Sunday, April 22, 2012

Collard Greens with Toor dal (lentils)

Back home I was familiar with 2 greens and they were the ones that were cooked most often. One was thandu keerai (Amaranth green) and the other was manathakkali keerai (Nightshade greens) . There were a lot of  other greens which were cooked every now and then whenever they became available. 

Once here the 2 greens mentioned above were not readily available unless I grew them. For a long time spinach was the only green and that was till I discovered Chard leaves. Now chard leaves are one of my favorites. I never quiet like spinach all that much but we have learn to live with it.


So the other day I found myself face to face with a bunch of fresh collard greens. Collard greens are tougher than both spinach and chard leaves and not slimy like spinach tends to become when cooked. Being tough it lends itself to be cooked a bit longer and not get mushy. This recipe is quick and it turned out far better than I expected.  A great week night recipe if you ask me.


Collard Greens with toor dal
Ingredients
1. 1 cup toor dal
2. 4 cups of packed collard greens chopped with stems
3. 1/4 cup onion chopped
4. 1 garlic chopped (optional)
5. Juice from half a lemon
6. 1 tbsp sambhar powder or 1/2 tbsp chili powder
7. salt to taste
8. seasonings: cumin seeds, mustard seeds and curry leaves

Method
1. In a Pressure cooked add the dal, collard greens, onions, garlic if using and sambhar powder with 1 1/2 cups of water (see note).
2. Cook for 2 whistles or on a stove top till the dal is cooked but not falling apart.
3. Open the pressure cooker and on a slow flame add salt and lemon juice.
4. In a small pan heat 1/2 tsp of oil and add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds and when it starts to pop add the curry leaves and pour over the cooked dal and turn off the heat.

Serve over rice.
Note
1. Add just enough water to cook the dal. It should not be mushy like for sambhar. The cooked dal should retain its shape.

PS: Who else is having problems with the Compose window after the blogger upgrade?. I agree the overall upgrade does have some good features. But they messed up big time with the Compose tool and it is like a generation behind what was already there. 3 thumbs down Google on that one.

11 comments:

  1. Super healthy n delicious dish..would simply love to have with a bowl of rice.

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  2. collard greens, lentils and a pressure cooker
    it's like you designed this recipe for me... thanks indosungod!

    btw, if you like collard greens, you should definitely give kale a try. similarly yummy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am glad this recipe is perfect for you.
      I have got to try kale. I am quite taken with collard greens now.

      Delete
  3. I too was stuck with spinach until I started experimenting with collard, kale and bok choy and when I get them, methi leaves too. This looks great.. bookmarked.

    With regards to the new interface... I had some trouble initially but I think i've gotten the hang of it after writing a post. Guess everything will grown on us after sometime - what other choice do we have? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laavanya,
      I use bok choy in stir fries mostly. I will have to cook it with dal and see.

      I keep going back to the old blogger interface. Got to get the hang of the new interface. You are right it is going to be shoved down our throats sooner or later.

      Delete
  4. I usually do my editings in HTML so it is okay but I am not liking the "Design Layout". I have anyway trouble adjusting to any "change" so not complaining ;-)

    There was one time I was using the collard a lot but now it has been a while. I love baby spinach.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice dal Indo, I like both manathakkai keerai kootu and thandu keerai for rasam rice :) How are you, long time no see?

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  6. Is it sambar powder or sambar karma

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    Replies
    1. Sorry I do not understand what you mean? It is sambar powder. I am not sure what sambar karma is?

      Delete

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