Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Kale Kootu ~ our favorite these days!

I always used to see these green leafy and lacy beauties, everytime we go grocery shopping. I just didn't know how it tasted. My uncertainty avoidance index has always been high, which totally explains why I never tried them before.




But one day, I just couldn't find anything interesting to go with rice. Same carrot, cabbage, beans everyday....I just wanted change. The first time I bought them, I tried a simple thoran. I could find its taste similar to Muringa ella (Drumstick leaves), which we like. So kale started accompanying us back home, after every grocery shopping.




Recently I tried a different approach to make it more tasty and wholesome. It was perfect - taste wise and look wise. We just loved it with steaming rice, Moru Kachiyathu and some Nadan Meen Curry.


You guys should try it and have it with rice. It is truly addictive but who cares, because its equally nutritious and healthy. We ate a little too much rice(couldn't resist it :P) than what we had an appetite for, which you should be careful about :).





Ingredients
  1. 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
  2. 1 tbsp of urad dal
  3. A strand of curry leaves 
  4. 4-5 red chilly
  5. 1 tsp of cumin seeds/ jeerakam
  6. Chopped green chilly as required
  7. 1 tbsp of finely chopped ginger
  8. 1 tbsp of finely chopped garlic 
  9. 3/4 cup of grated coconut
  10. 3-4 shallots/ cheriya ulli - finely chopped
  11. 1/2 cup of yellow split pea/chana dal/kadala parippu
  12. 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
  13. 2 tbsp of oil
  14. A bunch of Kale
  15. Salt to taste
Method
  • Wash the bunch of kale thoroughly. Cut out the leafy portion of the kale and chop it. Now chop the stem part of the kale that has been left behind. Keep them separate.
  • In a pressure cooker, cook the yellow split pea/chana dal/kadala parippu. For me it took, 3 whistle on high heat to cook it. Keep it aside.
  • In a wok, pour in the oil (ingredient 13) and drop in the mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add the urad dal,curry leaves and red chilly. 
  • Once the dal gets roasted, drop in the cooked yellow split pea, chopped kale stem and turmeric powder. Add little water for it to cook.
  • Once its almost cooked, add the chopped kale leaves and salt. Give it a thorough mix. Cover it and let it cook for 2 mins so that the leaves get steamed and cooked well.
  • Meanwhile, grind the ingredients 5- 10 with 1-2 tbsp of water and add it to the wok. Mix it well and cook it open if there is more water that should evaporate.
Tips
  1. Do not cook both stem and leaves together as it takes the stem a little longer to get cooked.
  2. Do not over cook chana dal. It should not loose its shape at the same time should be soft and easier to chew.
  3. I used Olive oil however, use of Coconut oil would enhance the taste. 





This recipe would work well with Mustard greens and Collard greens as well. I feel Spinach may not be a good idea to go with this recipe, as the water content in spinach leaves is towards the higher end. I haven't tried it though, but would definitely update if I try and if it works out well.



45 comments:

  1. I love kale. We make this at home very often. Your kootu looks perfectly done
    LifeScoops

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  2. I just love the meen curry, morukachiyathu and muringa ella thoran combo.I have been skeptical about kale...since u say I will surely try.

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    Replies
    1. Try it Meena and let me know if you liked it :)

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    2. Anupa,I tried kale kootu.It came out really well and I must say I really liked it.Thank you so much for the recipe.I did not have kadala paripu so replaced it with tuvara paripu. I have posted a pic for evidence in my fbk.

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    3. Hey saw the pic on FB... so glad that u liked it...We r a kale addict now ...Should I count u in? :P

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  3. This luks yummy. Havent ever tried kale. Will grab it next time to try this :)

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  4. Yummy and healthy. First time your blog am following u . Glad if u will follow me back

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  5. Wonderful clicks...seriously stunned by your blog...so clear and neat...loved it and very happy to follow you..will also be glad if you could stop by mine and follow :)

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  6. hai there..first time here..and really liked it. neat presentations too. happy to follow your space. plz feel free to do drop by my blog too when you get the time and hope you will be a follower there as well.

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  7. Kootu is probably one of my favorite dishes and I wish I learned how to make it. This kale version looks delicious!

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  8. Interesting kootu.. Vey well explained.. Loved it.. I'm a new blogger... Do visit my blog.. http://kitchenserenity.blogspot.in/

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  9. it's a very interesting recipe, and i've never seen brocolli being clicked with such elegance, gr8 photography as well

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    Replies
    1. Hi Guru... I used Kale in this recipe...but if u have Broccoli rabe in mind, I think this recipe would be perfect for that too :)

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  10. This looks yummy....Haven't ever tried kale...First time here...Happy to follow u...

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  11. Nicely explained recipe!
    I am your new follower ! Visit my space http://cookingwithsapana.blogspot.com

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  12. After seeing this recipe especially after u said it tastes like muringa leaves I was so tempted to buy it, I tried it and it was very delicious...perfect way to incorporate some greens in ur diet :) thanks for the recipe :)

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  13. Lovely photographs and recipe...am sure gonna try something like this soon... nice job on the blog :-)

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  14. tried today and the taste was really good.. Thanks for the recipe..

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  15. whats kale in telugu. so that I can purchase in local market

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  16. I used to hate Kale. I thought: Why would one eat a green that is probably even shunned by bovines?

    A few days ago, a close-friend mentioned several beneficial uses of Kale, which were all I certainly cared for. I told her that I was still not sure I would be able to push any Kale down the throat in any form, what with an earlier attempt at my downing a sip of a kale-smoothie that did not turn out to be quite pleasant. So she referred me to this great recipe of Kale Kootu and urged me to try it out. And boy am I thankful to her for that.

    The recipe outlined is very clear to understand and to follow and started me and my wife on a very positive note with the appetizing pictures of the purported results. I was still a bit apprehensive, though. We followed the recipe to the 'T' with a very minor Twist, as my friend likes to call it - for the first attempt we decided to discard the kale stems but my feeling is that we should use them just as outlined in the recipe next time on. My contribution in our preparation was admittedly minor (but turned to be major, after the dish was ready!!), just helping clean, wash and chop the kale. Anyways, the resulting dish turned out to be so very delicious and appetizing that we ate it all straight without any rice - there was just no need to 'adulterate' it with anything else. The tips were very handy, except this time we threw to wind the 'stems' part, and used Olive oil and the result was still very tasty.

    Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I'm hooked to this recipe now, for ever.

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    Replies
    1. Your comment was really motivating. Just made my day. So glad that you liked the kootu. And don't be scared to include the stems next time on. The taste wouldn't go down even a bit :)

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  17. Hi Anupa,

    Very interesting recipe. I shall surely try this. I have a question: You add shallots - that too in paste form- towards the end of the recipe. Does this not give a raw onion flavour to the dish?

    Thanks,
    Prachi

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    Replies
    1. Thank u so much.... I do not turn off the heat immediately after adding the ground ingredients... I cook it for few more minutes so I have never felt the raw taste of onion in it...:) try and let me know if u liked it

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  18. It turned out really well in a forced bachelors kitchen, I am gonna cook it one more time for my wife when she is back from India, I never thought I will cook and eat Kale, initially thought of preparing a Dal, but your recipe was really awesome.

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    Replies
    1. So glad to know that you liked it...Hope your wife would also like it :)

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  19. Hi,
    I tried this recipe a couple of days back and it came out really well. It tasted great and everyone liked it very much.

    Thanks
    Rupa

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for coming back and letting me know Rupa... So glad that you liked it :)

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  20. Tried this a couple of times. Great recipe. Very creative. :)

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  21. Hi, tried the Kale kootu and was amazingly yummy!....will be trying out more of your recipe. Thank you:)

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  22. Kale is such a good green, I love this whole ooonu setup- decided to take fish out of freezer after seeing it. Yum! And the pictures- gorgeous.

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  23. Wat is kale called in telugu ..

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  24. God Anupa, looks like this recipe of yours is very popular on the blogoshphere already! I have to try it now. I do happen to have a small pack of kale left in the fridge begging me to be used up. Looks like the day has come! :)

    Would surely share how it turns out , if it still is alive till tomorrow evening.

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  25. Hi Anupa
    Your recipe was very helpful. Thank you so much. The kootu came out very tasty.
    it was very easy and didn't take long to prepare the dish. We all enjoyed it.
    Thanking you again.
    Narmada

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  26. Thank you for the recipe. The dish came out really tasty. It didn't take long to prepare the dish.
    thanking you again.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for coming back and giving the feedback...so glad that you liked it..:)

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