Every person has his own share of ups and downs that he or she has to go through in their life. And these phases teach a lot. Life goes on, and the hope for a better tomorrow is what keeps everyone going. I am back to blogging after a much needed short break الحمد لله.
Gorgeous Red Swiss Chard Leaves
The other day, when I was grocery shopping I couldn’t resist buying a big bunch of pretty ruby red swiss chard leaves. These earthy, slightly salty tasting greens that hail from Sicily are a chock-full of fantastic antioxidants and a rich source of Vitamin C. The leaves are a relative of beets family which is clearly evident with the resemblance in the appearance, and the earthy taste they share with beet greens.
I added these beautiful leaves to Masoor dal, making a slight variation to the usual Khadi dal that I keep preparing. Substitue chard with any greens that you can get your hands on like spinach, kale, collards, or mustard greens if you want.
Khadi Masoor ki Dal~Chard wali - Red Chard Dal
Ingredients:
Ruby Red Swiss Chard – 1 big bunch (comes to 6 cups of chopped and loosely packed leaves+stems)
Tomatoes – 5, medium sized, chopped
Red Chilli powder – 2 tsp
Salt – 2 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Green chillies – 4, each slit into two
Masoor dal – 1 cup, washed and drained
Red Swiss Chard Dal served along with Tala-hua Gosht and Chawal : my lunch today
Method:
Wash, drain and cut the chard into strips. Chop up the stems finely. In a pressure cooker, add the chopped chard leaves+stems and add add the chopped tomatoes and 1/2 cup water. Add salt, red chilli powder, green chillies, turmeric powder and mix well. Close the lid and pressure cook on medium high heat for 5-10 minutes. Later, open the lid and add the dal and mix well. Again pressure cook for 5-10 minutes until the dal is soft but not mushy or over done. Serve warm along with chawal or parathas.
Note: People who tend to develop oxalate containing kidney stones should eat greens including Swiss Chard sparingly.
Red Chard wali Dal is my contribution to the food event – Health Nut Challenge 4 : Bitter Better Health, being held at Yasmeen’s super blog~Healthnut, and also to the event ‘Delicious Dals from India’ being hosted by Suma at her blog Veggie Platter.
Luv,
Mona
