This is one dish so full of nutrients. Its also tasty, comforting and easy to make. With fresh spinach at home, I was wondering what to make. Am totally bored of the palak paneer and aloo palak. I remember eating this long ago in my Patti's place and decided to make it. Just loved it yesterday and enjoyed it today too! Great with both rice and chappathis!
6. In a pan take 1 tsp oil. I used coconut oil and the flavours was really good. Any oil will work. Heat till hot. Add mustard and urid dal. When the mustard stops sputtering add the spinach and coconut paste.
Ingredients:
Spinach : 1 bunch
Salt : 1 tsp ( remember spinach has a lot of salt)
Yoghurt/curd : 2 cups
Asafetida / hing : 1 pinch
Paste to be ground:
Fresh coconut: 4 tbs
Green chillies: 1 or to taste
Rice/Rice flour :1 tbs
For Tempering:
Oil : 1 tsp ( til/coconut)
Mustard : 1 tsp
Urid dal : 1 tsp
Method:
1. Chop the washed spinach finely.
2. Cook spinach with asafetida and 1 cup water, till soft.
3. Soak rice in water for 10 minutes
4. Grind the coconut, green chillies and rice to a smooth paste. Add little 2 tbs yoghurt when grinding.
5. Beat the yoghurt to remove lumps and get a smooth consistency.
7. Now add the yoghurt and salt. Lower the flame. Continue cooking and stirring on low flame for about 8-10 minutes.
8. The mixture will thicken a little. Stir till it starts to thicken.
9. Serve hot with rice or chappathis.
Optional Additions:
1. I am guessing that grinding some mustard with the coconut will also give the dish a pungent and slightly different flavour.
2. This is usually made with sesame oil, I made it with coconut oil and loved the flavour.
Nutrition Details :
Spinach is extremely low in calories and fats but high in fibre and high in iron. It is additionally rich in vitamins A,C, K, B6 etc. Good Good Good!
Fresh Coconut is high in fibre and high in fats - but medium chain fatty acids ( easily broken down and do not contribute to high Cholestrol)
Yoghurt is extremely good for the digestive system due to the presence of a number of gut-friendly bacteria. The benefits of yoghurt or curd is immense and cannot be enumerated here.
Dietary Considerations:
Nut Free
Oil Free ( except for the tempering which can be left out)
