CAULIFLOWER DAAL and Sautéed Kale

A nutritious homestyle meal perfect for busy weekdays. Its full of healthy plant based protein, lots of veggies and importantly very tasty.

CAULIFLOWER DAAL and Sautéed Kale (GOBI VARAN AUR BHUNI Kale)

This is a plain simple daal without any tomatoes, also called Varan, I like to add some green chillies to the daal to spice it up, if chillies is too much to handle leave it out or add to your tolerance, it’s just as good. Pigeon peas is normally used for this recipe, however for a last minute meal I use Red/ pink split lentils that cooks relatively fast. One of the reasons I make it so often is because it cooks in a jiffy. I also threw in some cauliflower for added nutrition and texture, it works beautifully.

I soak washed lentils for 10-15 minutes in warm water while I prep the ingredients. It saves little cooking time and the lentils break down into a soft creamy texture without blending. Also once the daal is cooked I use a wire whisk and gently whisk the daal in the pot, resulting a creamy daal.

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GOBI VARAN DAAL WITH EVERYNIGHT SAUTEED GREENS

INGREDIENTS

SERVES 3-4

• 2 tablespoons avocado oil or ghee or any neutral oil you own
• 1 ½ inch ginger minced
• 2 cloves garlic 
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 tbsp ground coriander seeds  
• ¼ teaspoon asefodita, optional
• ½ teaspoon turmeric 
• ½ teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves also called kasuri methi 
• 1 small cauliflower about 1/2 pound, broken into small florets
• 1 cup red lentils, Masoor daal or washed mung daal
• 4 cups water or low sodium vegetable stock
•  1-2 green chili or to your heat tolerance or omit if you like it mild

DIRECTIONS

• In a medium sized sauce pan warm the 1 tablespoon ghee or oil, add the cauliflower florets and fry for a 3-4 minutes till you start to get some golden browning.
• Now add cumin, coriander, turmeric powder, minced ginger and sauté for 30 seconds until its fragrant, be cautious, the spices burn easily. 
• Add the lentils and cauliflower. Stir and sauté for about a minute before adding water or stock. Let simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the lentils are soft and the cauliflower florets are tender.
•  In a small frying pan warm a tablespoon of ghee or oil. Add the cumin seeds, green chilies, garlic and asefodita. Sauté till they sizzle and the garlic is lightly browned. Pour it over the daal, stir the tempering into the daal and serve with sautéed greens. 

SAUTÉED KALE 

• 4-5 cups kale or any sturdy greens, stemmed and chopped, spinach works well too
• 2-3 cloves about 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
•  Sea salt and pepper

Heat oil in a wok or skillet. Sauté the chopped garlic and turmeric on low/medium heat until golden and fragrant. Add the kale or spinach and cook for no more than one minute and take it off the heat. Stir until wilted. Serve with Daal and carb of ypjchpice or as is..