Palak Paneer

After a long time, I am able to sit with my blog. When I think to have some time for myself in the morning, well then postpone to evening then again change to post dinner. Some how I never find time for myself.  Hardly have some time to sit with my blog.I have been busy with my little hero's birthday party and his Ayushhomam. Everything went on very grand and nicely. Of all the guests my son enjoyed his time during the function.

The little master was introduced to all new kinda foods and he enjoyed the most was the chocolate cake and nutella. So soon, you can see more recipe using nutella :)

Lets hop into our recipe for palak paneer,

Creamy Spinach - spiced up with golden corn

I first prepared creamy spinach on Hasini's 2nd birthday! This was a hit at the party in our house.

Spinach with butter and cream is always loved by the kids! And I prepare this for chapathi once in a while. This can also be had along with rice.

Green Bhaturas

Green Bhaturas are spinach bhaturas or I call them kids delighting bhaturas. Hasini was so excited to see the bhatura in green color. Immediately, she asked me to prepare blue bhatura and purple bhatura! These are kind of dishes where I need not stay beside her to insist her eating them. I just served the green bhatura to her, and soon later she brought the empty plate.This gives me a big satisfaction to her happiness.

You need
1/4 cup Spinach washed and cooked in boiling water
1 tsp mint chutney

2 Cups Whole wheat flour
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2 tbsp Oil
warm water for dough
Oil for frying

After cooking the spinach, grind to a thick paste with the mint chutney, cumin powder and salt.

Mix the flour with the oil, spinach mixture, water as required to form a soft non-sticky dough. Cover and keep aside for 10 to 15 mins.
Knead gently to make a smooth dough. Divide into equal sized balls. Roll out the balls into flat rounds. Typically Bhaturas are anywhere between 10”-12” in diameter. I have a small kadai hence I made smaller Bhaturas.

Heat oil on medium heat and lower the rolled Bhatura into the hot oil. Gently press the Bhatura down with the help of your spatula, this allows the Bhatura to puff up well. After a minute or so slowly flip to brown the other side. Drain on paper towels and serve hot with Channa curry, a wedge of lime and sliced onions.

Palak peas Pulao with onion raita

Known in the nutrition world as a “power” food, spinach is packed to the brim with essential nutrients. Unfortunately, it’s also known in the “real” world as a slimy, smelly vegetable that kids refuse to eat, even when you threaten to ground them for not being open-minded about it. Is it worth the effort to try to get your kids, or yourself for that matter, to eat spinach? Absolutely! Eating spinach will help you meet your daily need for a number of nutrients, including calcium, iron, folate and vitamin A.

More than my sundari kutti, Sundar finds hard to eat the usual spinach- kootu style or masial style recipes. My mom used to make carrot or beetroot pulao. With that in mind, I tried the Palak peas pulao and now I make it every week for his lunch box.

You need
1 1/2 cup roughly chopped spinach
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup peas
1/4 cup corn (optional- to give slight sweet taste)
Bay leaves
Cinnamon
2 tspn ginger garlic paste
2 cardamom pods
2 cloves
1 tsp Saunf
4 - 6 green chillies
salt to taste
oil for tampering 
1/2 tsp mustard
2 cups cooked rice

Grind the spinach with all the spices. Heat oil in a pan, and add mustard seeds. When they begin to jiggle, add the chopped onions and saute till tender and light brown. Add the peas and corn and cook till tender in low flame. Add water if required.

Now add the ground spinach to the pan and let it cook until the spinach is cooked well. This takes about 10 mins.
Add this to the cooked rice and mix well. Taste to check, add salt if required. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot with onion raita.

Suggestions:
Onion raita tastes better with palak pulao. If you like, you can add 5 mint leaves and grind with spinach it gives nice aroma.


Spinach has lots of great nutrients, however, there is one disadvantage in spinach. Spinach contains a high concentration of oxalic acid, as the oxalates in the acid are responsible for formation of stones in the kidney and the bladder. In order to nullify the negative impact of oxylic acid, it is advisable that spinach is combined with other foods that are rich in vitamin C such as citrus slices and consumed as a combination of the two.