Always in search of new ways to enjoy good and healthy meals in a fun an innovative way, I decided to bring back a much forgotten vegetable into my kitchen - kale. In Germany kale is eaten quite often as a side to hearty meat dishes, however, my eating experience of kale here was mostly a squishy slop of green tasteless mush. It was not until a few years ago that I decided to bring this superfood into my kitchen and experiment with it.
Flavor combination means a lot and I often enjoy putting together ingredients that might seem unusual at first, but often these ingredient combinations complement each other so well, bringing out a new harmony of aromas. I was glad that I gave this incredible leafy vegetable a go in my kitchen, since then we're enjoying it in several new and exciting ways. By no means in the form of tasteless slop we might see at certain dining places.
This particular dish is one of our favorite kale recipes, which we enjoy simply with steaming bowls of rice. However, it also makes a great side to fish or meat dishes too.
I have fused flavors from the Middle Eastern and Persian cuisine giving a unforgettable blend of tangy and herby aromas. Lime really puckers up the entire dish, while the Aleppo pepper adds a robust kick.
Giving the whole dish a lovely body are the addition of kidney beans, which provides a good source of protein and fibre, not to mention texture. Finally dried curry leaves and dill rounds up the kale and beans for a delicious bite.
This dish epitomizes everything cooking means to me. It's a balance of flavors and combinations. It's also about thinking out of the box and trying ingredients that are not always paired together, about bringing back forgotten items and creating a new dish and finally about eating healthy.
We enjoyed this with a equally flavorful garlic tomato rice, which is so easy to prepare you might think I am pulling your leg. But I am not!
Returning from my break I was greeted with some great news. For most of you it's already old news and I thank you for leaving your best wishes and congratulations in the comments of this post. However, if anyone does not know by now - Times Online honored the top 50 best food blogs worldwide and What's For Lunch, Honey? was selected as one of the 50! I am in great company and many of the blogs on the list are not only a source of inspiration for me but have become my blogging friends over the past 3 years of blogging. I thank Manisha, Deeba, Jeanne and Tanna, who all sent me excited mails informing me about the achievement. I also thank Nick W. and Andrea P. for including What's For Lunch, Honey? as part of this extremely talented group of bloggers. But most of all I thank you, my readers, for keeping me motivated and inspiring me everyday. Without you this blog would be half as good and half as much of fun. So, I share the honor with you.
Recipe: Lime Kale with Beans and Dill
Ingredients
Printable version of recipe here.200g canned kidney beans, rinsed and drained
500g Kale, washed, drained and coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1-2 teaspoons Aleppo chili powder - substitute with cayenne pepper
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
15-20 dried curry leaves
8 tablespoons dill, finely chopped
6 tablespoon natural yogurt
2 limes, 1 zested and both juiced
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoon canola oil
Method
- Heat the oil in a wok to medium-high. Add the cumin and mustard seeds and sauté. As soon as they begin to pop add the garlic and curry leaves. Stir.
- Add the kale and dill to the wok and stir-fry until the liquid (if any) from the kale has evaporated.
- Stir in the yogurt and continue to stir until it has incorporated well with all the other ingredients. Reduce the heat to low, then add approx. 300 - 350 ml water, Aleppo chili and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well.
- Pour the juice and the zest of the limes. I also threw in the whole squeezed limes into the wok and it gives it a fantastic aroma.
- Add the kidney beans and stir well. Allow the mixture to come to a gentle boil, then cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Serving Tips:
- If you prefer this a little dryer by all means add less water.
- We enjoy this mostly with rice, however if you are making this dryer then it would be perfect with flat breads like whole wheat pitas or whole wheat tortillas.
This is not your usual way of preparing rice, but it's easy and can be made quickly used up leftover rice. However, I personally love this rice dish so much that I always prepare the rice fresh. The rice is cooked/steamed as you normally prepare your rice, then it is mixed with garlic, tomato paste and a bit more liquid and finally baked in the oven.
Recipe: Garlic Tomato Rice
Ingredients
Printable version of recipe here.400-500g Jasmine rice, steamed
1 tablespoon tomato purée
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh minced garlic
Salt
Drizzle of canola oil
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
- Place the rice in a bowl and add about 250 ml hot water, mixing with a wooden spoon. Using the wooden spoon gently press the rice on the side of the bowl.
- Add the garlic, tomato paste and salt to taste, stirring to incorporate the ingredients.
- Rub an 20x23 cm oven-proof dish with oil and add the rice mixture. Using the spoon or your hands press the rice evenly into the form. Bake for approx 15 minutes.
Serving Tips:
- Enjoy with any type of lentil dish like this vegetable lentils.
- A great partner with this flavorful Coconut Potato Curry with Basil & Cashews.
- Almost a must with my dad's chicken curry.
Verdict
Many of the most loved dishes are simple down-to-earth food, prepared at home. Kale might not be a loved vegetable but trust me if you give it a go, especially if it is prepared like this, you will definitely fall in love with it. Soeren loves the dish because of it tangy flavor, he really scoops up spoonfuls mixed with the garlicky rice, savoring each bite. Tom as always is skeptical, he does not trust grünkohl (kale in German) as it brings back memories of smelly school cafeteria food for him. However, after enjoying it this way he has learned to love kale in a whole new way.
Monthly Mingle
The Healthy Family Dinners roundup is up over at What's Cooking. Check out the grand 50 entries we had. A page to bookmark for future reference for sure!
This month's Monthly Mingle is back home and we are going to be grooving down to the Caribbean Islands for a bit of Caribbean Cooking this session. Hope you will join me and win yourself a fantastic cookbook. Check out all the details!
FoodieVIew
A must for all pasta lovers, my latest column on the FoodieView Blog is all about Perfect Pasta. I share a few fantastic savory and sweet pasta creations from all around the blogesphere.
My Lime Kale and Beans is going over to Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook, who is hosting the 8th helping of My Legumes Love Affair. Hope you like my unusually prepared dish!
You might like these legumes creations from WFLH:
Mum's Creamy Black Lentils - Kaali Maa Di Dal | Spicy Chicken Legumes with Pinto Beans and Chickpeas | Pea and Lettuce Salad |
Kale from around the blogs:
- Sweet Potato and Kale Enchiladas - We Heart Food
- Creamy Fall Fettuccini with Butternut Squash and Kale - The Wind Attack
- Kale Smoothie - It's Ripe
Daily Tiffin Reading Tip:
- Recycling: A Primer written by Suganya
All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2009 Meeta Khurana unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First
A lovely, healthy dish Meeta. And congratulations on making the Times top 50 food blogs.
ReplyDeleteYou have a talent mixing healthy with delicious. I cannot imagine anyone not liking this dish. I wish all kids could grow up on this kind of food!
ReplyDeleteYesterday I made Garlic tomato bean rice:-) I love ur kale recipe. i use moong dal in it, but the beans will add much better texture.
ReplyDeleteMeeta a rice dish with garlic, tomato easily delicious!
ReplyDeleteBig congrats!! for you to be at top 50 best food blogs a great honor for you :))
I know that I'm not the Times Online hehe but you're also included at my blog, in my post: 70 food blogs that deserve your attention!
All the best,
Gera
WOW NEVER THOUGHT THAT A BORING DISH COULD BE TRANSFORMED IN SUCH A WONDERFUL ONE. YOU RE AMAZING. I LIKE THE RICE TOO I LL TRY THIS ONE :)
ReplyDeleteLooks so delicious and healthy. Must admit i have never used kale.
ReplyDeleteI did read in times online that you were included in top blogs. Congragulations. hi hi now i can say i know a top blogger :-)
Lovely garlic tomato rice, wat a delicious curry with kale n beans..Awesome:)
ReplyDeleteCongrats Meeta! A well-deserved honour, you have a truly fab blog. I posted a chickpea + Kale dish today as well... Kale is one of my favorite greens! I gotta try your dish, it sounds and looks lovely!
ReplyDeleteOh, that kale/bean dish looks incredibly scrumptious and that rice too!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! Your blog is great and it deserves to be included in that list...
Cheers,
Rosa
Such wonderful flavours!
ReplyDeleteCongrats Meeta..well deserved award.:)..Loved this dish so much..:)
ReplyDeletecongrats again!! and whats with kale and legumes..i just saw sig's post of kale and chole..this one looks lovely!! the dill and garlic tomato rice is also awesomely delicious!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the top 50! You totally deserve it! I love how you molded the rice..gorgeous :)
ReplyDeleteI love the rice and have been looking for a new way to use my Aleppo pepper. This is a beautiful dish!
ReplyDeletePhoo-D
Congrats Meeta for being on the top 50 list. You truly deserve it. Your dish sounds very healthy and delicious as well.
ReplyDeleteMeeta, congratulations on making top 50! As far as I'm concerned, WFLH is in the top 10!
ReplyDeleteMAAAAJOR congratulations, dear Meeta!!
ReplyDeleteLooove that dish.
Congratulations Meeta, and the kale with beans looks divine!
ReplyDeleteThat looks good! I like the use of the dill.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the top 50!!!
This sounds wonderful. I have a questions. Though I have never actually looked for them. I have never seen dried curry leaves. If I can't find them may I use curry powder? If so how much or would a curry paste be more appropriate? Also not seen black mustard seeds.Can they be replaced with regualar mustard seeds? Thanks for the help
ReplyDeleteIs Lime Kale as special variety? I haven't really heard of it.
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking about making kale, somehow I've never tried it. Now I have a recipe too ... this loks absolutely fabulous.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the Times honor! I love kale...we sometimes mix it with toor dhal, have it in miso soup or white bean soup - really it's good in any form! Can't wait to try this. Btw just linked to you. Hope you don't mind.
ReplyDeleteI love absolutely anything with kale. It really is a wonderful green, and very underrated. This dish sounds fantastic.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Meeta you deserve it so much!...
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Your good-looking and delicious blog surely deserves to be in top 50
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone. Glad to see that many like kale and look forward to your ideas. Thank you for your best wishes too.
ReplyDeleteGera - it means just as much! thank you!
Sig, Marija you girls flatter! Thank you!
To2sassy - no curry powder/paste is entirely diferent to curry leaves so they do not make a good substitute. Curry leaves are the Asian pendant to Bay Leaf and just like bay leaves they are available fresh or dried. So if you cannot find curry leaves then sub them with bay leaves. There will be a difference in flavor though. As for the mustard seeds - yes you can replace them with regular mustard seeds.
Pea - no the kale variety I used was the curly one. with Lime I was referring to the flavoring I gave it - Lime flavored kale! Hugs!
this looks so healthy! I'm going to have to try this Meeta. Thanks for the inspiration, as always
ReplyDeleteSome of the most delightful dishes are ones that reading them says "that can't work" and eating them turns out to be totally wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI like both of these but am really wanting to try the simple tomato garlic rice bake.
I just tried kale for the first time not too long ago, and now I want more of it!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the mention - you totally deserve it!
I do like this "unusual" dish very much, indeed! Don't know how I missed this post earlier.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Meeta, for the great addition to MLLA8 and congrats on making the list!