Palak rice or spinach rice is a dish that is easy to prepare, and it is healthy and nutritious. If you want to learn cooking or consider yourself a novice when it comes to cooking, you can start with this dish. Nothing can go wrong with this dish. Most of the time, it will taste great. It is like pulao but healthy. Lets know about Palak Rice Recipe.
Palak rice can be easily made in a pressure cooker. If you want, you can cook the rice and the rest of the ingredients, but if you have leftover rice at home, you can also use that. You will not have to wait for the rice to cook, and the dish will be prepared in a lesser time.
Palak Rice Recipe Ingredients
The below-listed items are necessary for the preparation of palak rice:
- Spinach or palak
- Rice (Preferably Basmati Rice)
- Oil
- Onions
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Peas (Optional)
- Lemon juice
- Chilies ( Green)
- Cumin Seeds or jeera
- Black Pepper or kali mirch
- Bay leaves or tej patta
- Cloves or laung
- Cinnamon or dal cheeni
You can add other vegetables also if you want
Palak Rice Recipe
Take about one cup of rice, wash it in running water so that all the dirt is washed away, then soak it in water and leave it there till you do the rest of the preparation.
Step 1.
The spinach that will be used should be blanched. To blanch the spinach, add the spinach to boiling water and let it be there for seven to nine minutes. Then take those spinach leaves, put them in icy cold water, and let them be there for another eight to ten minutes.
Now take the spinach or palak leaves, transfer them to a mixer or blender, add chopped green chilies, three to four garlic cloves, about two inches of ginger, and churn it into puree form. Keep this puree aside.
Step 2.
In a pressure cooker, heat two tablespoons of oil. You can use any vegetable oil, or if you want, you can also use ghee. Once the oil is hot lower the flame and add about one teaspoon of cumin seeds, one bay leaf or tej patta, one-inch cinnamon bark, three to four black pepper kernels, three to four cloves, and saute well.
Make sure the spices don’t burn. Now add one chopped onion into the cooker, stir and saute it till it turns golden or translucent.
Step 3.
Once the onions are done, add the palak puree, stir it for four to six minutes, then add the soaked rice into the pressure cooker. Mix everything well, then add water. If you put one cup of rice, add two cups of water, the ratio of rice and water is 1:2, respectively. Add salt as per taste and also squeeze the juice of one lemon. Stir everything, then cover the cooker with its lid. Your palak rice will be ready in three whistles.
Serve it hot with curd or raita of your choice. It is a fulfilling, wholesome, tasty meal. Apart from being delicious, it is also nutritious and healthy. You can add more vegetables of your choice before adding the palak puree into the cooker like peas, tomatoes, corns, broccoli, etc. Some people also add cardamom to this recipe. You can also add it if you like its flavor. The amount of chili can also be adjusted based on your preference for spiciness.
Enjoy this healthy meal with your loved ones.
Benefits of Palak or Spinach
Spinach is known as a superfood because it is full of nutrients and health benefits. Being a green leafy vegetable, it becomes essential to include it in your meal as a part of a balanced diet.
Spinach is rich in iron, essential for blood formation; it is crucial for growing girls as they are usually deficient in iron. Iron helps the body to use energy effectively. Spinach is Calcium, again a critical nutrient essential for children of growing age, teenagers, and women over thirty as they start to lose their bone density. Calcium is vital for bone and teeth health.
Both iron and Calcium require vitamin C for better absorption, so do not forget to add lemon juice to your palak rice. It will also provide an excellent tangy flavor to your dish. Spinach is rich in Magnesium which is believed to increase the metabolism, thus helping in better absorption of food. It also maintains blood pressure which in turn keeps the heart healthy.
Spinach prevents the chances of cancer. Spinach is rich in vitamin A, which is good for the eyes, and prevents night blindness. Spinach is a source of vitamin K, which is essential for the proper functioning of the brain as it helps in keeping the nervous system healthy. Thus spinach is a superfood that should be added to your daily diet; palak rice is a good dish that does not take much time and provides proper nutrients.
