Kale Dal (Spiced Kale and Lentils)

Posted on | July 5, 2010 | 17 Comments |

Kale Daal

Oh Kale, how much I love thee! I don’t know why I have this fascination with bitter foods, I do have the sweetest personality! Okay, that is a lie, the personality part that is, but the worst I get is a little sour sometime, never bitter! I love bitter melon and all types of bitter greens like mustard green, broccoli rabe, chicory and the good old muringa ila (leaves of the drumstick tree) from back home. I don’t think Kale is as bitter as some of those other items, but since I am married to someone who doesn’t share my enthusiasm when it comes to bitter stuff, even kale is considered a bitter green around here. But that doesn’t stop me from cooking bitter stuff, I just have to get a bit creative and tone it down a bit by combining these with some neutral ingredients.

The idea of Kale dal is not really mine though, credit goes to Pravs, I first saw Kale dal at her delicious blog, Simply Spicy a couple of years ago. I have tried many variations of it afterwards and this version has become one of my go-to recipes for a quick and easy meal. Nothing fancy, just the simplest form of the common dal, with some Kale added in, it elevates the dal to a totally different dimension. Try it with your normal dal recipe next time, if you have never tried this before. Here is my version for reference.

Ingredients

3/4th cup Toor Dal (yellow split pigeon peas)
1 lb kale, tough ends removed and chopped
1 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 cup shallots, chopped
3 green chilies, split
3 whole red chilies
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Salt to taste

Method

Wash and soak the dal for 2 hours. Cook the dal with 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker, for about 5 minutes on low heat after the first whistle. Alternatively, you can cook the soaked dal with about 5 cups of water on the stove, till the dal is soft and can be mashed with the back of a wooden spoon easily.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the mustard and cumin seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the shallots, green chilies and red chilies and sauté till the shallots starts to brown. Add the chopped kale and salt to taste and stir for a minute till the kale is wilted.

Pour the cooked dal into the pan. Add more hot water to get your desired consistency if the dal doesn’t have enough liquid. Mix well and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and simmer for 6 minutes till the kale is cooked through.

Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Serve with steamed rice.

Now, wasn’t that easy?

Category: Greens, Lentils and Legumes

Pin It

Subscribe to RSS

Follow me on Facebook

Follow me on Twitter

Follow me on Pinterest

« « Kheema Dosa| Two New Belltown Restaurants: Bisato & Pintxo » »

Comments

17 Responses to “Kale Dal (Spiced Kale and Lentils)”

nags
July 5th, 2010 @ 11:14 pm
Reply

aha! i am yet to cook with kale, haven’t seen it in SG. guessing its not a tropical green
Parita
July 5th, 2010 @ 11:24 pm
Reply

Never seen a bitter veggie to look as inviting as this one, lovely combo!
bergamot
July 6th, 2010 @ 4:28 am
Reply

Never had kale. Wonder if it is available in India. The dal has a nice color… looks really tempting
usha
July 6th, 2010 @ 4:37 am
Reply

I am yet to cook kale… it has been on my to try list for a long time… was thinking of stir frying but will try it with dal instead.
Laavanya
July 6th, 2010 @ 7:25 am
Reply

I love kale, bitter melon, methi, murungai ilai too Though I’ve cooked often with kale never tried a dhal with it. Looks fabulous.
sra
July 6th, 2010 @ 8:36 am
Reply

I’ve seen some fascinating recipes for kale chips. I don’t think I’ve tasted kale yet.
vanamala
July 6th, 2010 @ 11:39 am
Reply

Very nice..will try
Apu
July 6th, 2010 @ 5:29 pm
Reply

Love greens in dals!! This one looks so tasty.
RV
July 7th, 2010 @ 3:04 pm
Reply

Slurp… very comforting. When I bought Kale for the first time, I made dhal with it.
Pravs
July 8th, 2010 @ 7:24 am
Reply

Even i love bitter veggies, leaves and isn;t kale and dal and good combo? Happy to see this easy recipe.
drfugawe
July 8th, 2010 @ 8:06 am
Reply

Interesting! I’m guessing that there must be “many” kinds of lentils in the world, because I’ve always been confused about just what a lentil was – and now I see that even split peas are considered lentils.

But I guess as long as they are delicious, why should I care!
M
July 8th, 2010 @ 5:03 pm
Reply

Wow. The Dal looks wonderful. I also have a husband who will not, WILL NOT touch anything to do with Kale, Brocolli rabe. I have somehow managed cooking with mustard greens and Karela. I am going to try your recipe
Miri
July 9th, 2010 @ 7:03 pm
Reply

Lets just say we have slightly more evolved taste budes \

I didnt know kale had a bitter flavour (since I havent tasted it ever) but amn sure it lent the dish the extra something!
Bhagyashri
July 11th, 2010 @ 12:45 pm
Reply

I dont know if you have realised, but the first two sentences of the post rhyme. Earlier there was the cute story & now this, I urge you to write a complete piece

Will definitely try the Kale dal, BTW.
FoodZone
July 13th, 2010 @ 8:52 am
Reply

First time to you site. B’ful posts and awesome recipes.
Dal looks simply superb! Love the colors yellow and green.
cheffresco
July 20th, 2010 @ 2:41 pm
Reply

This looks SO good! I love cooking w. kale and looks like you’ve picked all the right ingredients to go with it.