This delicious Basil Walnut Kale Pesto sauce recipe will transform your dishes! It is packed with fresh kale, basil, walnuts and takes only 5 minutes to prepare.
Vegan and gluten-free.
- Kale Pesto Ingredients
- How to make Kale Pesto – step by step instructions
- Serving Suggestions
- Storage
- Other sauces/pesto recipes
I love this vegan pesto recipe whenever kale is in season.
When I buy a bag of kale, I usually have about half left over. This pesto is a great way to use up leftover kale.
Perfect for quick lunch or dinners as you just need to swirl it through pasta.
Vegan Kale Pesto recipe makes a nice alternative to basil pesto and you also get the added nutrition benefits from the kale.
This is a plant-based version using nutritional yeast but you can absolutely use grated parmesan if you wish.
You will also love this Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Kale Salad .
Kale Pesto Ingredients
Full ingredients with measurements are available in the recipe card below at the end of this post
Kale – use the leaves and the tender stems. Ensure the kale is as fresh as possible for the best flavour and results.
Basil – I love adding a bit of fresh basil to my kale pesto but you can leave it out if you do not have it to hand. Other fresh herbs such as parsley work so well too.
Nuts – I have used walnuts but you could use pine nuts or almonds too. Even sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds work well.
Garlic – fresh garlic cloves are best in pesto.
Extra virgin olive oil – use this generously for delicious pesto
Lemon juice – fresh lemon juice is best but you can use bottled
Red chilli flakes (optional)
Nutritional yeast – (optional) adds savoury flavour in replacement of parmesan cheese in this recipe. Alternatively, you can use hemp seeds or vegan parmesan
Salt and black pepper
Optional – italian seasoning.
How to make Kale Pesto – step by step instructions
In a food processor, add the kale, basil, garlic, nuts, red chilli flakes and nutritional yeast. Blend a few times to grind down to a coarse paste.
Add the lemon juice and oil steadily and continue to blend until the pesto reaches the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serving Suggestions
Toss through pasta or gnocci. Serve with gluten-free pasta.
Use it in this vegan bruschetta .
Use in this Grilled Zucchini Ribbon Salad .
Drizzle over roasted vegetables such as these air fryer cauliflower .
Storage
Store leftover kale pesto in an airtight container or jar and keep in the refrigerator. Use it up within 5 days.
You can also freeze pesto successfully – place in a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to defrost at room temperature. Note that this can affect the fresh flavor and taste
Other sauces/pesto recipes
Basil sauce
Cilantro Pesto
Creamy Cilantro Sauce
As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
Don’t forget to follow me on social media using the buttons below – I can’t wait to see you all there!
- YouTube
Vegan Basil Walnut Kale Pesto
Equipment
- 1 Blender
Ingredients
- 2 cup kale packed
- ½ cup basil
- ¼ cup walnuts
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice lemon zest optional
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- salt and black pepper
Instructions
- In a food processor, add the kale, garlic, nuts, red chilli flakes and nutritional yeast. Blend a few times to grind down to a coarse paste.
- Add the lemon juice and oil steadily and continue to blend until the pesto reaches the desired consistency.
- Season with salt and pepper.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Note:- This post was originally posted in January 2016 but I have updated the post since with newer photos and helpful content. The recipe remains the same.
Vegan Basil Walnut Kale Pesto
Equipment
- 1 Blender
Ingredients
- 2 cup kale packed
- ½ cup basil
- ¼ cup walnuts
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice lemon zest optional
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- salt and black pepper
Instructions
- In a food processor, add the kale, garlic, nuts, red chilli flakes and nutritional yeast. Blend a few times to grind down to a coarse paste.
- Add the lemon juice and oil steadily and continue to blend until the pesto reaches the desired consistency.
- Season with salt and pepper.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Garlic Lilva Kachori has an unsurpassed taste. This Lilva ni Kachori recipe has the addition of garlic and a soft pastry for a new exciting kachori recipe.
- What is Kachori
- Why this Garlic Lilva Kachori is different
- Frozen Lilva Kachori
- Ingredients for Fresh Tuvar Lilva Kachori
- How to make the Garlic Tuver Lilva kachori masala/filling
- How to assemble/shape Kachori
- How to fry kachori and Tips for the best Kachori
- Can I bake Lilva Kachori?
- FAQs
I first tried these Vegan Garlic Kachori when I was very young in the English city of Leceister. Being from London, Leicester was too far to travel so my Mum would occasionally make these at home. 11 years later, I gave the recipe a go for myself!
What is Kachori
Kachori is deep-fried pastries that are filled with various spicy fillings (something similar to samosa) and often served at afternoon tea but it can be served as a canape at any get-together or as part of an Indian style feast.
In Gujarat, these deep-fried Kachoris are served in a Gujarati Thali as traditional Gujarati farsan (savoury item).
Depending on the part of India that you visit, you will find different type of kachoris.
In Rajasthan, you’ll find pyaz (onion) kachori, moong daal Khasta Kachori and mawa kachori which is similar to Mawa Gujiya that are stuffed with milk solids and nuts.
In North India, Raj kachori and Khasta Kachoris are hugely popular and often served as a chaat.
Usually in North India and Rajasthan Kachoris are served with Rasadar Aloo Tamatar Ki Sabji
In Gujarat, during the winter season Tuvar Lilva Kachori is quite popular, throughout the year yellow moong daal and Dry Fruit Masala Kachori are hugely in demand.
Whilst in other parts of the India Matar (green peas) kachori, hing kachori and daal kachori. Also in many parts of the Indian these kachoris are made flat like Poori.
Why this Garlic Lilva Kachori is different
This kachori recipe is different from other traditional kachori recipes for a few reasons.
Firstly, this recipe has garlic cloves in the filling. The garlic gives a wonderful flavour to the kachoris which you can’t find in plain lilva kachoris. The filling is therefore spicy, garlicky and ever-so-slightly sweet.
Secondly, the pastry for this kachori is different than all other types. The pastry for these kachoris is thinner and softer making this recipe of kachori unique and has a similar resemblance to samosa pastry.
The pastry is neither crispy, nor hard or flaky.
Frozen Lilva Kachori
Frozen lilva kachori is easily available in the Indian groceries and British supermarkets but the uniqueness of the flavour of this garlic lilva kachori recipe means that you can’t find them anywhere else.
Ingredients for Fresh Tuvar Lilva Kachori
Generally, kachori’s outer layer or pastry made using plain flour and sometimes has semolina added to it but here we are using
Plain flour aka maida or purpose flour
Whole wheat flour or chapatti flour
Oil and salt
For the filling , you will need:
Tuver Lilva – I have used frozen green pigeon peas, one can use fresh pigeon peas (fresh tuvar dana) if available. Tuver is used in our Surti Undhiyu .
Green Peas – aka Matar or Vatana. I have used frozen but you can use fresh green peas too.
You may wonder if using frozen peas and lilva alters the flavour. I can assure you that it doesn’t. Using fresh tuvar lilva dana or frozen gives the same wonderful taste.
Oil – try not to use very strong flavoured oil such as extra virgin olive oil or mustard oil.
Spices – red chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder, garam masala and amchoor powder. I have not added turmeric powder in this recipe. If amchoor powder is not available use dash of lemon juice or lime juice instead.
Seeds – mustard seeds, cumin seeds, sesame seeds and fennel seeds.
Asafoetida aka hing or yellow powder.
Garlic, ginger and green chilies – crushed or paste. You may use fresh green garlic if it is available.
Sugar – regular granulated sugar works best, it’s a must ingredient in Gujarati Kachoris!
Coconut – desiccated coconut works best.
Fresh coriander leaves
Seasoning .
How to make perfect pastry for Lilva Kachori
The pastry for this kachori is unique. It is soft and not hard like other kachoris.
This makes the kachori easy to eat and it doesn’t crumble everywhere when you eat it.
To make the kachori dough, you will need the following ingredients:
In a wide big plate or deep bowl add all the flours, oil and salt.
Knead the dough using tap water or slightly warm water and cover it with the damp kitchen towel for half an hour.
Divide the dough into equal (apricot) size portions and make balls.
How to make the Garlic Tuver Lilva kachori masala/filling
Take frozen green peas and lilva, defrost then blend or grind using a grinder. Keep it coarse mixture.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a broad non-stick pan on medium heat, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds (if using) and hing.
3.Once it splutters add coarsely ground lilva beans.
Cook the mixture for at least 5-6 minutes.
Then add all the masala, ginger, green chilli paste, garlic, sugar, salt, coconut and crushed fennel and sesame seeds.
Cook further for 5-6 minutes, keep stirring all the time then leave it cool completely.
How to assemble/shape Kachori
Once the mixture is totally cooled, it is time to assemble or shape kachoris. It is a little time-consuming step but all the efforts are totally worth it.
Roll out the one dough ball on a flat surface using a rolling pin in round shape. I kept the small circle around 10cm.
Make small stuffing ball or 1 tablespoon of stuffing and put in the centre of the circle.
Seal the edges by bringing all the sides together, remove extra dough.
All the kachoris are filled, shaped and ready to fry.
How to fry kachori and Tips for the best Kachori
The heat of the oil for this kachori should be on a low temperature – we want the oil to be just hot. This will keep the pastry soft and won’t burn.
Make sure the stuffing is well dry and doesn’t contain moisture.
Heat oil in a kadai or wok.
Add 3-4 kachoris at a time.
Fry them on low to medium flame, so they cook evenly and doesn’t burn.
Once golden brown all over, remove and serve hot.
Can I bake Lilva Kachori?
You can bake Kachori, however, you won’t get an authentic taste. Kachoris are best enjoyed deep-fried.
However, that isn’t to say that you cannot bake them. To bake these kachoris, brush with oil and place in a pre-heated oven at Gas Mark 4 for 20/25 minutes. Keep an eye on the kachoris so that the top doesn’t burn.
Remember, the filling inside is already cooked, so they will not need too long.
Keeping the pastry in the oven for too long will make it go hard.
Air-Fried Kachori (Lilva Kachori)
If you or anyone you know is following a low oil diet, you can also suitably air-fry these kachoris.
Method for Air-frying Lilva Kachoris:
Make the kachoris using this recipe and method.
Brush it with the oil and air fry them in a preheated air fryer at 350F or 180C and air fry for 10-12 minutes or golden.
What to serve with Kachori
The flavour of these kachoris is so phenomenal that it doesn’t really need to be served with anything in particular.
If you wish to have chutney on the side, then Gujarati Date and Tamarind Chutney aka Imli Chutney and green chutney is your best bet.
In the unlikely occasion you have leftover Kachori, why not transform them into Kachori Chaat, much like our Leftover Khaman Dhokla Chaat
In India, Kachori is often served with Masala Chai or Karak Chai .
My personal choice would be cold drinks such as Mango and Lime Lassi – just so heavenly!
Kachori can be reheated in a number of ways. You can reheat in the oven for 5/10 mins but that may make the casing hard. You can reheat the kachori for 20/30 seconds in the microwave also.
You can freeze kachori at two different steps in the method. You can prepare the kachori and assemble. However, do not deep-fry but freeze to deep-fry at a later date. The oil for this reason, will have a little more heat than suggested above. You can also freeze once you have fried the kachori. Allow to completely cool before freezing. To reheat, simply bake for 10/15 minutes on Gas Mark 4/5.
Use any leftover lilva stuffing to stuff vegetables such as potato and small aubergine or eggplants. If you have leftover dough, make Gujarati Sadi Bhakhri . This prevents food waste.
You can adapt this recipe to suit your tastebuds or depending on what is available. You can use either of the peas, either the kachori can be made completely with peas or entirely with lilva. Ground masala or spices powders are the backbones of this recipe, they lend sensational flavours so not to be missed any, you may decrease or increase the quantity to suit your needs. Add less spice to make it easy to eat for the whole family. You can leave out the sugar if you do not want a sweet and hot flavour. You can use only wheat flour for the pastry.
As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
Don’t forget to follow me on social media using the buttons below – I can’t wait to see you all there!
- YouTube
Lilva Kachori with Garlic
Equipment
- Big plate
- Rolling Pin
- Kadai
- Slotted spoon
Ingredients
Lilva Kachori filling
- 1 cup green peas fresh or frozen
- 1 cup pigeon peas
- 2-3 tablespoon ginger-garlic-chilli paste
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds crushed
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin and coriander
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon dry mango powder
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut
- pinch asafoetida
- salt to taste
Kachori Dough
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1 cup chapati flour
- 4 tablespoon oil
- pinch salt
- Oil to deep fry
Instructions
- Defrost pigeon peas and green peas.
- Grind coarsely in a grinder.
- In a heavy bottom pan heat oil and add mustard seeds and asafoetida.
- After the mustard seeds splutter, add both the peas and cook for 6-7 minutes on very low heat.
- Add all the masala, ginger, garlic and chilli paste, sugar and seasonings.
- Keep stirring the mixture to prevent sticking it to the bottom of the pan.
- Let it cook for a further 5-6 minutes.
- Switch off the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature.
- In a big wide bowl add both flours, oil and salt then rub the mixture with your fingertips.
- Knead a semi-stiff dough using tap water.
- Cover the dough with a clean damp kitchen towel.
- Leave it aside for half an hour.
- Divide the dough into small portions (apricot size) and roll into a small circle, around 10cm/4inch.
- Put a spoonful of the filling into the centre, then fold the dough over the filling to form a ball and seal the edges with a peak at the top.
- You can grease your palms a little and roll the ball between them to form a smoother ball if that’s easier.
- Repeat for all the kachoris. Now heat oil in a wok and deep fry 3-4 kachoris at a time over low-to-medium heat till they are golden brown in colour.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Note:- This post was originally posted in 14 April 2010 but I have updated the post since with newer photos and helpful content. The recipe remains the same.
