Thandu Keerai Kadaisal – A nutrient-rich gravy prepared using fresh Amaranth leaves and moong dal; tempered with spices; perfect for hot rice with a dollop of ghee
The best thing about food is a delicious recipe can be prepared using simple ingredients available in the pantry following a simple cooking process without any fancy types of equipment or lengthy process. And such recipes are what your soul needs and looks for. Some recipes have a charm and brighten up your monotonous day and leave you in surprise over its versatility. A simple fry or curry or fresh salad – anything prepared using them brings the life and color of the food. And not only color but also loaded with tons of nutrients needed every day to fuel us. Such versatile and healthy vegetable is Greens. Any type of Greens used in a simple traditional or in modern cooking adds a zeal to the recipe and tastes delish.
As a kid, I used to hate any vegetable on my plate which is green colored and every time, I found a way to avoid them. I cry for hours to finish the plate of greens. My Amma provides lecture every time she prepared greens. If it’s packed for lunch, then I will return back without even opening the lunch box. Amma explored different ways to make me and my brothers eat greens. This is her recipe which was liked by us and every time she prepared it, we had it without leaving a trace in the box. The only condition is the rice has to be mushy and Amma has to mix keerai kadaisal with mushy rice and ghee, it has to be gooey and definitely, pickle has to be there as accompaniment.
I prepare Kadaisal with every variety of Greens available in the market but my favorite is to prepare them with Amaranth leaves. And I use their stems for sambar.
Here you go for the recipe.
How to select Amaranth leaves?
- Young and tender leaves are the preferred ones for cooking as the matured leaves are bitter
- Select leaves which have thin stems and without any flower buds
- Ensure there are no holes in the leaves
How to cook Greens?
- Separate the leaves from the stems
- Wash them thrice with water to remove any dirt from them
- Drain the excess water from the leaves
- In a saucepan, add water and bring it to boil
- Cook the washed leaves in the boiling water for about 10 minutes
- Drain the hot water from the leaves and immediately place them in the running cold water
- I prefer to cook greens in the mentioned way as it retains the color and the nutrients of the leaves
Ingredients:
- 3 cups Amaranth leaves
- 1 cup Moong Dal
- 8 Green chilies
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 4 Garlic Cloves
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- ½ teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- ½ teaspoon Black Urad Dal
- Handful Curry Leaves
- 2 Dried Red Chilies
- ¼ teaspoon Asafoetida
- 1 ½ cup Water
Method:
- Cook Amaranth leaves as mentioned above and keep it aside
- In a pressure cooker, add moong dal, turmeric powder, garlic cloves, cumin seeds, green chilies and water
- Cook for 3 whistles. Allow the pressure to release on its own
- In a non-stick kadai, add oil and heat over medium flame
- Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, urad dal, red chilies, asafoetida and curry leaves
- Allow it to crackle
- Add the cooked dal and cooked greens
- Combine them together
- Adjust water according to your consistency
- Cook until it starts boiling. Reduce the flame and add salt
- Combine them well. Remove from the flame once the required consistency is reached
- Serve Keerai Kadaisal with plain white rice and ghee
If you try the recipe (which I highly recommend personally), do let me know how they tasted in comments. If you like space, do like and follow my profile at here – Facebook, Google, Instagram
Thanks,
Karthi
