Palak Puri

Palak Puri is always a hit with the kids. Made these for lunch when my daughter had some friends over for a play date.

Here's how I make Palak Puris:

1 6oz bag of baby spinach (or equivalent qty of regular spinach)

upto 2 cups of whole wheat flour (I use Annapurna brand)

big pinch of ova/ajwain seeds

big pinch of sugar

1 tsp salt or to taste

1 tsp cumin seed pwd

1/2 tsp red chilli pwd or to taste

Empty the spinach into a large microwave safe bowl and nuke for 2 mins. Let cool, then puree using 2 to 3 tbsp of water. Add the seasonings. 

Add the wheat flour 1/2 cup at a time. Knead to form a dough, consistency should be harder than regular roti dough.

Add few drops of oil, knead till smooth. Cover with a damp cloth and rest for 1/2 hour. Then roll into small puris and deep dry.

This will make about 20 puris. I serve these with boondi raita, this makes a good combo. Since the puris are spiced, there is no need for any subji.

These puris also make good travel or picnic food.

Palak chi paatal bhaji

This is a simple spinach curry that goes well with rice and rotis.

Here's how I make it:

2 cups chopped spinach - fresh or frozen
Tempering - 2 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, pinch of asafoetida, 1/2 tsp turmeric pwd
handful of chana dal - soaked for atleast 2 hrs
handful of cashew nuts and peanuts
1 cup buttermilk with 1 tbsp gram flour mixed in
Salt to taste, pinch of sugar
2 tsp goda masala

Make the tempering by heating oil and dropping the mustard seeds. When they stop spluttering, add the cumin seeds, asafoetida and turmeric pwd. Fry for a min. Add the soaked and drained chana dal, fry 2-3 mins. Add the cashew nuts and peanuts and fry another 2-3 mins. Add the chopped spinach. Cover and cook on medium heat for 7-8 mins, stirring in between. Add the buttermilk-gram flour mix, salt, sugar, goda masala. Simmer on low heat for 5-10 mins.

Serve hot.

Spinach Raita

My Akka had prepared this for me in Mumbai. We liked it so much, now it will feature regularly in my kitchen.

Here's how I made it:

1/2 cup chopped spinach

1/4 cup chopped onions

2 cups yogurt

Salt & Sugar to taste

few chopped walnuts

Black pepper pwd to taste

For garnish - roasted cumin pwd, dates-imli chutney

Whisk the yogurt with a little water. Add the spinach, onions, salt, sugar, walnuts and bl. pepper pwd. Stir well to mix. Garnish with roasted cumin pwd and dates-imli chutney. Serve cold.

Palak Paratha

This is another of our favorite parathas. The basic idea is from Manjula's Kitchen.

For the stuffing, I fry cumin seeds in a tsp of oil till fragrant. Then I add ginger paste, chopped spinach (usually I use fresh) and other seasonings like salt, pinch of sugar, cumin pwd, coriander pwd, red chilli pwd and amchoor pwd (all per taste). I cook this mixture on medium low heat for a good 20 mins or until completely dry. Sometimes if I am in a hurry, I sprinkle a little gram flour which absorbs the excess moisture. Cool this mixture before use. To make the paratha, pinch off a ball of dough and shape it into a bowl-shape in your palm. Fill 2 tbsp spinach stuffing and close the ends of the dough by bringing them together. Gently flatten the ball. Let it rest for 5 mins before rolling out into a paratha, use a little flour to dust while rolling. Cook the paratha on a non-stick pan with a drop of oil until brown spots appear on both sides.

This Palak Paratha also goes to the Complete My Thali - Roti event at Torview. This event was started by Jagruti of Joy of Cooking.

Palak Matki Amti

I adapted this recipe from Aayi's Kitchen. I have made it Shilpa's way many times, only I also add some jaggery, tamarind paste and goda masala. Yesterday I wanted to make it without onions & garlic, hence modified it some more.

Here's how I make it:

For tempering - 1 tsp oil, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp cumin seeds, big pinch of asafotida, 1/2 tsp turmeric pwd

1/4 cup chopped onions (if using - I omitted this yesterday)

1 tomato - chopped

1 potato - chopped (optional)

1 cup sprouted & boiled matki (moth beans) - see Note

2 cups chopped spinach

2 tsp Goda Masala

Salt to taste

2 tbsp grated jaggery

1 tsp tamarind paste

For masala paste (without onion version) - Grind together 2 tbsp coconut or 2 tbsp grated carrot, 2 tbsp gram flour, 1 tsp ginger paste, 1 tsp roasted coriander seeds, 1 tsp roasted cumin seeds, 2 dry red chillies or to taste, pinch of methi seeds, 1/4 tsp clove pwd, 1/4 tsp cinnamon pwd. Use about 1/4 to 1/2 cup water.

Start by making the tempering - heat the oil, add the mustard seeds, when they stop spluttering add the rest of the tempering ingredients. Then add the chopped onions and/or potatoes. Fry till lightly brown. Add the tomatoes, beans, spinach, masala paste, salt, Goda Masala and jaggery. Add water to get desired consistency. Bring to a boil and simmer till potatoes cook. Add the tamarind paste. Adjust seasonings and consistency if required.

Serve with rotis or rice.

Note - In addition to or in place of matki, you can use other beans like sprouted & cooked mung, black chana or canned red beans (drained & rinsed) etc.

Palak Paneer

This is a healthy and tasty way to incorporate spinach in your diet. After many trials & errors I have found this procedure best retains the fresh green spinach color.

4 cups packed spinach leaves - washed
1 1/2 cup cubed paneer
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp cumin pwd
1 tsp coriander pwd
1/2 tsp red chilli pwd
1/4 tsp cinnamon pwd
1/4 tsp cloves pwd
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp kitchen king masala
1 tsp salt or per taste
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
2 - 3 tsp oil

Microwave the spinach with a sprinkling of water and salt for about 2 - 4 mins.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan. Lightly fry the cubed paneer. Drain them onto a paper towel.
Update 4/28/2013 - These days I have been marinating the paneer, per recipe from Aarti Sequeira at foodnetwork.com. I marinate the cubed paneer is some oil that is seasoned with salt, red chilli pwd and little turmeric pwd. After about 10 mins, I shallow fry the paneer and proceed as always. This adds a little extra zing to a dish which could sometimes be a little bland for some palates.

In the meanwhile, puree the onions. (I bought a Magic Bullet blender/processor a while back and it works great for quick purees/pwds etc.). Add the pureed onions to the same pan in which the paneer was fried. I do not usually add any more oil at this stage. Fry the onions on medium high for atleast 5 mins. Puree the tomatoes and add to the onions, along with the ginger paste, cumin pwd, coriander pwd, red chilli pwd, cinnamon pwd and cloves pwd. Fry another 5 - 7 mins on medium. Puree the microwaved spinach. Do not add too much water, 2 - 3 tbsp should be enough. Add the pureed spinach to the onion - tomato mix. Add salt, sugar, lemon juice, garam masala and kitchen king masala. Mix well. Simmer on low for 5 mins. Add the fried paneer and simmer for another 5 mins.

Thats it. Tasty, healthy palak paneer is ready. Goes well with rotis/naans/parathas or pulavs.

Spinach Dal

Ever since I read on Mythreyee's Paajaka that this Spinach Dal is Shri Raghavendra Swami's favorite I have also begun making it every Thursday.




Here's how I make it:

1 cup cooked mung and tur dals (I usually mix the two equally, add a few methi seeds and pressure cook these)

1 cup frozen chopped spinach

For the tempering - 2 tsp canola oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1/4 tsp asafotida, 1 tsp chana dal, 1 tsp udad dal, 1 dry red chilli broken into 2-3 pieces.

1 tsp sambar pwd

1 tsp cumin pwd

1 tsp coriander pwd

1/4 to 1/2 tsp red chilli pwd

2 tbsp jaggery

1 tbsp tamarind paste

1 tsp salt or to taste

Heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the cumin seeds, asafotida, chana dal, udad dal and dry red chilli. Fry 2 -3 mins. Then add the spinach and saute 2 -3 mins. Add the cooked dal, salt, jaggery, tamarind and all other spices. Add enough water to get the desired consistency. Boil well. Serve hot with rice and/or rotis.

This is a very simple, healthy dal.