‘Mallum’ in Sinhala refers to finely chopped greens lightly sautéed with grated/shredded coconut. The raw version of mallum can be made with greens like watercress or gotukola. The raw-version is my all-time favorite Sri Lankan vegetable side-dish.
The Lacinato or Dino Kale I’ve used for the pictures and video is a great alternative. Curly kale, red bore kale or collard greens work as well. Collard greens being the quickest to chop up if you’re doing it by hand since you can roll-up several leaves together and thinly slice them in one go. Checkout my video for that handy chopping technique – it’s quicker than food-processing in batches and washing your food processor.
Kale Mallum
Ingredients
- 1 bunch kale (any variety)
- 2 shallots or 1/2 an onion
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded desiccated coconut
- 1/4 tsp salt or more to taste
- 1 tbsp coconut oil (or olive oil)
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Wash kale in a bowl of water. Peel and chop the onion. Re-hydrate coconut with 1/2 cup of warm water.
- Cut out the leafy portion from the stem of the kale leaf. At this point you can chop the leaves and stems separately in a food processor or you can chop them by hand. Checkout my chopping technique below. It’s quicker than food-processing in batches and washing your food processor.
- Heat oil in a medium hot pan. Add the chopped stems, onions, sprinkle a little salt and sauté. Take about 2 tablespoons of the water and sprinkle it on the pan. It will quickly evaporate and give the stems and onions a quick “steam”. That way they soften and cook faster and the dish needs less oil. Keeps stirring so it cooks evenly. Once the pan has no liquid add 2 more tablespoons of water. Taste one of the stem pieces to check if it's still crunchy but cooked.
- Add the chopped kale leaves, coconut, a little more salt and stir. Depending on if the kale bunch is fresh from the farmer’s market vs. the grocery store less water and cooking time will be needed. Taste a little to check that it's cooked. It should retain it’s original color or else it was probably a little over-cooked.
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