I originally wanted to do this recipe in Season 1 of ROCK STAR RECIPES (which you can watch on Amazon Prime Video as well as Roku right now btw! ) but only got around to trying this out today! So here you go!
Let's face it, Kale tastes awful. If you have Kale in your house it is because you are trying to be healthy. Nobody eats this nonsense because they like it. In fact, for me it is right up there with swordfish. We have a saying for swordfish that I can't say here (hint: the first word starts with an "F") and Kale is pretty close to achieving that status. If you really want to piss me off, invite me to your house and serve Swordfish on a bed of kale. You may as well serve a 2x4 on green construction paper.
Anyway, I think I fixed this abomination of nature. LOL ok I know I am hard on kale, the reason it is even in anyone's kitchen is because it is ridiculously good for you. Therefore I suppose it is a "gift" of nature?? Nature could have at least made it taste a LITTLE more like Doritos than green plastic though. SO HERE IS THE FIX!
EXPLODED KALE LENTILS with AIR FRIED KALE CHIPS!
You'll need:
2 cups of Masoor Dal (Split Red Lentils)
Any amount of kale you want to get rid of
3 cloves of Garlic
A generous amount of Olive Oil
1 tbsp of salt
4 cups of water
First, chop of the kale to as small of "bites" as you can. The smaller the better. Set aside the stems and "ribs." Then in a rice cooker or pressure cooker throw in your red lentils. I know red lentils can get expensive, especially if you shop at Whole Foods or Central Market, so if you want something cheaper you can try the brown lentils at Walmart. They work just as well, and they're simply just called "Lentils" lol. No distinction, they come in a little square plastic bag.
Now add your chopped up kale and lentils into the pot. Chop or slice up your garlic and toss that in there too. Then, add 4 cups of water OR you can use my Grandmother's trick and just fill up water so the level is between the first and second lines of your finger. If you like your lentils "locho" (meaning a but more loose) then go up to the second line.
Next, this is where I add in my salt. Some say to not add salt to lentils before cooking, I've noticed it makes no difference whatsoever. So you can add it in now, or mix it in after it's cooked - your choice. Then pressure cook for 10 minutes OR with a rice cooker, hit the button.
While all that is going on, toss your leftover kale stems and ribs in olive oil. you can salt and spice these if you like as well and load them in an air fryer 425 degrees for 7 minutes.
DONE! These are called exploded lentils because they should have a refried beans consistency, like they exploded! And the kale chips make a nice side to crunch along while eating them. If you like you can also mix in shredded cheese and Anand Bhatt Killer Garlic Pepper Hot Sauce to even further mask the kale-ness.
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