Mango/ Avocado Salad

Mango / Avocado salad with beans, corn, and parsley is bursting with flavors and textures. This salad makes a refreshing lunch or a satisfying dinner. A true treat, especially during the Mango season.

Preparing the Beans

Let’s start with the beans, as it is one of the ingredients of this salad that needs to be prepped ahead of time. You can use any fresh or dry beans for this salad. Whichever you prefer is fine. (I don’t use canned beans in my cooking, you know 😉). Personally, I prefer cranberry beans or white bean varieties (Navy beans, Cannellini beans) for this salad.

The other day I went into the farmer’s market, and I spotted some fresh cranberry bean pods. They made me so happy!!! What made me even happier is when I opened the pods, I noticed that some of the beans are at the beginning of a sprouting process 🤗.

I got so excited and decided to set them out for a day or two, so they would sprout a bit more before I cooked them. (I almost said, “I killed them” 😩).

I guess when you observe the sprouting process, there is an acute awareness of the unfolding miracle of life. And I just can’t help myself with being overtaken by the grace and an overwhelming feeling of gratitude to the life that is willing to become me. 🙏🏻

So this time, I got lucky with spotting fresh beans. But usually, I use dry variety. I always start with soaking dry beans overnight with a pinch of salt and a splash of lemon. Check out this article about why and how to soak beans if you are interested to know more.

In the morning, rinse your beans and set them aside in a mesh strainer cover with a cotton cloth until you are ready.

Transfer beans into a pot with 2 cups of water. Bring them to a boil, lower the heat and continue cooking on a gentle boil (medium/low heat). If you are making beans in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot, cook according to your appliance suggested settings.

In half an hour, add 1 tsp of Himalayan salt and Universal sattvic spice mix (USSM) and continue cooking for another hour or until soft. Can you go without USSM? Yes. Would it be the same? Of course not, but it still will be good. I would highly recommend the spice mix, though.

Strain the beans through the mesh sieve, and set them aside to cool.

The remaining liquid (aquafaba) can be poured into the ice-cube container and frozen for future use in curries, soups, stews, etc. That’s what I do. If you are using Universal Sattvic Spice mix, the bean broth becomes soo delicious; it is a shame not to make use of it. If you are not inclined to freeze it, you can use it as a base for rice or quinoa making right away. And then serve it as a side to the salad. Ok, I’m getting carried away here with all the possibilities… Let’s get back to the salad business. Next, let me talk a bit about corn.

Corn making

When it comes to corn, I prefer fresh over frozen. Fresh corn on the cob with husk and corn silk, all the good stuff, you know. But if fresh corn is not available, I would go with frozen variety, definitely not the canned one.

If going with the frozen one, you will need 2 cups of it. Cook it in a pan under a lid with a pinch of salt for about 5 min.

If you’re going with fresh corn, then lavish yourself in the process. I love everything about it; the sound of the breaking husk, the smell of the corn silk….Oh, my! It brings me right back to my childhood. I can see my grandma’s calloused hands going through the pile of corn and tiny me sitting at her feet, braiding the silky cob tops into fancy hairstyles and playing with them like they are the most beautiful dolls in the world!

Sorry I got a bit off track here. I’m taking the liberty to reminisce and indulge myself with sweet moments from my life by pouring them out in the form of words because, truthfully, I think 98% of people who landed on this page will never read any of this and scroll straight down to the recipe. If you’re reading this, Thank you. 🙏🏻 Sharing those cherished intimate moments with you makes me very happy. 💞 🙏🏻

So, off we go back to corn.

To start, peel the corn on the cob (remove green leaves – husk) and remove the silks. The long shiny fibers at the top of an ear of corn are called corn silk. I save them.

I dry corn silk and store it in an air-tight jar in a cupboard. I make a brew out of them from time to time. I use it as medicine. ♨︎

Traditionally corn silk is used for bladder infections, inflammation of the urinary system, inflammation of the prostate, and kidney stones. It is also used to treat diabetes, high blood pressure, fatigue, and high cholesterol levels. Let me know in the comments below if you’re interested in me sharing more on this subject.

So, after cobs are stripped and cleaned, they are ready to be cooked.

Fill a large pot about 3/4 full of water and bring to a boil. Gently place ears of corn into boiling water, cover the pot, bring it back to a boil, and let it cook for about 20 min. Remove the corn on the cob from the hot water and place it on a platter to cool a bit.

To remove the corn from the cob. Place one end of the cob on the cutting board. Then, cut downward with a knife, as close to the base of the kernels as possible, while taking care not to angle the blade into the cob itself. Next, rotate the ear of corn, and repeat the cut until all the kernels have been removed.

Tip: Run the back of your knife along the length of the cob to extract all the excess corn milk (this will add a lot of extra flavor to the dish).

Chop Away

Peel and chop mangoes into small cubes, then do the same with avocadoes. Place avocadoes in a separate bowl, add freshly squeezed lemon juice and a pinch of salt, and mix well.

After you chop the parsley into fine pieces you’re ready to combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well, sprinkle on the top with freshly ground coconut (optional).

This salad is so juicy and flavorful that I feel like no dressing is needed. You can add a couple more spoons of lemon juice if needed. I feel like avocado adds enough creaminess, and mango bathes it with its juiciness. The perfect combination of sweet and sour, tangy and salty

You can enjoy it as is or serve it with a side of rice, quinoa, or buckwheat.

What about you?

Did you try this recipe? I love hearing from you. Let me know how it went in the comments below and share a picture of your salad on Instagram with the hashtag @positivepranic #positivepranic 🙂 🙏

Be Alive🌱,
❤ Love, Julia

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