Rice has always been one of my favorite dishes while growing up. Being part of an Indian family, we ate rice all the time. As a matter of fact, rice is a staple dish found on many dining tables, in pretty much every culture and country!
Spinach Rice or “Palak Pulao” is another great rice dish to add to your menu. This recipe take basmati rice and combines it with a delicious blend of cumin seeds, garlic and spinach. It can be eaten as a main dish or as a side with your favorite combination of meat or vegetable curry!
One of the best parts of this recipe is that you can use your 2-3 day old rice leftovers (I’ve had people make this recipe with 1 week old rice and still turn out delicious.) and come out with a brand new dish that everyone will think you spent a long time preparing. This is a perfect way to reuse your leftovers and help cut prep time, especially on those busy days! But, whether you decide to use your leftover rice, or make some fresh rice for this recipe – you will just LOVE the flavors that are infused into the rice with just a few simple ingredients.
SPINACH RICE
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients:
- 4 cups rice (basmati, if possible)
- 8-10 oz. frozen or fresh chopped spinach (drained completely of all liquid)
- 1 heaping Tbsp. minced garlic
- 2 Tbsp. salt (add more to taste if desired)
- 1 Tbsp. whole cumin seed
- 3 Tbsp. oil
- Squeeze of lemon juice or lemon wedges (*optional)
**NOTE: You can use 2-3 day old leftover rice for this recipe, if desired.
Instructions:
- In a medium/large sized pot, add oil and allow to heat on medium.
- When oil is hot, add cumin, garlic, spinach and salt.
- Saute for 5-7 minutes or until spinach is a bit darker and cooked.
- Add rice, lower heat and gently toss together with spinach mixture till all rice is fully coated. Cover and cook on low heat for about 5-7 minutes.
- Remove from heat and squeeze with lemon juice before eating or with lemon wedges.
1. Add oil in pot and heat 2. Add cumin seeds 3. Add garlic 4. Add Spinach 5. Saute mix for 5-7mins 6. Add cooked rice 7. Mix well and cook
That’s it! Easy enough right?
This is one of my favorite dishes to make because it is easy to prepare but has a lot of flavors in it that will go with many types of dishes, Indian and non-Indian. It truly is a versatile dish that you will love to prepare and love to eat!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please feel free to comment below or tag me on IG @cmspiceculture, or FB at “Spice Culture Cooking.”
Enjoy! :O)
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