Swiss Chard Thoran & Tandoori Rolls

It's always exciting & healthy to cook different greens, besides spinach. There was once a time when I would stick to just spinach or methi leaves but now I have recipes that my family loves that involve kale, swiss chard, bok choy, gongura, beet greens etc.

Red Swiss Chard can be made into a kootu but this thoran works so perfectly and it results in a flavourful, tender curry that is great with some rice, rasam/yogurt. I used this fabulous recipe with just a few modifications and we love it at home.

RED SWISS CHARD THORAN

Ingredients:

Red Swiss Chard - 1 bunch
Coconut - 1/3 cup, shredded (fresh or frozen)
Onion - half of a small one or 2 shallots, chopped
Garlic - 2 to 3 cloves, chopped
Green Chillies - 2, minced finely
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - quarter tsp
Split Urad dhal - quarter tsp
Cumin seeds - quarter tsp
Salt - to taste

Method: 1) Rinse swiss chard leaves and chop them (including the stalks). 

2) Heat oil in a pan and season with mustard seeds, urad dhal and cumin seeds.
3) Once the mustard splutters, add the chopped onion, garlic and green chillies and saute for a few minutes.
4) Next add the chopped swiss chard... it may seem like a lot, but it will cook down considerably... saute for a few minutes with a touch of salt.  With greens, I've found that it can quickly become too salty, so it's always good to start with less and add more if needed.
5) After a few minutes when the swiss chard looks wilted, add the grated coconut, reduce flame to medium low, cover and allow to cook for a few minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary. Remove from stove and serve.

TANDOORI ROLLS

I also wanted to share this idea for a very tasty roll that I made a few days ago... I made this tandoori marinade with some hung yogurt and marinated cubes of paneer and baby bella mushrooms for about 3 to 4 hours (refrigerated).  I then pan fried them separately for a few minutes.  Next, I sauteed some sliced onions and bell peppers with some oil, salt and chilli powder. For a dressing I blended together some mint leaves, coriander leaves, cumin and g. chillies with some yogurt. You can use chapathi for the rolls or use storebough wraps (there are some good multigrain ones with a good amount of fiber).... Add few cubes of paneer, mushroom, onion, bell pepper, few cubes of pineapple, some grated carrot and drizzle some of the mint-coriander dressing, roll up and enjoy.