Sri Lankan Kale Mallung Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is mallum in English? ›

The word 'mallum' (or mallung) simply means 'mix' in Sri Lanka where this popular dish tends to be served alongside curries and rice (or rotis).

Instead, after you've washed the leaves, leave them damp. The water that clings to the leaves will create steam when you toss them in the hot skillet. As the kale cooks, you'll cover the skillet for a few minutes; that steam will help wilt and break down the kale perfectly.

Massaging Kale – massaging kale with a little oil and/or lemon juice for just a few minutes makes it more tender and easier to chew. Plus, it adds an extra boost of flavor.

In Sri Lanka, it is known as kola gova or ela gova. It is cultivated for edible use. A dish called 'kale mallung' is served almost everywhere on the island, along with rice.

Boiling reduces kale's bitterness and allows its natural sweetness to shine, so keep the seasoning light and fresh. Boiled kale is like a blank canvas for flavor, so it's great to add into other dishes, without overpowering other ingredients.

Kale is a nutritious food rich in antioxidants, vitamin C, vitamin K, and beta-carotene. It also contains nutrients that can support eye health, weight management, heart health, and more. Loaded with important micronutrients and antioxidants, kale is one of the most nutritious leafy greens available.

Kale can be good for adding fiber and antioxidants to the diet in many savory dishes, salads, and smoothies. Various health benefits include managing blood pressure and boosting digestive health. Kale is a leafy green cruciferous vegetable that is rich in nutrients.

Kale Don'ts

Don't boil kale, is releases more of the strong smelling sulfur compounds and makes the leaves slimy while damaging most of the nutrients. To preserve nutrients, don't cook kale for more than 10 minutes over high heat (in a skillet or oven at 400°F).

Soaking kale in warm water can also work to tenderize it. The dip into the water will also serve to clean it in preparation for a favorite kale recipe. This technique will help to improve the flavor after you have chopped it on your board with a sharp kitchen knife.

Another trick that works with kale, I don't know why this works, but if you add just a little bit of lemon to kale, which is bitter, it actually makes the kale taste less bitter.

How do you cook kale to eat? ›

How to cook kale. Kale is most commonly boiled or steamed. For whole leaves, rinse, then put them in a pan without shaking the water off, cover, then cook for up to 2 minutes, until wilted. Drain thoroughly.

Add Sweet to Kale: Sweet foods go well with kale because they counter its rather bitter taste. Serve curly kale up as a salad with simple ingredients like a blood orange, mango and slivered almonds or apple, feta and toasted walnuts or cook kale up with caramelized onion.

Raw kale can be hard to digest. Kale's fibrous cell walls may prevent your body from absorbing nutrients, but cooking kale can reduce its antioxidant content. Nutrition experts say steaming kale is a good way to make it easier to digest while preserving most of the nutrients.

Adding salt and squeezing lemon make a big difference by removing bitterness. Adding some spicy or sweet flavors may help tame the strong flavor of bitter kale.

Kale is great as a side dish or in a smoothie, and you can't go wrong with steaming it. Steamed kale retains important nutrients, such as calcium, that are important for you to have. Luckily, steaming kale can be as easy as chopping it and putting it in a steamer or microwave.

Vegetables: Kale can be paired with other vegetables such as bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes.