I had invited some family over for dinner a couple of weeks ago- the theme was Mexican cuisine....However i was tired of serving the same old mexican salad (gaucamole or bean salad) to go with the corn-poblano peppers and cheese stuffed enchiladas and cilantro rice (recipes coming soon).....Googled for some avocado recipes since i already had those on hand and with some changes came up with this mediterranean salad....However i must say that you can do without the avocados in this salad since they dont go with the texture of the dish. I served the salad in this earthy hand-painted salad bowl that my sis-in-law gifted me.......It looked so beautiful and complimented the colorful dish.....Thanks Priyatai- i love, love , love it:)

Ingredients

1 cup red quinoa (you can use the golden variety if you cant find the red one)- cooked per instructions on the packet
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup golden raisins
1-1/2 cup diced pineapple
salt to taste
2-1/2 tsp cumin-coriander powder
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp crushed black pepper
3/4th cup diced green onions
3 limes

1. Combine all the above mentioned ingredients except the limes
2. Add the juice of limes and check for salt, sugar and pepper and adjust according to taste
3. Serve garnished with some green onions
4. You can substitute the pineapple with oranges and the limes with some orange juice for variation.