Lentils with arugula and other Indian vegetable dishes

One major problem I seem to have with Indian food is the lack of vegetables. Now, don't get me wrong, any Indian vegetarian will tell you there is a plethora of vegetable dishes in their cuisine ranging from dhaals full of protein to dishes like saag aloo, a gorgeous concoction of spinach and potatoes or cauliflower with peppers and peas. I'm aware that Indian food is perhaps one of the more vegetable - friendly thanks to the many vegetarians in India, what I'm talking about is your average meal at a restaurant if you're a carnivore like me.

 

A typical Indian meal for me would be a curry, perhaps a spicy tomato based dish or a creamy, yogurt and rose water affair, some rice flavoured with saffron, cardamom and cloves and a bread, maybe naan or perhaps paratha. Everything tastes fantastic, but you realise that yet again you haven't actually consumed any healthy vegetables. There may have been a few onions, garlic, ginger and perhaps some cilantro in the curry, tomatoes too and even some spinach if you order that particular type or even a few peas in the rice, but no actual vegetables presented on a plate in their own right. So, from this day forward, whenever I eat Indian food at a restaurant or cook it at home, I am going to make a concerted effort to order or make a vegetable dish also.

Just browsing through some of my cookbooks reveals the astonishing diversity of Indian dishes that seem to be largely ignored by myself and others I know.
 

Dishes with such mouthwatering and exciting names like Phul Gobi (cauliflower) with peppers, Gobi ki Foogath (spiced cabbage), Panir Mattar, (peas with Indian cheese) and Sprouting Mung Dhal, (which I've made - requiring mung beans to be soaked and start sprouting the day before). All of these I intend to make soon, including an entire meal of 2 or 3 vegetable dishes, complete with bread and rice, no meat or curry anywhere to be seen.

For now, I have highlighted several of the Indian themed vegetable dishes I have made in the past along with the most recent contribution, (and the inspiration for this post): green lentils with arugula. This came about through a need to eat more veg, but also to act as a refreshing side dish to the creamy, rich lamb korma I served with it. I improvised the usual recipe for saag aloo, which I've made many times, resulting in a fairly spicy, bitter and savoury dish.

Recipe : Lentils with Indian spices and arugula

1 tbsp oil or ghee
2 tsp butter
1/2 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 bell pepper, seeded and finely sliced
1 clove garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 green chili pepper, seeded and finely sliced
3 green cardamon pods
3 cloves
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 can of green lentils, drianed of all the liquid and refreshed with cold water several times
a handful of arugula
5 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 tsp salt (or more to taste)
juice of one lemon

Heat the oil or ghee and butter in a frying pan over medium heat and saute the onion, garlic, ginger, chili pepper, bell pepper, cardamoms and cloves until fragrant and slightly softened, (about 7 minutes), stirring frequently. 

Add the chili powder and turmeric and stir well, cook gently for 1 minute. 

Add the lentils, arugula, tomatoes and salt and stir well. Reduce the heat to low and let it all gently fry until the arugula is wilted, the tomatoes slightly softened and the lentils heated through. Squeeze over the lemon juice and serve.

Other Indian inspired vegetable dishes. (Click on image for recipe)

Indian pickled carrots

 Carrot salad

 Aloo saag

Cauliflower, orange & tomatoes

Curried vegetable pasties

 Pakoras

 Panir Mattar (with paneer)

Tarka dhal (red lentils)

Rice with nuts

Potatoes with tomato & yogurt