Palak rice

Serves 4
Preparation time: 30 min

Ingredients:

Rice: 1.5 cups
Spinach: 1 cup (roughly chopped)
Onion: 1 medium sized (thinly sliced)
Tomatoes: 1.5 medium sized (diced)
Red chili powder: 1 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp
Sugar: a pinch
Salt: to taste
Oil: 3-4 tblsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Cashews: 2 tblsp (halved)
Water: 1/4 cup

Procedure:

Soak rice in water for about 20 minutes prior to cooking it. Once cooked, let the rice cool; mix it lightly using a big spoon letting air to penetrate between the cooked rice. This will prevent the final preparation from being too mushy.

Boil spinach with a pinch of sugar in about 1/4 cup of water. Then cool it and grind to a fine puree. Keep aside. Heat oil in a pot. Add mustard seeds, once they crackle add the cashews and saute until the nuts turn golden brown. Mix in sliced onion and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until soft and the oil begins to separate. Add chili powder and turmeric powder and saute for another minute. Pour in the spinach puree and add salt. Fry well for about 4-5 minutes till the mixture loses most of the water content. Now, add rice to this and mix well (preferably half the quantity at a time). Turn off heat after a minute. Serve with cucumber raitha!