Kale with Lentil Stew (Kale Dal)

Being a busy career woman is difficult, especially when hubby dear works equally hard. Hence, we are always on the lookout for quick, easy to cook meals. One recipe I have perfected over the years is Dal. Hubby loves this recipe and shamelessly, I will admit this is one of my best go-to recipes. 

After wanting to try this variation (with kale) for a long time, today happened to be the lucky day. We did a 2 day juice fast and finished the day with this protein packed recipe. It was inspired by this blog entry, but with a few changes and tweaks to match my life style :)

I use my pressure cooker a lot - it's fast and healthy. You can also cook the dal stovetop in a saucepan, but it will take a lot more time to cook. 

Ingredients:

Masoor Dal (Orange lentils) - 1 cup

Kale - 3-4 cups, lightly chopped

Onions - 1/2, diced

Tomatoes - 2, quartered

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Dried Red Chillies - 3

Curry Leaves - 5-6

Oil - as required

Salt - to taste

Curry Powder - 2 tsp

Cumin Powder - 2 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp

Garlic - minced, 1 tsp

Ginger - 1 tsp, finely chopped

Water - 3-4 cups

Method:

1. Soak lentils for about 1-2 hours. Wash thoroughly until the water runs clear. Set aside
2. Wash kale leaves thoroughly. Cut off stalks and set side.
3. Chop onions and set aside.
4. Add oil to the pressure cooker on medium high heat. Add half of chopped onions and saute until onions turn translucent.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes, garlic and ginger. 
6. Once the oil separates and reaches the sides, add all spices and stir.
7. Add lentils and fry them for a minute.
8. Add kale, water and close the lid. Pressure cook for about 5-8 minutes (mine whistles when letting off steam, so I let it whistle 3 times before shutting off).
9. In a saucepan, add some oil on medium heat.
10. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, and dried red chilies. Once the mustard seeds stop popping, add rest of onions and increase heat to medium high. 
11. Once the onions have burned a little, turn off heat and add to lentil stew and stir. 

Serve hot with brown rice, barley or fresh rotis (Whole Wheat Indian Bread). 

I served it with 1/2 cup of barley today. Yum!

Hearty Vegetable Stew

Here's an all-weather recipe that's never boring!

Ingredients:

Zucchi

ni - 1/2 cup, diced

Cabbage - 1/4 cup, shredded

Carrots - 1/4 cup, diced small

Red Peppers - 1/4 cup, diced small

Spring Onion - 1 stalk, diced

Celery - 1/2 cup, diced small

Roma Tomatoes - 2, diced

Kidney Beans - 1 can, washed

V8 vegetable juice (low sodium) - 8 oz can

Garlic (minced) - 1/2 tsp

Oregano - 1/3 tsp

Thyme - 1/3 tsp

Basil - 1/3 tsp

Celery Salt - to taste

Black Pepper - to taste

Ground Cumin - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Water or Vegetable Stock - 4 cups

Method:

1. Heat a large saucepan and add a tablespoon of Olive oil.
2. Add spring onions and garlic and sautee. Once the onions are translucent, add the tomatoes and V8 juice.
3. Add all spices, cover and simmer
4. After about 2 minutes, add the vegetables, stock or water and simmer for 20 minutes
5. Add kidney beans and more water, if necessary. Cover and cook for another 20-30 minutes.
6. Once vegetables are done, simmer on low heat for another 15 minutes.
7. Serve with bread or crostini

This is a fat-free stew, heart healthy and meant to be a meal by itself. This recipe should easily serve 2-3 people