There is a leafy green we've been seeing on the street carts selling herbs that for a while remained unidentified to us. When we asked what is was there was either a mumbled answer or the 'same' as palak (spinach). Eventually we came to find that it is amaranth leaf, which we had heard of in Indian cook books but hadn't seen in the west. And here it is in 2 types, red and green leaf looking very fresh, so we had to try it.
This is another recipe from Chandra Padmanabhan's book Simply South, and again as a spice paste is included I would recommend that if you undertake it, make the rest of your meal fairly simple or you will be cooking for a long time!
Amaranth with Lentils - from Simply South by Chandra Padmanabhan
Serves 4
1/2 cup pigeon peas (toor dal)
4 to 5 cups amaranth leaves, cleaned and finely chopped (use spinach if you can't get amaranth)
1 medium tomato, quartered
1 tsp salt
spice paste
2 tsp oil
2 tsp urad dal
2 dried red chillies
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder
4 to 5 tbsp grated fresh coconut
tempering
2 tsp ghee
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
1 dried red chili, halved
1 spring curry leaves
- Wash dal and drain. Place in a pressure cooker with 1 cup of water and cook under pressure for 5 minutes or bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Heat oil for spice paste in frying pan. Add remaining ingredients for spice paste except coconut. Fry over low heat, tossing gently, till dal turns golden and chilies and spices are fragrant. Mix in coconut and grin to a smooth paste, gradually adding 1/4 cup water.
- Place amaranth and tomato in a frying pan with 1/4 cup water. Cover pan, place over low heat and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes till vegetables are tender.
- Blend in cooked dal, salt and paste. Add more water if it's too thick, simmer uncovered over low heat for 5 to 7 minutes until well blended.
- Heat ghee for tempering in a small pan over moderate heat. Add remaining ingredients for tempering in the order given. When mustard seeds splutter, stir contents of pan into dal. Serve hot with plain rice.
never seen aramanth leaves (though I see the flour more than the leaves on blogs because it is used by gf bloggers) - does it taste much different to spinach?
ReplyDeleteJust had to come and check out your blog because didn't recognise the name - no more yogi kitchen then?
Super comforting curry..
ReplyDeleteDelicious I love this combo very much.
ReplyDeleteHi Johanna - yes the amaranth leaves are slightly tougher than spinach and tastes a bit 'greener'. That's how they were when cooked down, we're also going to do an amaranth leaf curd salad soon so will post about that too. We're thinking of separating the blogs for yoga and for food with the aim of doing some cooking classes in London. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteHi Priya - it is very comforting!
Hi Swatchi, yes it's a great combo indeed.
does that mean holding cooking classes - I think that veg classes would be very welcome - there aren't a lot around Melbourne but a fellow blogger has started vegan cooking classes and seems pleased at the response
ReplyDeleteHi Johanna - it's our aim and i'd say dream to share simple food preparing techniques to help people be able to eat better, especially at lunch, a sandwich isn't enough to keep me going for the afternoon anyway. BTW we've had the amaranth now a couple more times and I'd have to say it tastes a little sour or bitter, but in a good way which I really like. I'm going to miss it when we leave, and especially here it is only a few cents!
ReplyDelete