Lentils with Spinach and Edamame

(We cleaned up the serving dish even before I could take a picture...:))
This is a high protein, high fiber,overall a really healthy dish. A good one for vegetarians(like me!) especially, since we try so hard to make sure we get enough protein into our daily meals. Plus it's so flavorful you'll want to eat more than one serving of this and you could too, with no guilt whatsoever :)

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients: Lentils(raw - 1 cup), Spinach( 1 bunch or about 3 cups - washed and drained), Edamame (fresh or frozen- 1 cup), serrano pepper(1 - sliced), Salt to taste, Red chilli powder(2 tsp), Turmeric (a couple of pinches)

Ingredients for Tempering: Olive oil(2 tsp), Mustard seeds (1tsp), Cumin seeds(2 tsp), Black gram dhal(2 tsp),dried red chillies(2- whole), asafoetida(a small pinch)

Cook away..

>Cook the lentils on stove top with about 3/4 the usual quantity of water (typically it's 2 parts of water, but for this dish you want the lentils not cooked to a paste. You still want them cooked but you want to see each grain separate. I usually start by adding 1 cup of water to 1 cup of raw lentils and add any extra water as needed while it's cooking)

> Add a little bit of salt (half a tsp or so) while cooking the lentils

>Roughly chop the spinach

>If you are using frozen edamame, thaw them in the microwave for a couple of minutes

>Heat a pan on medium high and add the olive oil and the ingredients for tempering

>Once the mustard seeds start spluttering, add the serrano peppers, spinach and the edamame and stir

>Add salt, turmeric and red chilli powder and cook until the spinach wilts down

>Once the lentils are cooked (like in step 1), add the spinach and edamame mixture to it and let them all cook for a minute or two on low heat

> Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with rice or chapathis!

My Thoughts..

>I've made this in the past with spinach and some frozen shredded coconut. Tastes awesome..

>You can substitute the spinach with pretty much any green leafy vegetable (Kale, Methi leaves)

>Great way to get those leafy greens into your diet!

Try this...am sure you'll make it again and again...