Healthy Kale Chips

The Journey

My son has always been a spinach lover and we fondly remember the pre school teacher's stories of how he ate all the spinach at the table. So we were very happy he naturally liked spinach.  With his natural affinity to spinach, I assumed getting kale into his diet profile would be a breeze. Now, I would be amiss if I did not mention how resistant he is to variations of something he loves. He is the type of person who will say to you "Leave well alone..don't improvise or change anything." So kale did not make the cut for the new and improved spinach at the table. Kale is a nutritional powerhouse and I had to find a way to get him to enjoy this. I also found out that the best way to get my son to try anything new is to grow it and make him harvest it - somehow being part of the process lowers the resistance. So we started growing Kale each year and I am constantly struck by how hardy this vegetable is (grows in spite of me.. ;) )and the ROI is simply stunning. $3 of kale sapling at spring gives me well over $50 worth of kale in the growing season between spring until frost. It is such a giving plant! If you don't grow your kale(please consider doing so) give this recipe a try with store bought kale. You will find all kinds of kale in the salad isle these days. There are many many tasty recipes that use this wonder vegetable, this one is my family's favorite. It is hard to believe how easy the recipe is and how much of a crowd pleaser it is when served as an appetizer. Replace potato chips in your sandwich for kale chips for a healthier crunchy twist. You can always add your own spices and make this personal..adding your own twist. Once you start, you just can't stop..

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 big bunch of kale - well washed and towel dried and torn into 2-3 inch pieces. If you are buying from the salad isle, use one 10oz bag of torn kale. 

1 tsp of fresh cracked pepper

1/4 tsp Sea salt or Himalayan salt to taste

1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese (not the green box please)

1/4 tsp Nutmeg

3 table spoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4-cup pine nuts - lightly toasted

Now, let's get cooking..

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F.

Wash and towel dry the kale. It is really important at this time for the kale to be dry. Wet kale does not work for this recipe and will steam in the oven rather than crisp.Tear the kale into 2-3 inch pieces. You want to be able to hold the chips after all! 

Toss the kale into a bowl and mix in olive oil, pepper and nutmeg (my twist). I love nutmeg in my spinach. Go ahead; give the kale a massage with your clean hands...give them a Spa treatment :)

Pour your utterly relaxed kale onto a non-stick or lightly oiled cookie sheet - no clumping, no over crowding. Each of the kale leaves need exposure to the oven heat so they turn into chips. Since this hardly takes time, make multiple batches if needed.

Bake for 15-20 minutes on the top rack until you see the edges slightly brown or turn to a very dark, almost brownish green. Oven temperatures, the kind of cookie sheet you use can change the equation slightly..If you can take a peek at 15 mins you'll know. The time needed to bake greatly depends on the thickness of the kale leaves. Mature kale leaves might need the full 20 mins while baby kale probably only needs 15 mins. Keeping an eye on the color of the kale and a ear out for the crackling sound from the oven is not a bad idea.

Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and toss the Himalayan pink salt. 

While this is baking, toast the pine nuts in a sauté pan for 60 seconds, moving the pan after 30 seconds to get an even toast. No oil needed. 

Toast pine nuts in medium heat

Start of the toasting process

45 seconds later

60 seconds later

Voila! Toasted pine nuts..

Shave the Parmesan cheese on top and add toasted pine nuts before you serve. There are few things that make my daughter give me a blissful smile - one such thing is the moment when freshly grated parmesan makes a soft landing on the food she is about to eat! It is an absolute delight to eat this and watch that smile!

The good in this recipe..

Kale is low in calories, good source of vitamins A, C and K, high in fiber, loaded with antioxidants and has zero fat. Per calorie, kale has more iron than beef. Kale has great cardiovascular benefits due to its ability to lower cholesterol levels. It is a good anti-inflammatory and a great way to detox your system.  Virtually fuss free, inexpensive addition to the garden with the longest yield and best ROI. The homegrown kale is also usually tenderer than the store bought kale.  A true wonder for your body and can be for your wallet too if you grow your own. I am amazed I can summarize the good in 1 paragraph..it really is too good to fit in one page.

Pine nuts are a powerhouse of vitamins, minerals and other compounds. It is not widely known that pine nuts can actively suppress feelings of hunger since they contain a hormone called cholecystokinin (CCK). To complement this, pine nuts are also a good source of dietary fiber, which gives a feeling of fullness after eating. A single serving of the nuts can provide around 20% of the recommended daily amount of fiber. They are also rich in Vitamin K and provide 1/3 of the protein in a day (great if you are a vegetarian looking to up the protein). It is also chock full of minerals such as magnesium (1 serving has 85% of dv) and manganese (1 serving has 600% of the dv). Both these minerals are very useful in metabolizing fat and blood sugar. Although pine nuts have a host of benefits, it is worth pointing out that they are fairly high in saturated fat and calories, containing around 30% and 45% of the recommended daily amount of each respectively. Like my mom says...."everything in moderation is good for you". 

Himalayan pink salt is the purest naturally available source of salt available in the market today. Himalayan Pink Salt was originally formed from marine fossil deposits over 250 million years ago during the Jurassic era.  Harvested from ancient sea beds, this rare and extraordinary salt has been a valuable commodity for centuries. This salt naturally contains iodine without the artificial process of adding Iodine to your salt.  It also contains over 84 minerals and trace elements. Lot better than your standard NaCl(Sodium Chloride). At the end of the day, salt is salt :) use in moderation. 

Green Beans with Lentil Crumbles - Paruppu Usli

The Journey

If you ever attended a South Indian (particularly a TamBram) wedding or special occasion, chances are that paruppu usli (lentil crumbles) with a vegetable such as green beans or banana flowers or cabbage  is on the menu. The appearance of this vegetable on a banana leaf plate is something I love. For many years, in my parent's home, this was one vegetable curry that was always reserved for special occasions. Another very popular South Indian recipe is a buttermilk stew called Mor Kozhambu  (recipe coming soon) and this Paruppu Usli is a match made in heaven with Mor Kozhambu. My sister in law makes a wonderful variation with broccoli instead of the green beans in this recipe. About 15 years ago, when I first attempted to make this recipe, I was daunted by the thought of making it because it was always deemed complicated and made by experienced cooks like my mom and mother in law. My mother in law gave me some tricks to really cut back on the multiple steps involved in cooking the lentil crumbles.  Armed with her technique, a non stick sauté pan and a good food processor, I mustered the confidence to prepare this dish. Then once I was done, it tasted amazing and my friends absolutely loved it. I also realized making paruppu usli was really simple..it dawned on me that it was my fear that daunted me... I fondly remembered Gandhi who said this.."Fear has its phantoms more fearsome than reality itself"..so true and applicable for all situations in life including my journey to make this highly nutritious recipe. So try this recipe and double your protein, your kids will love it too!

The ingredients (serves 6 - 8)

For the lentil crumbles

1 cup red gram dhal or Toor dhal or tuvaram paruppu
4-5 red chillies

For the vegetable

1/2 pound diced fresh green beans. Frozen is OK, but I usually do not find them diced. Diced looks nicer and seamlessly blends with the lentil crumbles, but there is no kitchen police to stop a shredded green bean paruppu usli. 

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp turmeric

For the tempering or tadka

2 tablespoons oil - canola or grape seed or something very neutral 
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp bengal gram lentils or Chana dhal or Kadala paruppu
1 tsp black gram lentils or Urad Dhal or Uluttham paruppu
2 dried red chillies halved
1 stem full of curry leaves

Now let's get cooking..

Soak the ingredients for the lentil Crumbles or Paruppu Usli - the red gram lentil and the dried red chillies in a bowl with water for 1 hour. 

Drain well and grind by pulsing in a food processor with 1/4 tsp of salt. Do not add any water. This is where a food processor really helps since you can easily pulse without water. You are looking for a coarse but well ground mixture. The base for your lentil crumbles or paruppu usli is ready.

Tadka or tempering steps (yes the order is important) 

Heat the sauté pan (non stick will make your life easy) on medium heat for the tadka or seasoning. Now, add the oil. Give it a few seconds on medium heat till you see mini bubbles forming along the circumference of the pan. 

  

Add the mustard seeds. Once they crackle and mess up your counter top (just kidding), add the chana dhal and the urad dhal. 

Once that is slightly browned, add the asafetida, red chillies and finally the curry leaves. When you add the curry leaves, step back a little since it will splutter and you don't want oil splatters on your manicured (yeah right!) hands.

Add the base for the lentil crumbles to this tempered mixture.
 

Stir and spread the lentil base to coat the sauté pan.


It is important to keep sautéing  every minute during the cooking process. It is also a good idea to keep the heat on medium during the cooking process. 

After 5-7 mins, the lentil base will be fully cooked and you can start to crumble this with a wooden spatula.
 

Once the lentil base is golden brown, crispy and fully crumbled,your paruppu usli is ready for the vegetable.

Traditional recipes call for steaming the base and then crumbling with hand in order to avoid too much oil. This is where having a non stick helps as it allows you to skip the steaming process and still use very little oil. This is a trick I learnt from my mother in law. 

Add the diced beans to a microwave safe dish with turmeric and sprinkle a little water. Then microwave on high for 4-5 mins. That's all it takes for steaming green beans if you have a microwave. If you are anti microwave or don't have one, you can steam the green beans in a traditional steamer on the stove top. You can definitely do this during the preparation of the lentil crumbles. It is important that the water is well drained. 

Add the cooked green beans to the crumbles.

Sauté this mixture for 2-3 minutes.

Yummy, nutritious Green Beans with Lentil Crumbles - Paruppu Usli is ready! Enjoy this with Rice or quinoa! 

The good in this recipe

Green Beans are rich in Carotenoid and Flavanoids which have known benefits such as their anti inflammatory properties and their cardiovascular benefits. The nutritional array of benefits with eating green beans make this an absolute must in the regular diet, particularly for children. They are rich in Vitamins A, C and K. It is no wonder touted as one of the healthiest vegetables. Canned beans lose about 1/3 of the nutrition in the canning process and so fresh beans are best. Now supermarkets sell trimmed,  fresh beans in bags making it very simple to use them.

Black Gram Lentils, in addition to the protein, also help with increased energy and iron levels. They are rich in fiber that naturally aids digestion. The rich magnesium and folate levels in the black grams also help boost cardiovascular strength. 

Red Gram Lentils are a rich source of protein. The biological value improves greatly, when rice is combined with Red gram because of the complementary relationship of the essential amino acids. No wonder dhal chawal is so famous in India!  It is particularly rich in lysine, riboflavin, thiamine, niacin and iron.

Bengal Gram Lentils are also a rich source of protein and have a super low glycemic index. This makes it a great lentil if you are worried about blood sugar spikes after a meal. They are low in fat (most of that is poly unsaturated) and some recent studies show that they help lower cholesterol in the blood stream. They are also a good source of zinc, folate and phosphorous. 

Asafetida is used to stimulate appetite and digestion. It helps neutralize flatulence caused by beans and other legumes. Though there is very little published research in the West about asafetida, it has been used as a digestive aid, an anti-inflammatory herb and a bone builder for centuries in Indian and Iranian cooking. It also has been shown to contain natural blood thinners and reduce blood pressure. Certain strict vegetarian diets of India forbid the use of onions and garlic (like Tam Brams), and asafetida is used in their place for its distinct aroma.

Curry leaf is an essential ingredient in Indian cooking especially in South India. However, it's customary for most of us to simply remove and throw the leaf from our food and not consume it. Well, we shouldn't be doing that! Curry leaf has many medicinal properties. It stimulates digestive enzymes and helps break down food more easily, especially when combined with asafetida. There is research that proves that when consumed regularly help with healthy hair growth, premature graying of hair and prevents hair fall. Curry leaves are also highly regarded for the fact that they have high quantities of iron, phosphorous, vitamin C and nicotinic present. Curry leaves are a good source of vitamin A and it is one of the most important components for maintaining good eyesight. Studies on curry leaves have shown that they can help in controlling the blood glucose levels. Years ago, thanks to a gift from my sister in law in Chicago, I started growing this at home. It is so much more aromatic and flavorful than the store bought or dried kinds.

My Curry leaf plant at home