India has a large variety of greens which are native of this land. Each has its own taste & nutritional value. Spinach is one such green. It was brought to India by the Persians. Spinach is full of anti oxidants, vitamins A,C,K, iron, magnesium, folic acid, calcium, potassium, omega 3 fatty acids etc. It is highly recommended by doctors to add spinach or any green in our daily diet.
Preparation Time:10 mts Cooking Time:10 mts Serves: 2
Ingredients:
Spinach - 1 bunch
Refined oil - 1 tspMustared seeds - 1/4 tsp
Red chillies - 2 nos.
salt - to taste
Asafoetida powder - 1 pinch
Method:
Wash the spinach bunch well & cut it finely. Put it in a pan with just enough water & little salt. Boil it for 5 mts. Allow it to cool. Drain the water & keep it aside. Put the spinach in the mixer & churn it lightly. Pour it back in the pan & add the drained water to it. Bring it to a boil. Heat oil in a small pan, & add the mustard seeds. When they splatter, add the red chillies & asafoetida. Pour this seasoning into the mashed spinach & switch off the heat. Spinach is ready to eat.
Variations:
This is a very simple & easy way to cook spinach. This dish can be used as both main dish (to mix with rice) & side dish. All varieties of greens can be cooked like this. We can also add some boiled & mashed pulses like toor dal to this. We can also add sauteed onions to it.
Tips:
- Boil spinach or any other green only for 5 mts. This will help it to retain the colour & the nutrients.
- If the mashed spinach becomes watery, we can add a little rice flour to the mixture & boil it. This will thicken the mixture.
- Adding a pinch of soda bi carbonate while boiling the spinach will also help retaining & enhancing the green colour.
Try it & enjoy.
Nice and simple :)
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoy reading your blog as posts are written in a very simple manner.
At home, I have always protested when amma made beet root curry and keerai masiyal as they used to change the color of curd rice :)
Now, I make it a point to have palak/spinach atleast 3 times a week for its nutritive value.
I boil palak with cumin powder, dhaniya powder turmeric, salt to taste for 5 min, grind it well and add this mixture to atta to make palak rotis.
To atta, I add chopped onion, green chillies, jeera and little omam and knead the dough using palak paste/ and no extra water. Then, I make rotis with them as usual, serve it with ginger pickle and curd :)