Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Rajma Palak

Spinach is one of my favorite greens which one can find it on my table atleast once a week.I make palak paneer,alu palak,palak kofta curry occasionally just to avoid using paneer and alu at regular basis. One can use their imagination to create many healthier options using those lovely greens other than using them in regular dal's and stir fries as they are very versatile to mingle with any ingredient.I add sometimes soya chunks or fried tofu instead of paneer to make a healthier option.Adding Rajma/other beans to the gravy makes a complete protein packed food in one single dish.You can even substitute rajma with other beans like garbanzo beans,whole green moong and one can even add mashed paneer to make the gravy still tastier.
This again goes to Divya's 'Show me your Curry' event.

Ingredients:
1 bunch spinach,washed and chopped
1 cup rajma,soaked overnight
1 big onion,sliced
1 cup milk or 1/3 cup cream
2 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste
5-6 green chillies
1 tsp amchur powder
1 tsp coriander powder
3/4 tsp jeera powder
1/2 tsp Garam masala
1/2" cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
a pinch of hing
salt to taste
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste

Method:
  • Soak Rajma in enough water overnight and change the water once.
  • Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a pressure cooker and add cinnamon and 1 slit green chilli and fry for a
  • minute.
  • Add soaked rajma to it and add enough water and salt to it and pressure cook for 2 whistles and simmer for 10-12 mins until the rajma beans are soft and not mushy.
  • In a pot bring water to a boil and add cleaned and chopped spinach,green chillies and sliced onions and cook for a couple of minutes.Remove it immediately from it and run the spinach mixture through tap water to retain the color of the spinach while cooking.
  • Grind spinach,onions and green chillies to a fine paste.
  • Heat oil in a kadai and crackle cumin seeds and add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute.
  • Add coriander and jeera powder's to it and fry well.Add spinach and onion puree and fry until the oil separates from the pan.
  • Add cooked rajma(removing extra water) and add milk(or cream) and mix well.Check for the consistency and add enough water(use drained water from rajma) if required.Simmer it for 8-10mins.
  • Add salt to taste(remember we added salt while cooking rajma),garam masala and amchur powder and mix well.
  • Remove it from the stove and garnish with fresh cream and serve hot.
Serve it hot with phulka/chapathy/Naan/Kulcha/pulao's.

Note:
  • I always avoid mixing tomato and palak in the same dish,instead I add either lemon juice or amchur powder to give sourness to the dish.It is your personal choice to include what ever you want and adjust the sourness by adding more amchur powder or use lemon juice.
  • In order to make the dish still richer and tastier add nicely mashed(1/2 cup paneer) to the gravy while rajma to the spinach mixture.
  • For a Vegan version avoid cream and milk in the recipe.

37 comments:

  1. This is new,never tasted rajma with palak.Excellent click

    ReplyDelete
  2. luks perfect dear,lovely colour.yummy combo

    ReplyDelete
  3. Palak ...... palak.... with rajma... its completely new... i never tried this lemme do it soon :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely Combination...I liked the Onion Rose n Palak Leaves in the Vase...Well Presented :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. wow..what a beautiful presentation dear... curry looks awesome..

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lovely color Prathy and a delightful combination. I made this combination ages back I think I was not even married then, thanks I will make it again. I just so wish could grab some..:-)
    FOODELICIOUS

    ReplyDelete
  7. Rajma palak looks yummm..Onion flower is pretty to see too.

    ReplyDelete
  8. this is absolutely new to me .. have never tasted nor heard about this .. very unique .. loved all the pics and presentation at its best

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lovely !! so beautifully done dish.. and look at that color.. perfect :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. That sounds one delicious combo... And yes, the variation from the usual panner and aloo is always interesting. Glad you tried and shared it here.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Very healthy recipe indeed! Like the color, Pavithra.

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is quite new to me,never heard before,look and sounds good prathiba!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Rajma & palak, now thats a unique combo,but i liked this recipe and seems perfect with roti...

    ReplyDelete
  14. Looks so delicious and yummy with beautiful pictures prathy.

    ReplyDelete
  15. such a deicious combo.Cooking rajma with cinnamon is a nice step,will try next time.adding paneer sounds rich and yummy

    ReplyDelete
  16. very healthy and delicious recipe.. very new to me.. beautiful presentation :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. wow dear, that is such a great looking and healthy curry, it has been green leaves and rajma as protein. Lovely presentation as well :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow that a unique combo..yummy and very attractive..will surely give this a try.

    ReplyDelete
  19. wow spinach n rajma what a combo ..i love both but never combine them ...taste must be awesome ,thanks for sharing dear

    Satya
    http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

    ReplyDelete
  20. This looks super delicious! Bookmarked!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hey pratibha,
    chanced upon your blog while surfing the web.. loving your style of blogging n awesome recipe collection here.. i book marked some, have 2 go through some more..u have a great presentation style with stunning pics..
    liked the rajma palak recipe.. very new n interesting
    have book marked your site, will be visiting often :)
    take care,
    aipi
    http://usmasala.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  22. This is very new to me.I have rajma at home but was searching for a nice recipe.i got it now..will try this 4 sure.. :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Rocking combo..never tried palak with rajam..sounds awesome, will give a try..thx for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Rajma with palak sounds yummy n healthy. A rose with onion...cute! very creative and the snaps are perfect dear.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I am a recent Palak convert!!made Palak Paneer recently,Palak Rajma is something new..bookmarked!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Nice recipe and beautiful presentatio:)

    ReplyDelete
  27. very new combination..looks healthy and delish!

    ReplyDelete
  28. A very new combo! Looks lovely and am sure would taste great too :-)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thanx for stopping by and leaving ur lovely words....U have nice collection of recipes...I'm adding u to my blog list :-)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Thanks for the recepie.
    Soaked rajma right away. Tommorow's lunch bag palak rajma with chapathies.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting The Chef and Her Kitchen.
Do leave your comments and feedback,they are always welcome.Please do not leave any links.

Hugs,
Prathy