Skip to main content

Green Urad Dal

Just pretend that I'd had the patience to cook it longer, and those lentils were broken down a bit more. The leftovers were delicious.

The perpetual mission: Take healthy things and make them even healthier. The inspiration: a craving for urad dal, and massive quantities of kale and spinach in the garden. The result: somewhere between urad dal and saag. If this is an actual defined dish in India with a name of its own, someone let me know. Until then, "green urad dal" it is.

I used the food processor to get the vegetables really small, so it would all meld into one mushy mix of deliciousness. I love the way the spinach and kale practically melt into the lentils. 

Mmm, melting vegetables.


The Recipe:
1.5 cups urad dal
1 onion, minced
1 tomato, chopped finely (or pureed in the food processor)
1 potato, chopped finely
1 bunch kale and/or spinach, finely chopped (food processor recommended)
2 tb fresh ginger, grated
1 tb olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp turmeric
1 bay leaf
salt, to taste
  • Rinse urad dal. Put in put with enough water to cover by 2 inches, bring to boil, and simmer 45 minutes or until softened. Drain and set aside.
  • Over medium-high heat, saute onion, potato, and ginger in olive oil until onions are soft and translucent.
  • Add cumin, fennel seeds, chili powder, cayenne pepper, turmeric bay leaf, and a pinch of salt. Stir 1 minute.
  • Add tomato and kale/spinach, the cooked urad dal, and 1 cup of water. Reduce to low heat, stir, and simmer 30 minutes. 
  • Season with more salt as needed.
  • Serve over rice with yogurt and Indian pickle.


The Verdict:
Overall grade: A
Overall reason: So. Healthy. And the fennel gives it great flavor.
Time to prepare: 15 minutes of work, interspersed over 75 minutes of cooking time.
Husband quote: ::sniffing sounds and a wiggling nose, like a rabbit, when he walked in the door::


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Kitchen renovation!

BEFORE: AFTER: Still to come: a beautiful new induction range and some wood shelving on the left side, above the backsplash. And maybe the shelving unit on the wall facing the cabinets should be green, but we're going to live with a while before making that decision.

Red lentil dal

Cucumber salad is key. This dal is perfect. Most of us took seconds, and I'm really excited to eat the last portion that's sitting in the fridge right now. The accompanying salad is really great for adding texture, crunch, and acidity to the meal. I wouldn't skip it. I got it from  Tea for Turmeric  and prepared it pretty much as written, but doubled and with none of the optional ingredients. This recipe doesn't mention any seasoning/dressing on the salad, but adding lemon and salt to it really brightened things up. The Recipe: (from Tea for Turmeric) 2 c red lentils splash of avocado oil 2 tsp cumin seeds 2 small onions, finely chopped 1 inch ginger, grated 4 small tomatoes, chopped 2 thai chilies, minced 2 tsp cumin powder 2 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp cayenne 1 tsp turmeric 2+ tsp kosher salt 2 tsp lemon juice 1/2 c cilantro, chopped For serving: basmati rice and plain yogurt Salad ingredients: 1/2 english cucumber, sliced 10 cherry tomatoes, quartered 1/4 onion, slic...

Curry Fried Rice

Excited for these leftovers. One of the things I wanted to try with my  new jar of curry powder  was fried rice. Years ago, Miles got fried rice at  Korea House  and it was the best fried rice I'd ever had. I suspected there was curry powder in it, but at that time I had never really cooked with curry powder, so I tucked that knowledge away for a later date. After reading a few recipes, I went rogue on this one. I couldn't even begin to effectively guess at what proportions I ended up with, so the recipe below is more of a rough guideline of ingredients. The "Recipe" (sorry no quantities; follow your heart): leftover jasmine rice tofu, cubed and crisped in the oven with avocado oil and salt vegetables: garlic, onion, cabbage, red bell pepper salt curry powder (I used a Vietnamese one) soy sauce sugar sesame oil future topping ideas: runny egg, sesame seeds, green onion Saute the vegetables in avocado oil until softened, and salt them to taste Add the tofu and toss to...