This is a simple, delicious Indian recipe I made the other night. My 19 month old son loved it so much he pointed to the leftovers the next day for BOTH breakfast and lunch!! That was enough to put a smile on my face for the rest of the day.
The original recipe calls for spinach but I used kale instead. Kale is the POWERHOUSE green that I try to incorporate it into our meals at least once a week. Other greens that would be great substitutes are Swiss chard or collard greens. You’ll probably want to stick with regular green Swiss chard as the rainbow chard may make the dish look too busy and, therefore, unappetizing.
I had it for lunch the next day, served cold on a bed of mixed greens with a little olive oil and sea salt. Be sure to include arugula in your mix. The bitter spice of the arugula really goes well with the Indian spices.
The potato and cauliflower dish is a great compliment. Easy and oh so good. I made sure I started boiling the potatoes and cauliflower before starting the turkey dish. That way, everything was done at the right time.
Ground Turkey with Kale and Spices
Serves 4 – 6
1 bunch organic Kale or 10 ounces fresh or frozen organic spinach
¼ cup olive oil
2-inch piece cinnamon stick
8 whole cloves
8 green cardamom pods
3 whole dried red chiles (I used only 2 and took them out before adding the kale)
2 bay leaves
1 medium onion, diced
2 inch piece of ginger, finely minced or grated
2 lbs ground turkey
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1 cup plain organic whole yogurt, whisked until smooth
½ tsp garam masala
- If using kale, rinse and destem kale. Put as many whole kale leaves as you can in a food processor, process until finely chopped. Continue adding more whole pieces until all is finely chopped.
(The original recipe has you boil the green, drain, and then puree in blender. Cooking Tip: By blending first, we are omitting a cooking step — that will save time — and keeping as many of the nutrients as possible in our final product. When you boil or steam, some of the nutrients and flavor seep out in the water – like when you make a vegetable stock. So rather than throwing that out when you boil and drain, we are allowing the kale to simmer in with the ground turkey mixture thus achieving the same wilting affect and not losing any of the good stuff.)
- Place a large sauce-pan or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the oil and then the cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom, red chiles and bay leaves. Sautee spices for 1 – 2 minutes, until the cinnamon stick uncurls.
- Add the onion and ginger. Sautee until the onion begins to brown, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
- Add the ground turkey and allow to brown, about 3 minutes.
- Now add the yogurt in slowly. Start with a few tablespoons and stir well. Continue adding a few tablespoons at a time until all of the yogurt is added. Stir well after each addition.
- Add the chopped kale. Stir in well.
- Add the sea salt and then simmer until the mixture reduces. Stir occasionally, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in garam masala, adjust salt to taste, and serve hot.
Adapted from Indian Home Cooking by Suvir Saran and Stephanie Lyness
top
Potato and Cauliflower Subji
3 medium organic potatoes, skin on, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 small head of cauliflower, cut into ½ inch pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ tsp yellow or black mustard seeds
1 ½ tsp cumin seeds
¼ tsp turmeric
1 pinch cayenne
3 tbsp cilantro leaves, chopped
¾ tsp sea salt
- Boil potato and cauliflower together, gently, until they are tender all the way through. Drain and cool.
- Heat a frying pan on medium. Add the oil, then the mustard and cumin seeds. When the seeds start to pop, add in the turmeric, cayenne, cilantro and sea salt.
- Add the potatoes and cauliflower. Stir carefully to make sure everything gets coated evenly, and cook for 2-3 minutes until heated through.
- Adjust salt, if necessary. Serve hot.