Chicken Masala Macaroni Salad
This chicken macaroni salad recipe is a fusion of Italian pasta with Indian spices. We love our spices and its no surprise that they make their way into western dishes. I love spicing up my chicken before I add them to pasta. It makes it even more delicious.
Traditional pasta salads can sometimes be a little heavy and not exactly the healthiest option because of their use of mayonnaise but in this recipe we don’t use it.
That’s why I’m excited to share with you a delicious and nutritious healthy chicken macaroni salad but with a spicy kick. It’s filling and bursting with flavor and varying textures and budget-friendly too.
One thing I love about this recipe is how customizable it is. If you don’t like or don’t have one of the ingredients, you can sub it out for something you do like or you have at hand. For this recipe I used elbow macaroni but you can use whatever pasta you prefer.
Can I make macaroni chicken salad ahead of time?
You certainly can make this a day or so ahead of time since there is no mayo used.
This salad should last 3-4 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
Check out my other salad recipes
Tangy, Crunchy Watermelon Salad
Chicken Masala Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
Ingredients for chicken
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 500 g boneless chicken cut into small bite size pieces
- 1 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1 chicken cube
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1 cup tomato puree
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon soya sauce
Ingredients for macaroni
- 4 cups macaroni boiled according to packet instructions
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1/2 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
- 1/2 cup HOT water
- 1 chicken cube
- 2 tablespoons soya sauce
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
- 1 large bell pepper julienned
- 1 large carrot julienned
- 2 cups cabbage julienned
- 200-300 g mushrooms roughly chopped
Instructions
Step#1: Prepping the chicken
- In a pan on medium-high heat, add 3 tablespoons of oil and 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste. Saute for 30 seconds.
- Add the chicken and cook until the chicken turns white.
- Then add all the remaining ingredients listed under “ingredients for chicken”- red chili flakes (1 teaspoon), chicken cube (1), chat masala (1 teaspoon), salt (1/4 teaspoon), black pepper (1/4 teaspoon), tomato puree (1 cup), vinegar (1 teaspoon) and soya sauce (1 teaspoon).
- Stir well, cover and cook until the chicken is cooked (10 minutes). The mixture should still be saucy, not dry (if it dries up, add 1/4 cup of water).
- Set aside.
Step#2
- In a bowl/ cup, add 1/2 cup HOT water and add the chicken cube. Stir well to dissolve. Then add to it- soya sauce (2 TBsp), vinegar (2 TBsp), black pepper (1 teaspoon), chili garlic sauce (1 teaspoon). Set aside
- In a large wok placed on medium-high heat, add 3 tablespoons oil and ½ tablespoon ginger-garlic paste and saute for 30 seconds.
- Add the chopped vegetables and saute for 2 minutes.
- Add the sauce made above + the boiled macaroni + the prepared chicken.
- Give everything a good mix and turn off the heat.
- Serve warm.
