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Paneer Walnut Arugula Salad

This Indian-inspired salad is great as a quick and yummy lunch or as a side to any meal! It features arugula, garam masala spiced paneer, chaat masala spiced walnuts, and a cilantro jalapeño dressing.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings: 1 person
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Indian Fusion
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups arugula
  • sea salt flakes to taste
Chaat Masala Walnuts
  • ¼ cup walnuts
  • 1 tsp oil
  • ½ tsp chaat masala (I like MDH's chunky chaat masala)
Garam Masala Paneer
  • 1 oz paneer cubed
  • ¼ tsp garam masala
  • ¼ tsp kashmiri chili powder
  • 1 pinch red chili powder (optional)
  • salt to taste
Cilantro Yogurt Dressing
  • 2 tbsp greek yogurt
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 2 tbsp cilantro finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp jalapeno diced
  • ¼ tsp cumin powder
  • ½ lime juice
  • salt to taste

Method
 

Chaat Masala Walnuts
  1. Heat up 1 tsp oil in a pan on medium heat.
  2. Add in the walnuts and mix them around a bit to ensure they're covered in oil. Let them roast for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally until they darken a bit and start emitting a fragrance.
  3. Add the roasted walnuts to a bowl and sprinkle chaat masala on them while they're hot. Mix the walnuts and the chaat masala until they're fully covered and then set them aside to cool while you assemble the rest of the salad components.
Garam Masala Paneer
  1. Heat up 1 tsp of oil in a pan on medium heat.
  2. Add in the kashmiri chili powder, garam masala, and paneer to the pan and sauté the paneer for 2-3 minutes until all of the spices coat the paneer well.
  3. Add salt to taste to the paneer and set it aside to cool.
Cilantro Jalapeño Dressing
  1. Finely chop the cilantro and jalapeño.
  2. Add the cilantro, jalapeño, greek yogurt, cumin powder, water, and lime juice to a bowl and whisk until all of the ingredients are incorporated. Add salt to taste.
Assembling the salad
  1. Add the arugula to a bowl. Add in the walnuts, paneer, and top with the dressing. Add some sea salt flakes to taste.
  2. Mix it all together and enjoy!

Notes

  • Make the chaat masala walnuts first as you'll want them to cool to ensure that the chaat masala properly sticks to the walnuts. 
  • You can add more veggies and toppings than I've included. Use this recipe as a starting off point and feel free to get creative with more additions to the salad!