Healthy Cook: Spinach Rice aka My way to Palak Power
There's only one way to start losing weight. No wait, there are two. One is to exercise and second is to eat right.
I am not much of a cook, I don't have a fancy kitchen or even a basic one. I am lazy to cook.
So many excuses and a lot of weight gain later, I decided to go and buy some fresh veggies last night.
I headed over to Spar where I was spoilt for choice for greens. They had just bought in some organic produce from Gopalan farms. I have spotted this brand only recently and they have a nice variety of herbs and good green produce that is made organically. They are not too expensive either.
I grabbed quite a bit of stuff like fresh palak, coriander, rosemary, curry leaves, spring onions, cauliflower and mint. I wanted to pick up lettuce too as they looked really nice and crispy but I wouldn't have eaten everything so I decided lettuce for another day.
I have learnt cooking only through trial and error. I never learnt any cooking when I was at home.
When I had to leave for college, cooking just happened as the mess food really sucked and I missed home while I stayed in a hostel for six long years.
I try recipes online and from time to time, I end up with some good food.
This meal can be prepared in a jiffy.
Do you want to know what I used to make it?
Read on for the recipe.
Fresh organic Spinach(palak)- 1 cup
Sona Masoori Rice(you can use basmati)- 2 cups
Garlic-12 pods
Ginger- 2 inch
Green chilli-2
All spice leaf- 2 ( you may use bay leaf) I grow all spice leaves in my garden so I pluck them fresh
Onion- 2 Big
Tomato- 1 very ripe
Coriander leaves- handful
Cardamom powder- 1/2 tsp
Clove- 3-4
Star Anise- 1
Cinnamom stick
Garam masala powder- 1 tsp
Pepper powder- 1.5 tsp
Chilli powder- 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida- a pinch
Flax seeds- ground- 1 tsp
Any oil- I used sunflower oil, just enough to cook the veggies. 3 tbsp( you can use more if you want it to be rich)
Wash and cook rice. I use a rice cooker as I always mess up the regular way. In the rice cooker, you get really well done rice in 15 minutes. While cooking rice, add few drops of oil and salt to the water.
Keep aside.
Now for the chopping,
Finely slice the onions.
Chop the tomato
Peel the garlic and ginger. In a grinder, make a paste out of garlic, ginger, green chilli, flax seeds.
Heat 2-3tbsp oil in a pan, add all spice leaves, clove, cardamom, star anise. Let it release it's aromas.
Add garam masala powder, asafoetida, pepper, chilli powder, saute for 5 seconds before adding, the ground up paste of ginger, garlic, green chilli and flax.
Saute 3 minutes. Add sliced onions. Saute till they turn transparent. Add the tomato.
While this takes a little more time to cook, cut up your spinach leaves. I didn't use the stem, I wasn't sure if I could. I finely sliced the leaves. Then ground them up in the grinder to form a coarse paste.
Once the tomatoes were done, I added the spinach into the mix and sauted. Keep covered for 3 minutes.
Spinach doesn't take time to cook.
You may add some ghee or more oil if you want at this point.
Add required salt.
Taste the gravy, add in the cooked rice, coat the rice well with the masala and keep covered for ten minutes till the rice absorbs all the flavour. Garnish with cilantro. Switch off heat and leave it covered till serving time.
Tadaaaa!! I was really happy with how this turned out :)
ps- Onions have gotten so expensive!!!! Rs.70-80 for a kg!! *faint*
I am not much of a cook, I don't have a fancy kitchen or even a basic one. I am lazy to cook.
So many excuses and a lot of weight gain later, I decided to go and buy some fresh veggies last night.
I headed over to Spar where I was spoilt for choice for greens. They had just bought in some organic produce from Gopalan farms. I have spotted this brand only recently and they have a nice variety of herbs and good green produce that is made organically. They are not too expensive either.
I grabbed quite a bit of stuff like fresh palak, coriander, rosemary, curry leaves, spring onions, cauliflower and mint. I wanted to pick up lettuce too as they looked really nice and crispy but I wouldn't have eaten everything so I decided lettuce for another day.
I have learnt cooking only through trial and error. I never learnt any cooking when I was at home.
When I had to leave for college, cooking just happened as the mess food really sucked and I missed home while I stayed in a hostel for six long years.
I try recipes online and from time to time, I end up with some good food.
Do you want to know what I used to make it?
Read on for the recipe.
Fresh organic Spinach(palak)- 1 cup
Sona Masoori Rice(you can use basmati)- 2 cups
Garlic-12 pods
Ginger- 2 inch
Green chilli-2
All spice leaf- 2 ( you may use bay leaf) I grow all spice leaves in my garden so I pluck them fresh
Onion- 2 Big
Tomato- 1 very ripe
Coriander leaves- handful
Cardamom powder- 1/2 tsp
Clove- 3-4
Star Anise- 1
Cinnamom stick
Garam masala powder- 1 tsp
Pepper powder- 1.5 tsp
Chilli powder- 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida- a pinch
Flax seeds- ground- 1 tsp
Any oil- I used sunflower oil, just enough to cook the veggies. 3 tbsp( you can use more if you want it to be rich)
Wash and cook rice. I use a rice cooker as I always mess up the regular way. In the rice cooker, you get really well done rice in 15 minutes. While cooking rice, add few drops of oil and salt to the water.
Keep aside.
Now for the chopping,
Finely slice the onions.
Chop the tomato
Peel the garlic and ginger. In a grinder, make a paste out of garlic, ginger, green chilli, flax seeds.
Heat 2-3tbsp oil in a pan, add all spice leaves, clove, cardamom, star anise. Let it release it's aromas.
Add garam masala powder, asafoetida, pepper, chilli powder, saute for 5 seconds before adding, the ground up paste of ginger, garlic, green chilli and flax.
Saute 3 minutes. Add sliced onions. Saute till they turn transparent. Add the tomato.
While this takes a little more time to cook, cut up your spinach leaves. I didn't use the stem, I wasn't sure if I could. I finely sliced the leaves. Then ground them up in the grinder to form a coarse paste.
Once the tomatoes were done, I added the spinach into the mix and sauted. Keep covered for 3 minutes.
Spinach doesn't take time to cook.
You may add some ghee or more oil if you want at this point.
Add required salt.
Taste the gravy, add in the cooked rice, coat the rice well with the masala and keep covered for ten minutes till the rice absorbs all the flavour. Garnish with cilantro. Switch off heat and leave it covered till serving time.
Tadaaaa!! I was really happy with how this turned out :)
Tags:
recipe
Spinach rice
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30 comments
Yeah onion makes us cry without peeling it :'(
ReplyDeleteBTW yummy Recipe Coral :)
thank you, Radha :)
Deletehaha true about the onions, it's making the whole nation cry
That looks yummy! Will be trying it out this week!
ReplyDeleteI'm also supposed to be losing weight. I'm banking on yoga and walking :)
And yea.. onions are so expensive!! and i bet it is all due to man-made scarcity..
Thanks, Deeps :)
DeleteEven I am supposed to be on a weight loss journey. I have yoga and walking in mind too, this time round.
Hope I will start soon. All the problems we have are man-made. Wish some consciousness strikes soon.
I agree dear..those Onions are super expensive...It's allmost at fainting prices...Coming to the recipe....It's so very yummyyy...Would love to give it a try! Thanks for sharing...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.coralswithblues.com/
You are most welcome, Richa. I will try to incorporate healthy recipes that I try out in my blog.
DeleteHave a lovely week ahead :)
i m gonna try this sometime for sure.. i prepare pudina (mint) & curry leaves rice similarly.. but never thought of doing it with spinach... :)
ReplyDeletePudina and curry leaves rice must be super duper too. I will try it out some time soon. Today I made a spinach soup with no oil. It turned out really tasty. :)
DeleteI love everything with Rice and it's a great way to eat spinach. It looks too yummy! :)
ReplyDeleteOnion Price... ouch!!
Me, too!! I am trying to switch more to eating rice from now on. It's easy to digest and is easy to prepare. Will try more stuff with spinach soon.
DeleteHaave a lovely week, Niesha :)
I've never had spinach rice. It sounds intriguing. I made tomato rice yesterday, for the first time, and boy, was it easy! And goood!
ReplyDeleteMy mom makes the most amazing tomato rice, tomato rice is my favourite rice!! It is easy and a one pot meal :)
DeleteHaha.. I'm Happy Onions Have Gotten Expensive.. I Hate Them! :P
ReplyDeleteAnd, Yummy! I Just Had Dinner But Sill Feel Like Feasting on Yours Again!
hahahaha You onion hater You! you are the only one who is enjoying the expensiveness lol
Deletethat's so funny. I had dinner too, but an unhealthy one. was too lazy to cook today :)
superb healthy recipe and yum yum :)
ReplyDeletethank you, Gowmi :)
Deletelooks yummy ..i love spinach n hate peeling onions :(
ReplyDeleteloved ur blog coral...
my recent one :http://www.vanitynoapologies.com/2013/08/mac-select-cover-up-concealer-swatches-and-review.html#comment-9201
I know, I hate peeling onions too!! Thank you so much for the sweet comments.
Deletethanks, Sahana. It was :)
ReplyDeleteOhhhh myyyy Goddd!.. This is so freaking amazing. Just looking at it, am pretty much drooling here. A perfect example of healthy tasteful cooking because you have incorporated even flax seed into it. So amazing that you get everything fresh. I am yet to find where to get fresh spinach here in UAE!. It's so weird, man. I did hear that onions cost a freaking lot now in India. It's sad. Thank you for this excellent post!
ReplyDeletehahahha thank you, Naz. It was a hit at home. Am not so great with cooking so was surprised to see everyone polishing off their plates. Oh, that's sad. Maybe you can try Spinney's if they stock fresh spinach. I think Wednesdays are when they get fresh stuff in there. Here we get fresh stuff on certain days of the week only. If you miss that day, then you are left with the rottens. so when I find fresh food, i bulk up my cart. Oh, it's just started raining here.....so heavily!!
DeleteI always love it when family polish off their plates when I cook something!. It's the ultimate reward, yeah?. I never go to Spinneys. Will try one day. It's awesome that it's raining there!. I love rain... Cosying up on a sofa with a book while it's raining outside, is heavenly!
DeleteIt looks yummieeeee..... Have got to try this <3
ReplyDeleteIt's a healthy dish, Abidha. Do try :)
DeleteI am so making this for the family on Sunday! thank you! great recipe :)
ReplyDeleteoh, you cook for your family on Sunday. How nice!
DeleteThis looks yummylicious..!spices in your own garden?????/what all do ugrow? need a post on that!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Riya. Yes, I love growing everything that I can possibly grow :) I have currently pepper which I also sell as it's organically produced, kandhari chillies, badi elaichi, cinnamon just to name a few :)Then we have herbs like thyme, sage, lemon grass. oregano, peppermint. i just love collecting plants. it's a favourite hobby :) Do you garden?
Deleteoh sure, thank you so much, Emilie :)
ReplyDeletePalak pulao is one of my favourite food dishes. nice receipe
ReplyDelete