Besan-Kale Curry (Kale Zunka)

This is a very simple, quick, and healthy side dish. Kale (केल) is a popular vegetable and a member of the cabbage family. It is also a superfood with lots of health benefits. I always use it in my cooking to create new recipes. It is a good source of calcium, iron, Vitamins A, C, K, and omega 3 fatty acids. Gram flour (besan/chickpea flour) is a good source of protein. The non-gravy curries made from besan are known as ZUNKA, which is very popular in Maharashtra (India).

Ingredients:

• ½ cup besan
• 4 cups chopped kale leaves
• Salt
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• ¼ tsp Hing (Asafoetida)
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp dried mango powder (Amchur)
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 3-4 garlic cloves- cut into small pieces
• 2 tbs oil

Method:

• Take a cooking pot and add oil to it.
• Heat the oil and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Let them crackle.
• Add hing powder and garlic pieces. Let them cook.
• Add chopped kale leaves to the pot. It is helpful if you wash it before adding it to the pot. Moisture helps with cooking the leaves well. If it is prewashed, you can sprinkle some water over it.
• Mix well so all leaves get covered with oil. Lower the flame and cover the lid.
• Take besan flour in a bowl. Add chili powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, salt, and amchur powder and mix well.
• Once the kale leaves start becoming soft and cooked, sprinkle the above mixture. DO NOT MIX IT. Cover the lid and let the steam deposit on the undersurface of the lid in the form of droplets. Once enough moisture gets collected, open the lid and transfer that moisture to curry. Then slowly mix it. By doing this, you can have lumps of besan which gives a very nice texture to this curry. You can repeat the step twice or thrice and the zunka is ready.

• Serve it with hot rice and ghee (clarified butter) or rice and curd (plain yogurt) or as a side dish while eating.

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