Spinach Chicken Pasta

Ingredients:

Pasta of choice (I used whole wheat spaghetti): 1/2 cup
Chicken: 100 gm (cubed)
Baby spinach (washed and roughly chopped): 1 cup
Onion (chopped): 1
Olive oil: 3 tsp.
Garlic (minced or finely chopped): 3 cloves
Chili flakes: 1/4 tsp.
Oregano: 1/2 tsp.
Baby tomatoes: 6
Tomato ketchup: 2 tsp.
Vegetable stock: 1 cup
Salt to taste
Black pepper powder to taste

1. Boil the pasta according to the instructions on the pack. Drain the water and keep the pasta aside. 
2. Heat oil in a pan and add garlic and the chicken. Fry until the chicken is almost cooked and white from both sides. Drain from the oil and keep aside. 
3. Heat the same oil and add the onions. Let cook until the onions start browning. 
4. Add the baby spinach and let cook just till the leaves start wilting. Cut baby tomatoes in half and add to the pan. 
5. Add salt, oregano and chili flakes. Add the vegetable stock and bring everything to a boil. 
6. Add the cooked chicken and give everything a stir. 
7. Add the boiled pasta and tomato ketchup. Mix everything well and stir nicely. Let cook for about 4-5 minutes until all flavors are mixed and it reaches the desired consistency. 
8. Sprinkle black pepper and turn off the flame. Serve. 

 

Spinach Egg Curry

Ingredients:

Cooking oil: 2 tsp.
Boiled eggs: 4 (How to make perfect hard-boiled eggs)
Spinach: 500 gm
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Onion (chopped finely)
Ginger-garlic paste: 3 tsp.
Coconut milk: 1 cup
Tomato (finely chopped): 2
Salt to taste
Red chili powder: 1 tsp.
Garam masala: 1 tsp.
Mango powder: 1 tsp.
Black pepper: 1/2 tsp.

1. Blanch the spinach and grind to a puree and keep aside.
2. Heat oil and add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds and let them splutter. 
3. Add the chopped onion and fry until it's transparent. 
4. Add the ginger-garlic paste and let cook until the raw smell goes away. 
5. Add the coconut milk and mix well. Let cook for about 5 minutes. 
6. After 5 minutes, add the tomatoes and sprinkle salt. Let cook until the tomatoes are soft and mushy. 
7. Add the dry spices: red chili powder, mango powder and garam masala. Mix everything, cover and let cook for another 5 minutes. 
8. Remove the cover and add the spinach puree. Mix well. We don't need to cook more at this stage as the spinach is already cooked in the process of blanching. 
9. Add the boiled eggs (whole or halved) and turn off the flame. Sprinkle black pepper and serve hot! 

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Makki di Roti te Sarson da Saag

Makki di Roti te Sarson da Saag: Punjabiyan di shaan!! (The pride of Punjabis)

Well, this is the first food which comes in mind when we talk together of winters and Punjab!
Oh yes, and as of almost all the Sikh households, this is the pride food of our home as well. As the winters begin to set in in India, we see lush bright mustard greens in the vegetable markets and the preparations begin to prepare this awesome Sarson ka Saag which undoubtedly goes with flavorful makki ki roti.

Unfortunately we don't get mustard leaves where we live so I prepared Palak ka saag instead. It tasted yummy and a wonderful alternative where mustard greens are not so easily available. In this post I'm sharing the recipe of both Palak ka saag (how I prepared it) and Sarson ka saag (recipe by my Nani ji) and also how to prepare the perfect Makki ki roti..

Palak ka saag recipe:

Ingredients:

Spinach leaves: 500 gm
Onion (chopped): 1 large
Tomatoes (chopped): 2
Ginger (chopped): 1 inch
Garlic (chopped): 3 cloves
Green chilli (chopped): 1
Cooking oil: 1 tsp.
Makki flour: 3 tsp.
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp.
Ghee: 2 tsp.
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
Onion (finely chopped): 1

1. Wash and chop the spinach leaves. Assemble all the other chopped vegetables: onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and green chilli. 
   
2. Add about 3 cups of water in a deep vessel or a pressure cooker and add all the chopped vegetables to it. Bring to a rolling boil in open flame.  
   
3. Turn off the flame and remove all the vegetables and let them cool. 
   
4. When cooled, grind them all to a smooth puree like mixture. Keep aside. 
   
5. Heat oil on medium flame and add the spinach paste to the pan. Stir well and let cook. Do not cover. 
   
6. Keep stirring and cooking. Add some water which was boiled with the veggies to the saag and keep stirring and cooking. Water is added because the saag will soon become dry in the process of cooking but will not be cooked properly. So adding water and stirring will give more time for saag to cook. This whole process will take about 15 minutes. 
   
7. Now add the makki flour to the saag. It will start getting thicker in consistency. Add the salt and the red chilli powder. 
   
8. Keep stirring and after few minutes the water will evaporate and it will become the saag consistency. Turn off the flame. 
   
9. Now prepare the tempering for the saag: Heat the ghee on medium flame and crackle the cumin seeds. Add the onions and fry until they start getting brown. Turn off the flame and add the tadka to the saag. Mix well and cover. 
   
10. You can remove cover and serve after 10 minutes. Saag is ready. Serve hot with a dollop of butter, makki ki roti, gud and achaar. 
    
    
    
    

Makki ki roti recipe:

Ingredients:

Makki flour: 2 cups
Warm water to knead the flour
Salt to taste
Carom seeds
Ghee: to top the makki roti

1. Take the makki flour in a kneading bowl and add in salt and carom seeds. Mix well. 
2. Begin by adding very little warm water to the flour and then mixing it with fingers. Keep adding little water and mixing the flour until it reaches a crumbling consistency. 
3. After that try and bind little flour together. Start keeping the little bits of binded flour to the side and again adding very little water and try to bind more bits of the flour. Continue keeping the binded flour to the side and try to make one big lump of the binded flour. 
4. Makki aata will not require a lot of water so be careful about adding water. Bind the whole flour into a big lump of dough and roll it between your palms to give it a round-like shape. the final product must not be sticky.  
   
5. Now will begin to make roti of this dough. Pinch a small ball of the flour and make it as round as possible by rolling between your palms. 
   
6. Lay it on the flat surface and press the ball lightly with your fingers. Don't apply a lot of pressure of it will disintegrate. 
7. Flatten it a little more with your fingers and then try to lift it up carefully with a flat spatula. Sprinkle some dry makki flour at the bottom if required. 
   
8. Now lightly begin to roll it with the help of a rolling pin. Apply very light pressure, keep checking if you can lift it with the spatula. The roti might have little rough edges on the side, it's normal. Take care not to make too big roti otherwise you won't be able to lift it up with the spatula. 
   
    
9. When it's done, lift up the roti with spatula and put it on the tawa on medium-high flame.
10. Flip the side and press with a kitchen cloth. 
    
11. Flip again and keep cooking till the roti is done: light brown spots will appear on the roti. Prepare rotis from all of the dough in this way. 
    
12. Serve hot hot with Sarson ka saag or Palak ka saag. 
     
    

Sarson ka saag recipe (Recipe courtesy my Nani ji)

Mustard greens: 500 gm
Spinach leaves: 150 gm
Makki flour: 50 gm
Dried red chili: 2
Ginger (grated): 1 inch
Green chili (chopped): 2
Onion (chopped): 1
Garam masala: 1 tsp.
Garlic: 2 cloves
Lemon juice: 1 tbsp.
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp.
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
Cream: 1/2 cup
Ghee: 3 tbsp.

(This quantity of saag will serve 4 to 6 people; you can adjust the ingredients according to requirement).

1. Wash and chop finely the mustard greens and spinach leaves. 
2.  Pressure cook for 3 whistles with two cups of water. 
3. While the greens are getting pressure cooked, add the salt, red chili powder, garam masala, ginger and cream to the makki flour. Mix well. 
4. Heat 1 tbp. ghee and fry the flour mixture on medium flame until it starts getting golden brown. Turn off the flame and keep aside. 
5. By this time, the mustard and spinach would be boiled. Let cool and grind to a smooth paste in the grinder. Keep aside. 
6. Heat the remaining 2 tbsp. ghee and crackle the cumin seeds. Add the dried red chillis and onion. Fry until it starts getting brown. 
7. Add the garlic and green chilli and mix well. Let cook for a minute. 
8. Add the cooked flour mixture; mix well and let everything cook for 2-3 minutes. 
9. Now add the ground mustard and spinach paste. Mix well and turn the heat to medium-high. Let cook for 3-4 minutes. Do not cover. 
10. Turn the flame to medium-low and let cook for another 10 minutes. Turn off the flame, add a dollop of ghee and serve hot with Makki ki roti (procedure explained above), gud, papad and achaar. Enjoy !!!

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Palak Paneer

Palak Paneer is one of the most common recipe in Punjabi households and it's also served in parties and to our guests. I just love the cottage cheese cubes dunked in a this green curry with the rich, awesome taste without the use of any heavy ingredients like cashews, milk, yogurt, cream etc. This is the perfect recipe of my dad who is an amazing cook and prepares the brightest of green curry in palak paneer.

Other paneer recipes from the blog:

Achaari Paneer Masala
Paneer Lababdar
Paneer Makhani

Ingredients:

Spinach leaves: 3 cups
Cottage cheese: 1 cup
Cooking oil: 2 tsp.
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
Onion (diced): 1 big
Ginger (chopped): 1 inch
Garlic (chopped): 4 cloves
Green chilli (choped): 1
Tomato (chopped): 1 big
Salt to taste
Red chili powder: 1 tsp.
Garam masala: 1/2 tsp.

1. Blanch the spinach and grind to a puree and keep aside. Blanching process: boil water in a pot and add the washed and cleaned spinach leaves and after a minute, remove the leaves and add to the ice cold water. Drain the water and grind. 
2. Grind the onion and garlic to a smooth paste and keep aside. Similarly, grind the ginger, green chili and the tomato to a smooth paste and keep aside. 
3. Heat the oil on medium flame and crackle the cumin seeds. Add the onion paste and begin to fry. Keep stirring and frying until the onion paste starts getting brown and cooked. 
4. Add the second paste: paste of ginger, green chilli and tomato. Mix well and add salt and red chili and fry. Keep stirring regularly so the masala does not stick to the base. 
5. When the masala starts turning little darker in shade and starts to leave oil at the sides, then the masala is done. 
6. Add the garam masala and give a stir. Add the cubed cottage cheese at this stage and mix everything well. Add little water to the curry if required. Cover and let cook for 5 minutes. 
7. Remove cover and cook for another 2-3 minutes. 
8. Add the spinach puree and mix well. Turn off the flame. DO NOT COVER. Never cover it even when reheating, it will lose its beautiful green color in the steam. 
9. Serve hot with chappati, laccha paratha or even Jeera rice. Enjoy !!

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How to freeze spinach

Spinach is my favorite leafy green vegetable. I love to have these greens whenever possible as spinach is very healthy: it's an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin B1 and B2, magnesium, iron, calcium and is a very good source of dietary fiber.

But fresh spinach is not always available. Or sometimes there is too much of spinach which cannot all be used up quickly, so instead of letting it go bad looking for ideas to use it all up, I feel it's a better way to blanch and freeze and use whenever required.

How to freeze spinach:

1. Wash and clean the spinach leaves and blanch them. Blanching process: add to the boiling water and when it begins to wilt, remove and add to ice-cold water. Spinach is one of those vegetables which is recommend boiling to free up acids and allow them to leach into the boiling water; this brings out a sweeter taste from the spinach. Discard the boiling water after cooking; do not drink it or use it for stock because of its acid content. 
   
2. Grind to a smooth puree without adding any water. 
   
3. Fill in ice trays and freeze for 24 hours. 
   
   
4. Remove the ice trays from the freezer. 
   
5. Store the spinach cubes in ziplock bag and date the bag so you remember to use it up quickly. 
    
   
6. You can use this frozen spinach cubes in many healthy ways: add the cubes to soups, add to boiled dal to get a different and wonderful flavor, sambhar, add to curries (curries for koftas, egg curries, chicken curries), palak paneer, even add to dough to make spinach parathas, add to dosa or idli batter etc.

Sprouted Dal with Spinach

Ingredients:

Sprouted green moong dal: 1 cup

Spinach leaves: 1 cup

Cooking oil: 2 tsp.

Onion (chopped): 1

Garlic (chopped): 2 cloves

Ginger (chopped): 1 inch

Green chilli (chopped): 1

Tomato (chopped): 1

Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp.

Salt to taste

Red chilli powder: 1/2 tsp.

Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp.

Mango powder: 1/4 tsp.

Garam masala: 1/2 tsp.

1. Wash the dal and the spinach leaves separately. Chop the spinach finely and pressure cook along with dal, salt and turmeric for 3 whistles.
2. Turn off the flame and let the pressure release by itself, do not release the steam as it will destroy the texture of the sprouted grains.
3. Make tempering: heat oil in a pan and splutter cumin seeds. Add the chopped onions and fry until they become transparent.
4. Add garlic and let fry for another 2 minutes. Add tomato, ginger and green chilli. Mix well, add salt, red chilli powder and turmeric powder (if not added while boiling). I do half salt+turmeric in boiling and half in tempering. Mix well and let cook until the tomatoes are completely soft.
5. Add the mango powder, stir well and add this tempering to the dal and spinach boiled mix. Mix well, add little water if required. Let boil for 10 minutes on medium flame. Add garam masala powder and mix, turn off the flame and serve hot with chappatis. 

Spinach Dal

Who loves spinach? Probably nobody.. okay, probably some. I know very few people who love spinach, and anything cooked in spinach; including my husband, well, until I made stir fry vegetables just for him (yes, I still cannot eat spinach just like that) like Spinach Aaloo, or spinach corn. My personal favourite is spinach yoghurt. Yes, I simply love it and I do have it AT LEAST once a week.. simple and healthy, this has been my new favourite ever since I have started making in a delicious way..

But spinach dal? Okay, I admit it is not one of the most amazing dishes ever, but anyway it is healthy, quick and easy to make; and simple. So here's my version of the simple spinach dal, or dal-palak as we call it in India..