Red Chard....

The Red Chard lent well to the recipe of a very common leafy dish  from Kerala, the Cheera Upperi or Amaranth Greens/Chinese Spinach Upperi. The basic method was to saute the green with a initial tempering of mustard seeds, dried red chillies and curry leaves with a final garnish of fresh grated coconut. However several greens like drumstick leaves and amaranth greens were also made into a quick vazhyattiya/sauted 'upperi' alongwith a saute of red pearl onions/shallots, and garlic.

Red Chard Upperi

Ingredients

 4 Cups: Chopped Red Chard leaves with the stem removed, loosely packed

1/2 Cup of finely chopped onions

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

3 cloves garlic

2 tbsp oil

Method

Heat the oil and saute the onions and garlic until soft,

Add the turmeric and chilli powders and saute for a couple of minutes,

Add the washed and drained chopped chard,

cook for 5 minutes stirring every now and then.

Optional: garnish with 2 tbsps of fresh grated coconut. A tempering of 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds, 1 dried chilli and 2-3 curry leaves in 1 tsp of coconut oil. The stems can also be added to the leaves, finely chopped. Since this was a first, I tried the stems in a separate dish and it also worked with the same technique.