Kale Stir Fry

If you are from South India stir fries (poriyal) are as common for lunch as idlies for breakfast. Most stir fries are prepared pretty much the same way with a tiny bit of variation here and there. Though the greens I grew up with are not as common here there are greens here that lend themselves to a pretty good stir fry.

One recent find for me is kale as you all know from this post - Kale and Potato Soup. Though kale blended well with the potatoes and made the soup tasty enough my favorite recipe by far is the stir fry made of kale.

Kale leaves unlike spinach or swiss chard do not become soupy when cooked. They retain the shape pretty well and the bitterness disappears when it is cooked.

OK, while I am extolling the virtues of kale let me also offer a word of caution from an article I read in the Health Section of the Washington Post. You can read the whole article but in an nutshell too much of raw kale (juiced or in salad) is not a good thing. You knew that already, there cannot be too much of a good thing of anything. Oh well it is a bitter green and eating raw is not my style, if it is yours read the article.

The stems of the kale is tough but I used that and the leaves in the stir fry. The slightly bitter taste of the greens, sweet taste of the onions and the crunch from the lentils made it tasty enough for me to want to write about it.

Kale Stir Fry
Ingredients

1. 1 bunch of kale (about 4 cups when chopped, cut them about 1/4 inch apart with the stem) wash and drain the water completely
2. 1 cup of chopped onions
3. 6 red chilies broken and seeds shaken out
4. 1 tbsp of channa dal (bengal gram)
5. 1/2 tbsp of split urad dal
6. seasonigs:mustards seeds, a pinch of cumin
7. 1 tsp of oil
8. salt to taste

Method

1. In a pan heat oil and when hot add the channa dal and let it start to brown, add in the urad dal at this point and let it start turning brown, add in the seasonings at this point and when the mustard starts to pop add the red chilies and saute for a few seconds.
2. Add the onions and saute till they turn translucent.
3. Add in the kale leaves and let it cook for 4-5 minutes. The leaves and stem are mostly cooked at this point. Add salt.
4. If there is moisture left turn the heat to high and cook for another 3 minutes or so till the water evaporates.