Spinach Rice or Palak Pulao
A favorite rice dish, updated with addition of nutritional spinach. Great when served as a side dish or enjoyed with lentils or curries.
Servings: 4
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
If not making spinach puree, after adding cumin seeds, add minced garlic and chopped green chili (if using), followed by onions. After the onions have browned a bit, add chopped ginger and cook until the raw smell of ginger goes away. Then add chopped spinach and proceed as above. If not using a pressure cooker, add 2 cups of water after adding rice to a big sauce pan or dutch oven. Bring to a boil on high heat, turn the heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes.