chopped
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 Persian cucumbers, sliced
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (optional)

Storage Note: The recipe makes more dressing than necessary for the salad — ­you could easily halve it or save the rest in an airtight container in the fridge for at least a week. Do not freeze it.

Ingredients

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Pat the chickpeas dry and put them in a medium bowl. Add the oil, garam masala, and salt and toss until the chickpeas are evenly coated. Spread the chickpeas in a single layer across the prepared baking sheet and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chickpeas are crispy. Let them cool completely.
3. Meanwhile, make the ranch dressing. In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, parsley, garlic, amchur, chives, kalonji (if using), salt, and black pepper and give everything a good whisk until well combined. If the dressing is too thick for your liking, you can thin it out with a little bit of milk or water.
4. Combine all of the salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss. Top with the crispy chickpeas, and toss with enough dressing to make you happy.

Excerpted from AMRIKAN: 125 Recipes from the Indian American Diaspora. Copyright © 2024 by Khushbu Shah. Photographs © 2024 by Aubrie Pick. Used with permission of the publisher, W.W. Norton & Company. All rights reserved.