palak pakora
Usually pakora is not considered too healthy since it is deep fried but this one has a health angle to it. If you are craving pakoras then why not have palak pakora. At least you are consuming healthy palak this way and you are not compromising taste since palak pakora are delicious too.
Recipe of palak pakora/ pakoda
3 cups palak (spinach) - washed and chopped
1 cup besan (gram flour/ chickpea flour)
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp amchoor (dried mango powder)
Oil to deep fry
1. Mix besan with salt and all the spices.
2. Take palak in a bowl and add besan mixture. Mix well. Add 1-2 tablespoon water if needed. The mixture should be thick and such that round balls can be made from it.
3. Heat oil in a kadhai/ wok and when the oil is hot, turn the heat to medium.
4. Drop small portions of the palak mixture in the oil. Fry palak pakoda till golden brown from both sides turning as needed.
5. Drain on an absorbent paper and serve hot palak pakora with komato ketchup or chutney.
sarson ka saag
Sarson ka saag along with makki ki roti makes an ideal Punjabi meal. Sarson and makki ka atta comes in winter so this is the time to relish this delicious fare. Serve with a small piece of gur (jaggery).
Recipe of sarson ka saag
1 kg sarson (mustard greens)
250 gm palak (spinach)
2 tbsp makki atta (maize flour/ cornmeal)
4-5 green chillies- washed and caps removed
3 tomatoes- chopped
2 onions- chopped
1 inch piece ginger- chopped
2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
Salt to taste
1. Clean and wash sarson and palak. Chop leaves of palak and sarson. Chop soft parts of sarson stems and peel and chop lower parts of stems. Discard the lowest parts of sarson stems.
2. Place sarson and palak alog with 2 cups of water, salt and green chillies in a pressure cooker. Cook to 4 whistles. Grind the saag in a blender to a coarse paste. It should not be too fine.
3. Add makki ka atta and cook uncovered on medium heat for 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally.
4. Heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they change color, add onion and sauté till light brown.
5. Add ginger and fry for 1 minute.
6. Add tomatoes and cook till tomatoes turn mushy and ghee begins to separate.
7. Pour this tadka (tempering) over sarson da saag and mix well. Serve hot sarson ka saag with makki ki roti.
palak paneer
Palak paneer is really yumm…I like the subtle hint of sweetness in the dish. When I was a kid, I never liked palak. My mom always used to tell me “Eat it, it’s good for you”. Later in adult life when I realized its goodness, I began liking spinach. I now try to have it in various forms like Palak parantha, Dal palak and aloo palak.
Palak- paneer is a very popular dish from North Indian cuisine. Its popularity reaches North America where it is known as Saag- paneer. Indian cottage cheese in a rich, creamy spinach curry makes this dish, a gastronomical delight.
Recipe of Palak paneer
200 gm Paneer (cottage cheese)
500 gm Palak (spinach)
5 cloves garlic
2 medium onions
1 inch ginger piece
2 green chillies
2 tomatoes- pureed
4 tsp oil
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp garam masala
½ tsp coriander powder
¼ cup malai (cream of milk)
Salt to taste
1. Cut stems of palak and wash thoroughly in running water. Blanch palak leaves in salted, boiling water for 2 minutes. Refresh them in cold water.
2. Puree the palak leaves along with green chillies.
3. Mince onions, ginger and garlic in a blender.
4. Cut paneer into pieces and shallow fry them in 2 tsp oil in a non- stick pan till golden.
5. Heat 2 tsp oil in a separate pan and add cumin seeds. When they change color, add onion paste. Sauté till light brown.
6. Add coriander powder. After 2 seconds, add tomato puree. Stir in salt and garam masala. Cook for 3-4 minutes on medium heat.
7. Add palak and a little hot water (you can use the water in which spinach was blanched keeping in mind that it contains salt). Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.
8. Add paneer pieces and cook for 2-3 minutes.
9. Stir in malai and cook palak paneer further on low heat for 2 minutes. Serve hot.
Palak paneer
dal palak
Dal palak is a very healthy and nutritious food. It contains the benefits of both pulses and green leafy vegetable. My family enjoys dal palak as everyone finds it very delicious. Instead of using both moong dal and toor dal, you can also use any one of these dals alone with palak but what I find is that addition of both these dals enhances the flavor of this earthy dal palak.
Recipe of Dal palak
¼ cup moong dal (split green gram)
¼ cup arhar/ toor dal (split pigeon peas)
½ kg palak (spinach)
1 onion- chopped
2 tomatoes- chopped
2 green chillies- chopped
3-4 cloves garlic- chopped (optional)
1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
½ inch piece ginger- chopped
1 tsp coriander powder
¼ tsp garam masala powder
½ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
A pinch of asafetida (hing)
Salt to taste
1. Remove stems of spinach and wash thoroughly in running water. Chop finely. Wash dals in several changes of water. Drain.
2. In a pressure cooker, place dals, palak, salt, green chillies and water. Let 2 whistles come. Then cook on low heat for 5-7 minutes.
3. Turn off heat and after pressure drops, mash the dal lightly.
4. Heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they change color, add hing. After few seconds, add onion and sauté till they are light brown.
5. Add garlic and ginger and cook for ½ a minute. Add coriander powder and garam masala. After 2-3 seconds, add tomatoes and cook till they are soft and pulpy.
6. Add this tempering (tadka) to the dal and cover. Simmer for 5 minutes on low heat. Enjoy dal palak with roti, paratha or rice.
Healthy bytes- As far as health benefits of spinach go, you must have already heard a lot about it. Let me add a few more words. Spinach contains large quantities of Magnesium which is anti-ageing. Adequate Magnesium through diet keeps you young.
Palak paratha
Palak parantha is a good combination of taste and health. It’s one more way of eating palak. You can also add a pinch of turmeric powder to the dough to give it a nice yellow color which is very appealing.
Don’t knead the dough too well in advance. Otherwise palak will leave water and dough will be a bit difficult to manage.
Recipe of palak paratha (spinach paratha)
2 cups whole wheat flour (atta)
200 gms palak (spinach)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/4 tsp garam masala powder
Oil to shallow fry
palak (spinach)
1. Cut stems of palak leaves and wash thoroughly in running water. Chop finely.
2. Put spinach in a big bowl and mix all ingredients except flour and oil. Add flour and mix.
3. Slowly add just enough water so as to make pliable dough. Rest the dough for 15 minutes.
4. Take a ball (peda) out of the dough and roll out like a roti.
5. Heat a tawa (griddle) and cook parathas on both sides brushing with oil. Cook on medium heat till golden brown. Serve hot.
If you are a fan of palak just the way I am, check out my blog posts of palak paneer and dal palak.
