January 24, 2013

King Kale Pilaf

I've been looking for some different kale recipes recently and today I decided to adapt one of the interesting ones I've found recently. Being Indian, and being the daughter of a Rice-loving North Indian man, I have  always considered a warm Basmati Pilaf, or Pulao as we Indians call it, to be the ultimate comfort food. Today's recipe uses close to 8 cups of chopped Kale, for 1 cup of White Rice. With that much kale, it deserves to be called King Kale Pilaf!

King Kale Pilaf!
Adapted from: Tasty Palettes - The Colour Purple

Prep Time: 20-30 min

Ingredients (4 Servings):
  1. 1 cup White Basmati rice
  2. 8 cups Kale (stems removed, leaves chopped fine)
  3. 1 Medium Red Onion, diced
  4. 1/2 cup Frozen Peas
  5. 1/2 cup Frozen Corn
  6. 1 tbsp Cumin seeds
  7. 2-3 pcs Cloves
  8. 2-3 pcs Green Cardamom
  9. 2-3 pcs Black Peppercorns
  10. 2-3 pcs Black Cardamom
  11. 2-3 pcs Bay Leaves
  12. 1 tsp Deggi Chili Powder
  13. 1-2 tsp Garam Masala
  14. Salt and Pepper, to taste
Directions:
Boil rice in an ample amount of water, drain and set aside. Line a deep pot with water or home-made vegetable broth and add onions. Once onions become translucent, add whole spices and saute for a couple of minutes until the aromas are released. Sprinkle a little bit of salt, mix and add corn and peas. Mix well. Then add kale in small increments and fold the vegetables and spices into the kale until everything is well incorporated. Simmer until the kale reduces in volume (about 7-10 minutes). Once most of the water is evaporated, add rice, fold everything together and garnish with garam masala and fresh cilantro leaves. Serve warm. 


My Assessment: I really liked this dish. Sauteing the kale tenderizes it immensely. The whole  spices gave it a subtle flavor without the heat and I loved how much fiber I was consuming with each bite and it almost made up for the fact that I made this pilaf with white rice :)

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 283 (Fat Calories 14)
Total Fat 1.5 g; Cholesterol 0 g; Carbohydrates 60.8 g; Dietary Fiber 5.7 g; Sugars 3.6 g; Protein 9.8 g

No comments:

Post a Comment