Quinoa Lentil Swiss Chard Soup

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When it comes to super foods, quinoa is most definitely a winner, at least  in my book.  Quinoa is full of nutrition, is a great source of protein and is so versatile that it works in a variety of recipes. So far I have  tried it in everything from dosas to khichdis , pulao and even payasam/ kheer. Recently for the first time I also tried quinoa in a soup for a weeknight dinner.  It worked out so well that I have already made this a couple more times already.

This soup is filling enough to be a one dish meal, just pair it with some crusty bread and you can have a complete meal. It can also easily double up as a curry and served over a bed of plain steamed rice or with some flat bread or phulkas / rotis.

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Ingredients and method to make Quinoa Lentil Swiss Chard soup

1/2 cup mung beans ( whole moong)

1/2 cup split red lentils ( masoor dhal)

2 packed cups red Swiss chard cut into small pieces

1/4 cup quinoa thoroughly rinsed and drained

1 red onion cut fine

2 medium tomatoes cut into small pieces

3 Thai or Indian variety green chilies cut fine ( or to taste)

2 Tbsp oil ( I used coconut )

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

Salt to taste

3/4 tsp garam masala ( or to taste) 

to know how to make your own garam masala check out this post

1/4 tsp chili powder (optional, or to taste)

1/2 cup coconut milk

Place mung beans in a bowl,fill with water, swirl with hand and drain. Fill with fresh water and soak mung beans in sufficient water for at least 3 hours. 

 Similarly place split red lentil/masoor dhal in a bowl, fill with water, swirl with hand and drain. Fill with fresh water and soak for 15 to 30 mins. 

Rinse quinoa thoroughly in cold water and drain. I usually place quinoa in a strainer and rinse under cold running water for about a minute or so.Prep all the other veggies. Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan. Add onion and sauté until it turns translucent. Add green chilies and ginger garlic paste and stir a few times. 

Add tomatoes and stir until it turns soft and mushy. Drain mung beans and add to the onion tomato mixture . Add a little water and allow it to cook until it softens a little.  After the mung softens just a little, add drained red lentils and quinoa. Add  Add 3 cups of water, salt to taste, garam masala and chili powder if using and simmer until the lentils and quinoa cook. Add swiss chard and simmer for a few more minutes, until the chard softens and cooks and the flavors of the soup mingle. 

Add coconut milk and mix well. Remove from heat and serve hot with bread of choice. 

This soup is versatile enough and can be served as either a curry with phulkas/ rotis/ Indian flat bread or as a dhal over a bed of plain steamed rice as well. 

If you are looking for quinoa recipes here are a few more,

Quinoa Khichdi ~ Peanut flavored quinoa

Quinoa mung dosai ~ Savory crepes

Lemon Vegetable Quinoa

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Vegan Swiss Chard with Red Kidney Bean curry

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Simple curries that combine some type of green with some kind of lentils or beans are my favorite kind for a simple meal. Not only do these curries combine the goodness of the veggies with the fiber and protein of the beans/lentils but also these tend to be quicker since I can skip making a separate dhal/ sambar or something similar to complete the meal. Just make some rice or some kind of Indian flat bread on the side and voila........a complete meal:)

This curry that I rustled up in under thirty minutes definitely falls under this category. It was something I came up with on an impulse with the ingredients I had in my veggie drawer and pantry. I used canned beans and red swiss chard and used some chick pea flour (besan) to give the curry a little touch of creaminess. We loved this curry and I plan to make it more often from now on. If a simple, nutritious curry is what you are craving, give this curry a try and tell me what you think :)



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Ingredients and Method to make Swiss chard with red kidney bean curry
1 bunch of red swiss chard rinsed and drained and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 15oz can of red kidney bean drained and rinsed
1 large red onion cut fine
3 Indian or Thai green chilies cut fine (or to taste)
1/2 inch piece of ginger minced
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste
1/2 tsp garam masala (or any other curry powder )
For the recipe of garam masala check out this link
1/4 tsp amchur powder (dried mango powder)
2 tbsp chick pea flour (besan/ kadalai maavu) + 1/4 cup water

Prep the vegetables and keep aside. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add onion and saute until the onions turn transparent. Add green chilies and minced ginger and stir a few times.

Add swiss chard, salt to taste and a little water and allow the swiss chard to cook until soft. Add drained kidney beans, garam masala, dried mango powder and a little more water if required and allow it to simmer for just another minute or two.

Finally add chick pea flour + water, adjust water if required to achieve required consistency to this curry and allow to simmer for a few minutes for the flavors to mingle.
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Serve hot with  plain steamed rice/pulao/jeera rice or any kind of Indian flat bread like phulkas/ rotis/ naan etc.

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Curried Red Swiss Chard and Chick Pea Soup and some quick Kitchen art :)

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First the kitchen art :)  I have a narrow wall in my kitchen that needed something to pretty it up a little. I had been searching for something appropriate but most of the art I came across, either did not fit the space or looked generic.  Last week I came across this idea and this idea for wall art that really appealed to me. Loved the simplicity of the idea and the use of silverware in the art pieces, made me think that it might a great fit for my kitchen space.

Since there is no way to know than to try it out,  I  did !! This is the first time I have seen an idea and tried it out within a week. Usually my home decor projects take much longer than that. Anyway it did not take too long to get the art work ready, it actually took longer to finalize on the frames and the fabric I would use. I decided not to spray paint the silverware and the frames, thought their original colors would work better for my space. Hung the frames as soon as I completed it and took pictures too, this is how it looks in my kitchen :) We definitely love it and every time I enter the kitchen now, my eyes are automatically drawn to that wall and I keep turning to look at it even while I am cooking :)

Moving on, I use red swiss chard frequently, mostly in curries, occasionally in this adai and sometimes in this roti. This time I decided to use it in a soup. I based my soup roughly on this recipe and tweaked it to bit by adding Indian spices and  finished it with some lemon juice for a hint of tartness.  The soup turned out well, the addition of lentils and chickpeas makes this very filling and it works well as a one dish meal with some bread on the side. We thoroughly enjoyed it and I am happy to have one more recipe that I can regularly make that uses red swiss chard :) Okay this has been one long post, so I am going to end it now. Enjoy your weekend everyone and I will see you all in this space next week :)

 

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Ingredients and Method to make Red Swiss chard and Chickpeas soup
1 cup dry chickpeas soaked for 6 to 8 hours in sufficient water with a pinch of soda (soda optional)
1 1/2 cup split red lentils (masoor dhal)
1 large bunch red swiss chard cut finely (remove tough stalks)
1 large red onion cut fine
2 Thai or Indian variety green chilies cut fine
1 to 2 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
1/2 tsp red chili powder (or to taste/ can be substituted with cayenne )
1 tsp garam masala (or  to taste/ can be substituted with any other curry powder)
 Water or Vegetable stock as needed ( I used approx 4 cups)
Juice of 2 small lemons ( or to taste)

Drain soaked chickpeas, fill with fresh water and cook either in the pressure cooker or stove top until soft.(I used the pressure cooker)

Rinse split red lentils and keep aside.

In a large heavy bottomed pan heat oil. When hot add onions and stir until the onions are transparent. Add green chilies and stir a couple of times. Add rinsed lentils and water/ stock and allow the lentils to simmer until it is half cooked.
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Add chopped red swiss chard, salt to taste, chili powder, garam masala, adjust water/ stock as required and let it simmer until the chard and lentils are both cooked. Add cooked chickpeas and simmer for a few minutes until the flavors mingle.

Remove from heat, add lemon juice and mix well.

Serve with bread of choice ( I served this with some jalapeno bread ) 

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Red Swiss Chard with Cabbage Curry and a little something for fun:-)

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First the fun part :-)  Here is a something one of my friends forwarded to me to try.....

While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.

 

Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand.

 

Your foot will change direction. And there's nothing you can do about it.

Have you ever tried this ? After I read the mail, I did and the results were truly hilarious. If you are in the mood for a good laugh, give this one a try......................:-)

Moving on, ever since I tried red swiss chard for the first time in this roti, red swiss chard appears frequently in my menu. Recently when I was planning to make a curry with it, I thought of combining it with some cabbage. I have never tried this combination before so I was not sure how it would work out, but I was fairly certain that the it would be a good combination. And it was :-)  It was a  perfect match with the phulkas that I served it with, but this curry is versatile enough to go with any Indian themed menu. The best thing, this curry is ready in very little time making it perfect for quick dinners on busy evenings....

 

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Ingredients and Method to make red swiss chard and cabbage curry
1 large onion cut fine
2 medium tomatoes cut fine

1 green bell pepper (capsicum/koda molagai) deseeded and cut into small pieces
4 heaped cups finely cut cabbage
3 packed cups finely cut red swiss chard leaves + stem

2 Tbsp oil
3/4 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
salt to taste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder ( or according to taste)

Assemble all the ingredients and keep them ready.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add cumin seeds to it. When the cumin seeds sizzle, add onions and saute until it turns transparent.

Add tomatoes and cook until it turns soft and mushy. Add turmeric powder and stir a couple of times.
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Add cabbage, green bell pepper and stir well. Place a lid on the heavy bottomed  pan and allow the vegetables to semi cook. When the vegetables are semi cooked, add red swiss chard and mix well.

Add salt to taste and red chili powder and stir well. Close with a lid and allow the vegetables to cook until soft..  This hardly takes any time, just a few minutes.

Remove from heat and serve hot with phulkas/ rotis or parathas. Or serve it as a side dish in any Indian themed meal.

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Barley Oat Adai~Dhal Dosa~Savory Indian crepes with Swiss chard

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 Adai, a type of spicy savory crepe from south Indian cuisine features frequently in our home, especially when my in laws are visiting because they like it very much too. On one such occasion when my mother in law and I were taking turns at making the traditional adai for the family and discussing different variations of adai,  she mentioned that sometimes muringai leaves (leaves from the drumstick plant ) are added to adai to give it a different flavor and texture. To read more about muringai or moringa leaves as it is called, read this wiki article.

This idea remained with me, but I never got a chance to try it since I have never seen these leaves here at my local grocers.  Actually I think I have never seen muringai/ moringa leaves anywhere, even in India, and have no idea how they taste. When I started using red swiss chard and found it so appealing, I wondered if I would be able to use that in place of muringai leaves in adai. Since there is no better way to find out than to try it, I did.....and loved the taste, texture and color these leaves added to the adai. The best thing is that it makes an already healthy adai, a little more healthier, and that makes this a winner in my book :-)

 

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Ingredients and Method to make Swiss chard barley oat adai (see notes)
Soak together for 2 to 3 hours
1 cup brown basmati rice (can be substituted with any type of white rice)
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup split or whole black gram lentil (udad dhal/ muzhu ulundhu or ulatham parappu)
1/3 cup split yellow chick pea lentil (chana dhal/ kadalai parappu)
1/2 cup split pigeon peas (tur dhal/ tuvaram parappu)
1/3 cup cracked wheat (dalia/ lapsi)
1/2 cup pearl barley

and grind this with
8 Thai or Indian variety green chilies (or to taste)
6 Dry red chilies (or to taste)

salt to taste
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder (hing/ perungayam)
Red swiss chard leaves + stem cut very very fine as required (see notes)

a little sesame oil to shallow fry the adai....

Soak the grains and lentils together in sufficient water for at least 2 to 3 hours.Grind in batches in a grinder/blender/mixer along with green chilies and red chilies, adding water as required to make a thick batter, not too watery or runny. When in doubt err on the side of thicker batter, which can later be corrected by adding more water.

The grains and lentils do not need to be ground very fine, when you touch it, if it feels like semolina (rava) it is done. Some people let the grains have an even more coarse texture, but I prefer mine to be ground until it reaches semolina consistency for a little more softer adai.

Add salt to taste and asafoetida powder and mix well. You can refrigerate this batter for a few days and use it as required. At the time of making adai, take out the batter and mix it well. Then remove the quantity you think you would use in a separate bowl and add finely cut red swiss chard leaves and stem to it and mix well. I added 1 cup packed leaves + stem for every 3 to 4 cups of batter that I used.

Heat a heavy tawa/ flat pan/ griddle , when hot pour a little batter on the center and quickly spread into an even circle. Pour a few drops of sesame oil around the circumference of the adai and a couple of drops on top of it. Allow it to cook until the lower side is evenly golden, then flip over and cook the other side until it has brownish spots on it.
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Remove and serve hot with molaga podi / chutney of choice / vellam(jaggery) /aviyal:-)

Yield will depend on the size and thickness of each adai.

Notes:
The reason I added the swiss chard leaves just before making the adai was because I did not want the leaves to lose their crunch, this way there was a slight crunch from the leaves and stems that added a little something extra to the adai :-)

In case you do not find all the ingredients for this adai, you can also make the batter like this more traditional adai, then add swiss chard and proceed as described above.

If you do not find red swiss chard in your area, but you get drumstick leaves (muringa elai ~ moringa leaves) then you can just wash and add those leaves to the batter and proceed as described above. You can read more about drumstick and drumstick leaves in this wiki article

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Red Swiss Chard In Lentil Coconut Gravy Curry ~ Kootu

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After using red swiss chard in this roti and loving it so much, my mind was racing with ideas of other dishes that I would like to try with chard. This time I decided to try chard in a kootu. Kootu refers to a south Indian curry that is made with a lentil coconut gravy and is served with plain steamed rice. Kootu ranks pretty high on my list of favored curries, simply because of its taste and the fact that it combines lentils and veggies in one dish and is a quick way to get a little of both.

I read somewhere that chard stems are edible too, so I decided to use it in this curry along with the leaves. I am so glad I did, the chard stems retained a very slight crunch even after cooking and added an interesting dimension and some color to the curry. This chard kootu turned out to be delicious and  has now moved to the top of my favorite curry list, I cannot wait to make it again. 




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Ingredients and Method to make Swiss Chard kootu
1 cup split pigeon peas (tur dhal/ tuvaram parappu) soaked in water for 30 minutes and cooked until soft
1/2 bunch of chard leaves + stem (yielded approximately 4 cups of cut leaves +stem) (see notes)
Salt to taste
1/2 cup fresh or frozen coconut (if frozen thaw to room temperature)
1 1/2 tsp split black gram lentil (udad dhal)
3 dry red chilies (or according to taste)
3/4 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/ jeeragam)
1/2 tsp oil

Seasoning
1 tsp oil (preferably coconut oil)
3/4 tsp mustard seeds (rai/kadagu)
1/8 tsp asafoetida powder (hing/ perungayam) (optional)
1 dry red chili broken into small pieces (optional or according to taste)

In 1/2 tsp of oil roast 1 1/2 tsp udad dhal until reddish and aromatic. Remove from heat, cool and grind along with coconut, cumin seeds and dry red chilies, adding water as required to form a smooth paste, keep it aside.

Cook the soaked pigeon peas (tur dhal) until soft and mushy. I used the microwave for it but it can be done in the pressure cooker or stove top.Mash the cooked lentils lightly adding a little water and keep aside.

If you have used the stove top or pressure cooker for cooking the lentils, then in a heavy bottomed pan, add cut chard leaves/ stem and a little water and allow it to cook. Once cooked, add the mashed lentils and the coconut paste, mix well. Add water as required to achieve required consistency, salt to taste and allow to simmer for a few minutes. (see notes)

Finally heat a little oil in a small pan, add mustard seeds to it. When the seeds begin to splutter add asafoetida powder and dry red chili and stir a couple of times. Pour the entire oil + seasoning mixture on the simmering lentil and chard and mix well.
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Remove from heat and serve hot with plain steamed rice or rotis/phulkas(Indian flat bread)

Notes
I cooked the lentils in the microwave, so once the lentils were cooked and mashed, I added the chard to it and placed it back in the microwave until the chard got cooked. Then I added the coconut paste and allowed to cook for a couple minutes more and finally proceeded to season it.

Cut the ends off the chard stem, then proceed to cut the stem and leaves into small pieces

Suggested Variation:
In a pinch if you do not have the black gram lentil, you can skip it entirely and grind just coconut, cumin and whole red chilies and proceed with the rest of the recipe. This subtly alters the taste, but this version of the curry tastes pretty good too :) 

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Swiss Chard Roti (Indian Flat Bread)

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Recently we took a road trip and the place we visited had among other things, this amazing, large kitchen garden. Obviously I could not resist walking through the garden and checking out the different fruits, vegetables and greens planted there. Everything looked so fresh, green and inviting. One thing that caught my eye and my interest was the Swiss chard.

It surprised me when I gave it some thought, that I had not used this interesting green in my cooking ever before. I decided to remedy that immediately, and after I returned one of the first things I did was to go and buy a bunch of chard to try. Chard belongs to the same family as beets and spinach and is said to have some amazing health benefits.  It is said to be an excellent source of  Magnesium, Potassium, Iron, fiber and Vitamins A, C and E.

I couldn't resist trying out chard in rotis first. In addition to some spices I also added some cilantro to the dough for additional flavor. We enjoyed this chard flavored roti a great deal and I am certain that chard is going to feature more prominently in my grocery list from now on :-)



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Ingredients and Method to make Swiss Chard roti
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups loosely packed cut swiss chard leaves (the chard I bought had red stalks)
1/4 cup loosely packed cut cilantro leaves (coriander leaves)

1/2 tsp Carom seeds (Ajwain/ Omam)
1/2 tsp garam masala (or any other curry powder) (or to taste)
salt to taste
1/2 tsp red chili powder or cayenne powder (or to taste)
1/2 tsp cumin powder
a few drops of oil/ ghee( clarified butter) (optional) (use oil for a vegan version)

In a large bowl add all the dry ingredients. Mix well. Add swiss chard leaves and cilantro and mix into the dry flour.

Add water as required,a little at a time and knead into a non sticky,  not too soft,  not too stiff dough ( I used almost 1 cup of water for this quantity of flour) Keep the dough covered and allow it to sit for about 30 mins to an hour.

The dough softens a little more in this time. Knead the dough gently one more time. Divide into equal lemon sized balls and with the help of a little flour roll out into as thin or thick a circle as required. Make sure to roll out the dough evenly.
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Heat a flat pan/ tawa/griddle. When hot, place rolled out dough on it and allow the roti to cook until the lower side gets light brown spots. Flip over and cook the other side, if you plan to use ghee/clarified butter or oil spread a little on the top and a few drops around the circumference of the roti.

Remove when the other side begins to get brown spots too and serve hot with curry of choice.

I served it with this mushroom peas curry

I made 12 rotis with this quantity of dough. But yield will depend on the size of each roti.

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