Something simple, colorful, quick and nutritious is what easily describes the Palak Pulao Spinach Rice! This is a delicious rice dish that has some crunchy peanuts, peas, cherry tomatoes and spicy seasoning of dried red chillies, cinnamon and bay leaves.
When I first had this Palak Pulao Spinach Rice at a friends place, many years back, I took an instant liking to the spicy and crunchy taste in the brilliant green colored rice, arising from the well blended spinach. To me, this appeared to be a great recipe to have spinach in a different way. We often make Palak Pulao with chopped spinach, but the blended spinach served as a colorful paintbrush with which the long grains of rice were colored. The cherry tomatoes were last minute addition and added a great flavour and contrast. You can taste the influence of Maharashtrian and South Indian cuisine due to the spice and peanuts in it.
With the Jain Festival of Paryushan round the corner, and many Jains excluding onion and garlic at the very least for a week, this Palak Pulao Spinach Rice recipe is a wonderful menu item during such time.
Enjoy this nutritious colorful meal that was easily made in the rice cooker!
Recipe serves for 4-5 people
Prep Time: 20 min
Cooking time 30 min
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup oil
- 4-5 large cinnamon sticks
- 5-6 Dried Red Chillies big size
- 4-5 Bay leaves medium size
- 1/3 cup peanuts
- 2 1/2 cup rice
- 1/2 cup frozen peas or fresh peas
- 6 big heaps of trimmed spinach leaves
- salt to taste
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
Method
- Wash the rice thrice in plenty of water, and soak the rice in 4 cups of water, for 30 minutes.
- In a pan, put 2 litres of water to boil.
- As it boils, add half the spinach and keep on medium high flame.
- Cook for about 7 minutes and remove. Cook the remaining spinach the same way.
- Using an immersion blender or normal blender, blend the spinach to almost fine texture and keep aside.
- In a pan, put oil to heat and add bay leaves and saute till golden brown.
- Add cinnamon sticks and wait for it to be well sautes, till it increases in size and flattens out.
- Add dried red chillies to the oil.
- Once the chillies are well sauted, add the peanuts.
- Keep on medium to high flame, and saute the peanuts till they are dark brown.
- Add the blended spinach, frozen peas, salt , and cook for-8 minutes.
- Sprinkle Garam Masala on top and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Add this mixture and cherry tomatoes to the rice and cook in the rice cooker.
- Serve hot, with pickle, yogurt and papad.
Tips
- I used the triple cleaned spinach huge box from Whole foods for this purpose which is quick and easy to use.( approx 2/3 of the box)
- Alternatively, the rice can be cooked on the gas, using the same measurements, but cooked at low flame, so as to not burn.
Instinct Factor
- Variate with additional seasonings as fried cashews to add more crunchiness.
- The color will stay green, so long as the spinach is not over cooked.
Feel Factor
Palak Pulao Spinach Rice is a combination that is spicy, quick, colorful, highly nutritious and easy to please with!! A wholesome meal that can be a easy TV dinner too!
