Mustard Greens w Balsamic-Glazed Chick Peas

In my efforts to consume more green leafy vegetables, I picked up a big bunch of Kale and a big bunch of Curly Mustard Greens at the store this past weekend. Back home in India we only eat mustard greens in one preparation - Sarson ka Saag which I've posted before and I wanted something different this time. A quick Google search revealed a gem of a recipe by FatFeee Vegan Kitchen. I used it almost to a tee, with one slight modification and one substitution. 

FFVKs Mustard Greens w Balsamic-Glazed Chick peas

Adapted from: FatFree Vegan Kitchen - Balsamic-Glazed Chickpeas and Mustard Greens

Prep Time: 30 min

Ingredients (2 Big Servings): 

1. 4 cups Mustard Greens
2. 1 medium Red onion, julienned
3. 2 x 15 oz cans of Chickpeas 
4. 2 tsp Garlic powder
5. 1 tsp Deggi Chilli Powder
6. 1/2 teaspoon salt (Optional, I didn't use any)
7. 4 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
8. 4 tbsp Low-Sodium Soy sauce (this is a lot more than the original recipe)
9. 1 tbsp Honey (my substitute for Agave Syrup)
10. 1 tbsp Vegetarian Oyster Sauce (my addition)

Directions:

I pretty much followed the original recipe. Remove stems form mustard greens, tear leaves into bite-sized pieces and wash the leaves well to remove any traces of dirt. Allow to sit in a colander while you prepare the onions. Line a deep pot with water and add garlic powder and deggi chili powder along with julienned onions. Sauté the onion until translucent and then cover with drained mustard greens and cover for 2-5 minutes to allow the greens to wilt to a bright green (do not overcook). Remove greens and onions from the pan with a slotted spoon, allowing them time to drain, and place in a bowl. To the remaining liquid in the pan, add balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, honey and oyster sauce. If there isn't enough liquid (~1/8 cup) in the pan, add more water. Mix ingredients into the broth and add chickpeas. Cook, with occasional stirring, over medium-high heat until the liquid is almost gone and the chickpeas have a nice glaze over them. Once done, remove from heat, spoon the greens into serving plates and top with glazed chickpeas. Garnish with freshly cracked black pepper and serve warm. The original recipe suggested offering additional balsamic vinegar at the table. 

My Assessment: Loved it!! The chickpeas were great with the balsamic glaze. I think this recipe would go well with any robust greens (kale, collards) but with a more tender green, like baby spinach I think you wouldn't even need to wilt the greens. These could be served over a bed of raw baby spinach. 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 474 (Fat Calories 57)
Total Fat 6.3 g; Carbohydrates 84.3 g; Fiber 22.5 g; Sugars 26.1 g; Protein 25.4 g

Veggie Fact of the Day

Curly Mustard Greens, New Veggie #60

Spicy, crunchy Mustard greens are one of the most nutritious leafy foods we can add to our diet. The leaves are loaded with Vitamin A, beta-carotenes, Vitamin K and flavonoid anti-oxidants. 

Mustard belongs to the same family as cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Mustard leaves, flowers and seeds play an important part in Indian cuisine. The seeds are used in pickles and curries and the greens themselves are eaten with gusto. The overall flavor of the leaves is more pungent compared to other greens in this family (cabbage, kale & collared), with mature leaves having a hint of bitterness. Often, this dish is made with a mix of greens including dandelions and spinach, all milder leaves and hence efficient at masking the bitterness. The young leaves are eaten as a blended dish and once the plant matures, it is allowed to bloom and the seeds are then harvested for culinary purposes. 

In rural parts of Northern India, fields filled with yellow mustard blooms make the prettiest site. Interestingly, a lot of Bollywood song and dance sequences are filmed around blooming mustard fields ;-)!!! Here's a link to one of the most famous songs filmed in a mustard field .. from the movie Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Fresh mustard greens are dark green broad leaves with either a flat surface, or a curly leaf depending upon the local cultivar. Nutritionally, mustard greens are low in calories and fats, high in fiber and provide the highest amount of Vitamin A, C and K compared to other leafy vegetables (100g leaves contain about 350%, 110% and 500% of the RDA respectively). They are also a great source of folic acid and anti-oxidants flavonoids, indoles, sulforaphane, carotenes, lutein and zea-xanthin. Overall, these beautiful greens are loaded with goodies.

Sarson ka Saag (Mustard Greens)

A big old fashioned drum roll please!!!! I'm introducing my New Veggie #60. When I started on this quest almost a year ago, I never thought I'd have tried 60 previously untried or less-tried vegetables by the end of the year. The honor of being #60 goes to Mustard Greens. Growing up in India, we ate a lot of mustard greens during the winter months which is when it is in season. The original recipe, Sarson ka Saag, uses clarified butter (ghee) in copious amounts and is eaten with fresh corn-bread (Makki ki Roti), which is also made with a lot of ghee. What I wanted to do today was recreate the dish of my childhood without any of the added fat. I decided to eat it with rice, instead of the traditional corn bread. Although, the skillet cornbread recipe in Everyday Happy Herbivore would be great with this dish.  

Punjabi Sarson ka Saag

Prep Time: 20-30 min

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1. 1 bunch of curly mustard greens, washed well, stems removed, and leaves torn
2. 1 small Red Onion
3. 1 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
4. 2 tsp Cumin powder
5. 2 tsp Garam Masala
6. 1 tsp Smoked Chipotle pepper
7. Salt to taste
8. Red Pepper Flakes, for garnish

Directions:

Add first 4 ingredients with a quarter cup of water and pressure cook for 10 min under high pressure. Release steam and open. The leaves should be reduced about 10x in volume. Using a stick blender, puree the contents until smooth. Add Garam Masala and Chipotle pepper and simmer on medium heat, with a lid on partway, until most of the water has evaporated (be careful of the splatter, as it will be super hot!). Mine took about 10 min to get to the right consistency. Still pretty wet, but without any runny water. Add salt to taste. It is best to wait until the end to add salt as it is quite easy to overdo the salt (the volume goes down tremendously, so it is difficult to estimate how much you need). Serve over rice, and garnish with more chipotle pepper or red pepper flakes. 

My Assessment: The flavors were reminiscent of my childhood. My mom used to garnish with red pepper flakes warmed in butter (often called Tadka in hindi). I didn't miss the butter in the dish at all. Give it a try! It was worth it!

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 51
Total Fat 0.8 g; Cholesterol 0 g; Carbohydrates 8.6 g; Fiber 2.0 g; Sugars 2.5 g; Protein 2.7 g