A fancy way of making Collard Green…
As the weekend comes to an end I feel sheer pain. I always wish if I could freeze the weekend and enjoy it till I get bored of it. However, as the week rolls in I slowly gear up and soon will be seen relishing every bit of it. Last weekend was quite a rewarding one for me. I had spent a lot of time in my kitchen trying different dishes that I had never tried before. I had bought a few types of leafy vegetables during my last grocery shopping and have been trying many dishes with it. One of the best ways to include greens in our diet is by adding them to almost all dishes, with chicken and other meat. So that you get the bite of your favorite meat and the nutrients from the leafy vegetables as well.
Collard Greens was one such vegetable I picked up from the veggie aisle. Collard greens are a staple vegetable of Southern US cuisine. It is believed that eating collard green on New year’s day along with black eyed peas and corn bread will bring wealth in the coming year, as the leaves resemble folding money. Quite interesting, huh? Not just wealth, after reading about the health benefits of it, I can assure you that if we include this leaf in our diet often it will bring wellness too.
After making Collard Green Scrambled Eggs for breakfast on Saturday, I wanted to make something different with it for dinner. I googled for some recipe ideas and my search ended when I found a recipe where it was made as a roll, with a stuffing inside it.
I made my own kind of stuffing with chicken, placed it on the poached collard green and rolled it. Baked it for a few minutes after topping it with salsa and parmesan cheese. When I served it for dinner, it looked real fancy and very appealing to the eyes. As I started tasting it, I was sure that I will be making this dish quite often. It was incredibly yummy, the best part was I didn’t feel like I am actually eating a leaf, the stuffing and the topping enhanced the taste of it greatly.
Tomato Chicken stuffed Collard Greens
Ingredients:
- Collard Greens, washed well- 6 leaves
For making Tomato Chicken:
- Chicken breasts, boneless and diced- 2 breasts
- Oil- 3 tbsp
For marination:
- Chili powder- 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder- 2 pinches
- Coriander powder- 1 tsp
- Cumin powder- 1/4 tsp
- Garam Masala- 1/2 tsp
- Ground pepper- 1/2 tsp
- Ginger- Garlic paste- 1 tsp
- Lemon juice- 1 tbsp
- Curry leaves- 1 sprig
- Salt- to taste
For making tomato chicken:
- Oil- 1 tbsp
- Onion, cut thin long- 3
- Ginger- Garlic paste- 1tsp
- Tomato chopped- 2
- Tomato paste- 4 tbsp
- Cilantro, chopped- 1 handful
- Salt- to taste
Other ingredients:
- Salsa- 2 tbsp/ roll
- Grated Parmesan cheese- 1 tbsp/roll
Instruction
- Wash the collard greens thoroughly under running water, chop off the long stem and keep aside.
- Marinate the chicken along with the above mentioned ingredients for marination, keep aside for 5 minutes.
- Place a large pan over medium heat, put the marinated chicken into the pan.
- Cover the pan and let the chicken cook well.
- When the water has dried up, add 3 tbsp oil to the cooked chicken and stir fry till it gets fried.
- Remove the fried chicken from the pan and keep aside.
- In the same pan, add 1 tbsp oil along with the onion and salt.
- Let the onion turn tender, add ginger-garlic paste and saute for a minute.
- Add the tomatoes and let it cook well.
- Add the tomato paste and combine everything well, cook for a few minutes.
- Now, add the fried chicken to the above mixture and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Finish it off with chopped cilantro.
- Remove from the flame and let cool down.
How to poach the Collard Greens:
- Heat a large pan filled with water, let the water come to a boil.
- Dip the collard greens in the hot water, one at a time.
- Let it poach in the water for 3 minutes, the leaf will turn to dark green in color.
- Take the leaf out of the water and place it on a cutting board.
- Place a large spoonful of prepared tomato chicken on one side of the poached collard green.
- Tuck the sides in while rolling the leaf, keep aside.
Baking the Stuffed collard greens:
- Top each of the stuffed collard greens with salsa and sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on it.
- Pre heat the oven to 350 F.
- Place the stuffed collard greens on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, greased with little oil.
- Bake it for 8 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and serve it on a plate.
Tips:
- Vegetarian version: You could make the stuffing with cauliflower or potato.
- Collard Greens, washed well- 6 leaves
- Chicken breasts, boneless and diced- 2 breasts
- Oil- 3 tbsp
- Chili powder- 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder- 2 pinches
- Coriander powder- 1 tsp
- Cumin powder- ¼ tsp
- Garam Masala- ½ tsp
- Ground pepper- ½ tsp
- Ginger- Garlic paste- 1 tsp
- Lemon juice- 1 tbsp
- Curry leaves- 1 sprig
- Salt- to taste
- Oil- 1 tbsp
- Onion, cut thin long- 3
- Ginger- Garlic paste- 1tsp
- Tomato chopped- 2
- Tomato paste- 4 tbsp
- Cilantro, chopped- 1 handful
- Salt- to taste
- Salsa- 2 tbsp/ roll
- Grated Parmesan cheese- 1 tbsp/roll
- Wash the collard greens thoroughly under running water, chop off the long stem and keep aside.
- Marinate the chicken along with the above mentioned ingredients for marination, keep aside for 5 minutes.
- Place a large pan over medium heat, put the marinated chicken into the pan.
- Cover the pan and let the chicken cook well.
- When the water has dried up, add 3 tbsp oil to the cooked chicken and stir fry till it gets fried.
- Remove the fried chicken from the pan and keep aside.
- In the same pan, add 1 tbsp oil along with the onion and salt.
- Let the onion turn tender, add ginger-garlic paste and saute for a minute.
- Add the tomatoes and let it cook well.
- Add the tomato paste and combine everything well, cook for a few minutes.
- Now, add the fried chicken to the above mixture and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Finish it off with chopped cilantro.
- Remove from the flame and let cool down.
- Heat a large pan filled with water, let the water come to a boil.
- Dip the collard greens in the hot water, one at a time.
- Let it poach in the water for 3 minutes, the leaf will turn to dark green in color.
- Take the leaf out of the water and place it on a cutting board.
- Place a large spoonful of prepared tomato chicken on one side of the poached collard green.
- Tuck the sides in while rolling the leaf, keep aside.
- Top each of the stuffed collard greens with salsa and sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on it.
- Pre heat the oven to 350 F.
- Place the stuffed collard greens on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, greased with little oil.
- Bake it for 8 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and serve it on a plate.
