My Favorite Recipes Collection: Kale and Whole Urad Beans Curry

Sunday, June 11, 2017

Kale and Whole Urad Beans Curry

Another favorite dal of mine is Urad dal, very rich in consistency and taste.
This one I made with whole white urad beans (without skin). These beans are usually available in local Indian Grocer. They look like little white pearls. If you buy them with skin, the skin in black. You can use either for this recipe, these are much richer and heavier than the Moong beans. You have to wash and soak before cooking and then cook them pressure cooker like any dried beans or Dal.

Dal (also spelled daal; is a term in the Indian subcontinent for dried, split pulses (that is, lentils, peas and beans). The term is also used for various soups prepared from these pulses. These pulses are among the most important staple foods in South Asian countries, and form an important part of Indian, Nepalese, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi cuisines.

Dals are frequently eaten with flatbreads such as Rotis or chapatis or with rice, a combination referred to as dal bhat. Dals are high in protein relative to other plants. The outer hull is usually stripped off; dal that has not been hulled is described as chilka (skin), e.g. chilka urad dal, mung dal chilka in Hindi and Urdu The term dal is often contrasted with the term gram, used in South Asia for pulses that are whole rather than split

Ingredients:

2 cups of whole urad bean with or without skin, I used without skin
1 8 oz pack of fresh Kale
2 medium yellow onions
5-6 cloves of garlic
1-2 fresh Jalapeno pepper

4 tomatoes
1" piece of fresh ginger peeled (optional)
2 tablespoon of olive oil
1 and 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
2 bay leaves
2 pods of dry red chili pods

1/4 teaspoon of asefoetida
1/2 cup of tomato paste
1/4 cup of sour cream or 1/4 cup of fresh cream
2 tablespoon of coriander powder
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1 teaspoon of crushed black pepper

2 teaspoon of cumin powder
1 teaspoon of garam masala
Salt to taste
2 tablespoon of mango powder
1 table spoon of Sriracha seasoning powder
Fresh lime juice from 1 juicy lime (or to taste)
6-8 cups of water to cook dal and spinach to add later if desired.

For tempering: You would need Following:

2 tables spoon of ghee or butter.
2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
2 pods of dried red chili peppers
1 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 or 1 teaspoon of dry red cayenne pepper.

Method:

Wash and soak urad beans for 1 hour, add salt and 4 cups of water and cook in pressure cooker.
(3 whistles) Do not overcook.
Cook Kale in two cups of boiling water in open container.
(if you cover it it will loose it green color)
Cool the cooker and spinach when done chop the boiled spinach with hand blender, set aside.

Chop or finely grind onions in food processor.
Chop tomatoes and ginger
Finely chop fresh Jalpenos and garlic.
Heat oil in a pan, when hot add cumin seeds, bay leaves, and dry red chili pods.
Add asfoetida.
Add onions, saute until golden brown.
Add chopped tomatoes, and ginger
Saute until tomatoes are soft.

Mix cream and tomato paste and add this to sauteed onions, ginger and tomatoes.
Cook for few min and add boiled dal, kale and salt and all the dry spices except Sriracha seasoning and mango powder.
Add chopped jalapenos and garlic
Gently mix it until every thing is well incorporated.
Cook on medium low heat for few min.
Then add Sriracha seasoning and mango powder.
Add lime juice and taste the salt if needed you may add more.

Method of Tempering:

In a small frying pan melt butter or heat the ghee over medium heat on stove.
When Ghee or butter is hot add cumin seeds.
When these crackle, add chili pods followed by Paprika and cayenne pepper powder turn the heat off and be aware of fumes. Pepper fumes can be irritating to your throat, so keep a good distance,
Pour the hot mixture over the dal.

Don't stir after adding the tempering, as it is part of garnish and looks very appetizing.
Also it tastes better if you include little bit of tempering in each bowl when serving.

Hints:

I used Kale, but instead of Kale you can use Spinach, fresh Methi (Fenurgreek greens) or Bathua (Goose foot greens which is same as Quinoa plant) or even Mustard greens.
You can omit tempering on top with ghee, cumin seeds and red chili powder before serving if you like (to cut down on calories), but this dish definitely taste better and with tempering.

All the spices quantity can be adjusted to your
You can adjust thickness consistency of this dish by decreasing or adding amount of water.
You can further garnish with chopped Cilantro but don't need to due to greens mixed with this dish.