Channa Dal with Swiss Chard

Adapted from The Gourmet Perscription for Low-Carb Cooking by Deborah Chud. A friend passed the book onto me and while most of the recipes didn't grab me, this recipe tempted me because I had most of the ingredients available. Plus it was easy, lol.

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 cup channa dal (yellow split peas)
1 15 oz can diced canned tomatoes
2 to 2 1/2 cups of water
1 bunch of Swiss chard (I use a huge bunch, about 1 1/2 pounds)
Dash of salt and pepper

Directions
1. Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet or stockpot.
2. Add the onion and saute for 3-4 minutes until golden brown.
3. Add the spices and saute for another minute.
4. Add the channa dal and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
5. While the stew is simmering, wash the Swiss chard. Chop the stems into 1/2 inch pieces and the leaves into 2 inch pieces.
6. After the stew has simmered for 30 minutes, add the can of tomatoes. Simmer for another 15 minutes or so, covered. The peas should be soft and start to break down. If necessary, add some more water.
7. Add the Swiss chard stems and simmer for 5 minutes, covered.
8. Add the Swiss chard leaves, stirring them into the stew. They cook very quickly, just a couple of minutes (or less!).
9. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I've served this as a main dish and as a side dish. Also, I have brought it to work for lunch and it reheats great in the microwave.

Although I've always made this with Swiss chard, I bet you could use other greens like kale or turnip tops.

Swiss chard

There was a request for swiss chard recipes and I was planning on posting one for Angie's Tasty Tuesdays, but I misplaced the recipe, sorry. So instead, I'll just tell you how we've been cooking it at home.

We always separate the stems and leaves since the stems take longer to cook. Sometimes we just stir fry them with lots of garlic (start with the stems, then add the leaves).
The last time I make chicken soup, I chopped the stems like I would celery and added it to the soup. A fried up the leaves with a bit of oil and lots of garlic. We were going to have it as a side dish, but ended up adding it as a topping to the soup. Oh, so yummy!
Since I have a million cookbooks (I love cookbooks), I'll have to look up some recipes later.

Here's A's mom's version. Very tasty, but not too healthy.

Ingredients
Swiss chard (we've always used the white stemmed version)
egg
bread crumbs (I like Panko flakes, A likes Italian seasoned bread crumbs)
oil

Directions
1. Separate leaves from stems.
2. Parboil stems.
3. Dip stems into egg, then bread crumbs.
4. Pan fry in oil till golden brown.
5. Cook leaves as you would any leafy vegetable (we usually stir fry). A's mom would cook the leaves with tomatoes, kinda like stewing them.