Simple, nutritious meals that are easy to cook and come together quickly, are my main considerations when I plan to cook something during a weeknight. This thought was on my mind while looking at the crisp bunches of fresh spinach at the grocery store the other day. If you have been following along with me for the past few months, you might know that procuring and cooking whatever is in season is one of my biggest drivers in kitchen. I share local produce guides for every month on may Facebook and Instagram accounts. I guess using whatever is growing locally (or in our garden) brings out the hidden forager in me. Looking at the gorgeous spinach leaves, I thought that sure I could make palak paneer (recipe here) or use them in making palak parantha (recipe here), but I wanted to find a new way to enjoy this beautiful bounty.
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I started thinking about the first time I added chopped spinach to rice and the kids loved it. Since spinach is such a good source of Niacin and Zinc, and a very good source of dietary Fiber, plant based protein, Vitamins A, C, E, B6 and K, Thiamine, Riboflavin, and Folate along with other beneficial minerals, addition of spinach to anything is a no-brainer for me. So I thought of making “Green Rice”, as the kids adorably ended up naming this Spinach Rice dish.
I added whole spices like green cardamom and clove to the rice. These spices add a great flavor and warmth to a dish without making it hot (as in spicy). Moreover, addition of khade masale (or whole spices), make any simple dish stand out. The second genius step was to make this rice in the pressure cooker. I was very skeptical about it, since I have not had much success with cooking rice in a pressure cooker. But I wanted to give it another try. Having not enough time on my side could have been another factor! By all means this rice dish can be made in an open pot.
I pureed the spinach with ginger, garlic and green chili so that the rice get a uniform gorgeous green color as opposed to a spotty appearance that we would get with chopped spinach. But if you are running short(er) on time, feel free to just give the spinach a rough chop and proceed. All the power to you. I promise the flavor will still be just as awesome. Make a batch of these rice and enjoy them with a mild curry or daal (like this one) or with a dollop of creamy yogurt (Mr. Little V’s favorite).
Spinach Rice or Palak Pulao
Ingredients
For spinach puree:
- 4 cups spinach roughly chopped
- 1 inch piece of ginger
- 1 green chili optional
- 1 clove garlic
For spinach Rice
- 1 cup long grained basmati rice
- 2 tablespoon ghee/olive oil
- 1 green cardamom
- 1 clove
- 1 bay leaf
- 1- teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ onion sliced about 1 cup
- 1 ¼ cup water
- ½ lime juiced
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Rinse and soak the rice while you get everything else ready.
For spinach puree:
- Blend everything together to make a smooth puree. You should have close to 1 cup of puree. (See Notes).
To cook Spinach rice
- Set a pressure cooker on medium high heat and add the ghee/olive oil to it. Once the oil is hot and shiny, add the khade masale (whole spices – green cardamom, bay leaf and clove) followed by cumin seeds.
- Next, add the sliced onions and sauté them until they turn light golden, about 4-5 minutes. Then add the spinach puree, stir and cook for another five minutes.
- Now drain the soaked rice and add to your pressure cooker. Stir the rice around until completely coated with spinach puree. Add 1 ¼ cups of water, lime juice and salt to taste.
- Put the lid of the pressure cooker on and lock it in place. Turn the heat to high and wait until the cooker reaches full pressure (or “whistles”). At this point, turn the heat to medium low and cook for 5-6 minutes.
- Turn the heat off and wait for the pressure to release by itself. This should not take more than 7-8 minutes. Open the lid and gently fluff the rice a fork.
- Serve warm with yogurt or daal.
Notes
Store the leftovers in the refrigerator for 2-3 days and reheat in the microwave before serving.
Leave a comment below letting me know how you like this recipe.
Love- Vaishali
Tools Used
You can grab some of the tools I used to make this recipe by clicking on the images below.
Spatula
Mixing Bowl
Fork
Dixie D
I have an Instant Pot LUX 80. I made this recipe twice because I had to make adjustments . I wasn't able to make a spinach puree, but put the spinach in a food processor until it was very fine. Also, I combined the lime juice and water to equal the same amount of rice, therefor 1 :1 ratio. Finally, I set manual pressure cook for 3 minutes, slow release for 10, then quick release and fork fluff. It was still a bit on the soft/overcooked side, so next time I'll try a shorter slow release time.
Hope this is helpful! The recipe is delicious! I'm excited to try this with a paneer masala!
Vaishali
Hello Dixie D. Thank you so much for trying this recipe in Instant Pot. And now you have gotten me excited to try it in Instant pot and may be update the recipe with time, water quantity etc. I agree, may be a shorter release time might help. Did you use long-grain Basmati or some other kind of rice? Love the idea of pairing it with paneer masala. Bon appetit!!
Renee
Loved this!!
Sheena Moncatar
Perfectly palatable. I have never tried it though and would want to have the chance to try the food or the recipe out. I have always been of spinach so I definitely would want it mixed with my rice. As always, rate your recipe 5 STARS!
Vaishali
Thanks Sheena..:)
blair villanueva
I love rice and we Filipinos believe that "rice is life"!
I will add this to our many rice recipes.
Jeferson
O this is good alternative for Biryani rice..... Less spicy and less oily but more nutritious.....
Matija
This looks amazing, I might try to make it one time or another, also might add a few tweaks to it, with supstituting a few spices and some ingredients.
Hackytips
I regularly do Spinach rice for lunch. I add vegetables too!
christineong
Everything looks so delish.. love the pictures..,
Monidipa Dutta
I make palak pulao too but the recipe of ingredients is a bot different. I will try this one too.
Lauren
Sounds delicious! Can’t wait to try it.