Prarthana's Vegetarian Delight

This is my next favorite OPOS (One Pot One Shot) dish. Spinach is a staple dish in our household and we make sure to consume spinach once in a week. This gravy of spinach and curd is delicious and goes well with rice. Ingredients: 1. Spinach- 1 bunch finely chopped(I used palak) 2. Coconut oil- 3 spoons 3. Turmeric powder- 1 tsp 4. Asafetida- A pinch 5. Salt- As needed 6. Yoghurt- 1 cup thick For ground paste: 1. Urad dal- 1 tsp 2. Channa dal- 2 tsp 3. Cumin - 2 tsp 4. Coconut- half cup 5. Green chilly- 2 Method: 1. In a tadka pan, roast the channa dal and urad dal. Once it turns golden brown, grind it into a thick paste along with coconut, chilly and cumin. 2. In a 2 liter pressure cooker, add coconut oil and 1 tbls water. Add the finely chopped spinach as the next layer. 3.. Add turmeric, asafetida and salt as required for the dish. Finally as a last layer, add the ground paste. Close and cook on high for just one whistle. 4.  Release p...

I prepare spinach at least twice in a week. Palak dal is a quick side dish recipe for roti or rice. It is very easy to make when I have less time to prepare dinner. My husband and brother are a great fan of this palak dal. My brother can eat this palak dal even daily. This palak dal and ladies finger fry goes well together. INGREDIENTS: 1. Palak leaves - 2 cups 2. Moong dal/ Pasi paruppu- 1/2cup. 3. Onion-1 4. Tomato- 1 5. Ginger- 1 small piece. 6. Garlic- 3-4 pods. 7. Green chilly- 1 8. Mustard seeds- 1tsp 9. Cumin seeds- 1tsp 10. Turmeric powder- 1tsp 11. Salt- To taste 12. Chilly powder- To taste. 13. Coriander powder- 1tsp. 14. Garam masala- 1tsp. 15. Oil- As needed. 16. Coriander leaves- For garnishing. METHOD: 1. Pressure cook moong dal/ pasi paruppu with enough water into mashing consistency. Chop finely onion, tomato, ginger and garlic. Slit the green chilly. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard and cumin seeds. Don't let it burn. Add the finely chop...

Keerai molagootal is a dish originated from kerala. The aroma of coconut oil in spinach gravy is the special in this dish. When I visited my brother's place at Coimbatore, my sister in law who is a palakadu brahmin prepared this dish for us. It was awesome and I asked her this recipe. Last weekend I had a bunch of spinach. So instead of making the normal spinach gravy, I prepared this molagootal and it came out well. Thanks to my SIL. INGREDIENTS: 1. Spinach (Any type)- 1 bunch. 2. Yellow moong dal/Pasi paruppu- 3 tbls. 3. Coconut scrapped- 1/2 cup. 4. Coconut oil- 2 tsp. 5. Mustard seeds- 1 tsp. 6. Urad dal/ Ulatham paruppu- 1 tsp. 7. Cumin seeds- 1 tsp. 8. Red chilly dried- 3 nos. 9. Salt- As needed. 10. Sugar-1/2 tsp. METHOD: 1. Wash and clean the spinach. Separate the leaves from its stem. Heat a pan and add the spinach leaves with 2 spoons of water. Add sugar. It helps to retain its greenish color. When the quantity of spinach is reduced and it starts boili...

Soup is the primary food in a full course meal. Spinach soup is a healthy creamy soup. I make this soup often and serve an hour before dinner. This is a very easy soup recipe which can be made within 10-15mins. I also make this soup if someone have a bad headache or sore throat. It will be refreshing. INGREDIENTS: 1. Spinach- 1 bunch (If its very big , take 1/2 bunch). 2. Onion- 1 big. 3. Ginger- 1 inch. 4. Garlic- 2-3 pods. 5. Cloves- 1 6. Cinnamon stick- 1 inch. 7. Butter- As needed. 8. Salt- To taste. 9. Pepper- To taste. 10 Green chilly- 1 (Optional). 11. Sugar- 1 tsp. 12. Milk- 1/2 cup. METHOD: 1. Wash and clean the spinach leaves. Separate the leaves from its stem. Take a pan or pressure cooker. Add 1 spoon butter. Add cloves and cinnamon stick. Add in the chopped ginger, garlic and green chilly (if using). Then, add chopped onions and saute until it turns pink. Add in the spinach leaves and saute for a minute. Add sugar (Sugar helps to retain the green...

Pulav is always easy, simple one pot meal. I make different types of pulav for my husband's lunch box. This is one type of greenish pulav with spinach. I pack this along with raitha or chips. INGREDIENTS: 1. Palak or any spinach- 1 bunch(I used Chinese spinach). 2. Onion- 1 finely chopped. 3. Tomato- 1 finely chopped. 4. Potato- 1 5. Green peas- 1 small cup. 6. Ginger- small piece. 7. Garlic- 2-3 pods. 8. Green chilly- 3. 9. Coconut grated- 1 cup. 10. Cashews- 4- 5 11. Coriander- 1 handful. 12. Salt- To taste. 13. Cinnamon- 1 small stick. 14. Cardamon- 1 15. Cloves-2 16. Bay leaves- 1 17. Oil- 2 spoons. 18. Cumin seeds- 1 tsp. 19. Sugar- 1 tsp. 20. Basmathi rice- 1 cup. 21. Water- 2 cups.   METHOD: 1. Wash and soak basmathi rice for 10-15mins. Peel and cut potatoes into cubes. Separate spinach leaves from its stem. Wash and clean spinach leaves. Heat a pan and add the spinach leaves. Add cumin seeds and sugar. Cumin seeds and sugar helps to ret...

Spinach is a healthy leafy vegetable. But many don't like to eat spinach and any leafy vegetable. So i try to make it in a tasty way. I make this keerai kootu weekly once or even twice. My husband loves this. I use all kind of spinach like palak, mola keerai or even Chinese spinach for making this recipe. Ingredients: 1. Spinach- 1 bunch. 2. Green chilly- 3. 3. Coconut- 1/2 cup. 4. Cumin seeds- 1tsp. 5. Asafoetida- 1tsp. 6. Salt- To taste. 7. Sugar- 1 tsp. 8. Coconut oil- 1tsp. 9. Mustard seeds- 1tsp. 10. Urad dal- 1tsp. 11. Mor milagai or dried red chilly- 1 (optional). 12. Moong dal- 1/2 cup cooked(Optional) Method: 1. Remove the spinach leaves from its stem. Wash and clean the leaves. In a pan, add the spinach leaves, cumin seeds and sugar. Cumin seeds and sugar helps to retain the greenish color. Sprinkle some water and bring it to boil. Little water is enough since spinach already has water content. 2. Switch off the flame once the spinach gets cooked...

PALAK PANEER This is a very popular north Indian side dish made of spinach and cottage cheese. There are many different recipe of making this palak paneer. This is my version of the creamy spinach gravy with paneer. INGREDIENTS 1. Paneer- 100 gms. 2. Onion- 1 chopped. 3. Tomato- 1 chopped. 4. Palak(Spinach)- 1 bunch. 5. Ginger- 1 small piece. 6. Garlic- 2 or 3 pods. 7. Cloves- 2 8. Cinnamon- 1 small stick. 9. Cashew- 4 or 5. 10. Oil- 2 spoons 11. Butter- 2 tsp. 12. Green chilly- 3 13. Salt- As needed. METHOD: 1. Separate the palak leaves and wash it in running water to remove the impurities. Blanch the palak in boiling water and keep aside. Heat oil in a kadai, add cloves and cinnamon. Add chopped onions and fry until it turns pink. Add ginger, garlic, green chilly, cashews and fry for a minute. Add chopped tomatoes and fry until it becomes soft. Switch off the flame and allow it cool. Grind it into a smooth paste along with blanched spinach. 2...