Spinach Rice

I love green leafy vegetables, and am known to be unable to resist them. Every time I go to a sabzi mandi, my maid sighs because she knows I'll come back laden with all manner of greens, many of which neither she nor I recognise and which she has to find space for in our already overcrowded refrigerator. And, on top of that, she'll have to come up with ways to cook all of these before they perish, to critical acclaim.

Winter is when green leafies really come into their own in Delhi. There is one seller at the mandi I frequent who specialises in them, laying out plain old spinach, sarson ka saag, methi leaves, bathua and a host of others in glistening, inviting bundles. I really miss this category of veggies in the monsoon, at which time it's not really wise to eat them due to the poor quality and the risk of them being worm-infested.

I had always looked for a good way to combine spinach with rice and invented this recipe when I was in France. It's a one dish meal, needing very little to go with it, apart from natural yoghurt and maybe some papad.

Ingredients:

1 bundle spinach, washed, dried and cut fine

2 red onions, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 green chillies, chopped

5-6 cloves

2 inch piece of cinnamon

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp coriander powder

1 cup uncooked basmati rice, washed and drained

1/2 cup milk

1.25 cups water (approx)

Salt to taste

2 tbsp oil

Put the oil into the pressure cooker and let it heat.

When hot, add the cumin seeds and let them brown a bit.

Add the cinnamon, cloves and dhania powder and stir till the spices give off a warm smell (about 30 seconds).

Add the onions, garlic and chillies and stir. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent.

Add the rice and stir to mix. Let the rice get slightly roasted, for 2-3 minutes. then add the spinach and the milk.

Add the water and stir to mix everything.

Add the salt at this stage.

Put the lid on and cook for 2 whistles.

Serve hot with the aforementioned accompaniments. If you like, you can also add parboiled potatoes during the cooking process, or alternately, roast them well and top the dish with them before serving.

If you don't own a pressure cooker, you can easily cook this over an open pan as well, it will just take a bit longer for the rice to be well-cooked, and bear more watching during the process.

One-dish meals

I love the concept of one-dish meals especially on weekends. But I like them to be soul satisfying as well as convenient and easy to make. The tomato rice recipe is a trusted favourite of ours, and takes minutes to rustle up if unexpected guetss drop in.

Tomato Rice
Ingredients:
2-3 tomatoes, diced
1 cup basmati rice
1 onion, fnely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic
5 mm piece of ginger, grated
2 bay leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
small bunch coriander, finely minced
2-3 green chillies (depending on your taste for spiciness); can also be replaced by chilli powder
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste
2 cups water
1 tsp sugar (or to taste)

1. Wash the basmati rice thoroughly and keep aside
2. Put the pressure cooker onto the stove at medium heat and pour in the oil
3. When the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and stir for a few seconds
4. Add the turmeric and bay leaves and stir once more
5. Add the onions, garlic, ginger and green cillies and stir to mix. Let cook till onions are translucent, then add the tomatoes. Mix together and let cook till tomatoes are soft
6. Put in the rice and the 2 cups of water, add salt and sugar and stir to mix. Taste to check the levels of salt and sugar.
7. Put the lid of the cooker on and pressure cook for 2 whistles.
8. Let the cooker cool down and open.
9. Mix the rice well and take out into a serving dish. Top with coriander and serve.

This rice is delicious served with plain yoghurt, or hung yoghurt mixed with minced dill or mint leaves, with rice papads on the side.