Palak Moong (Spinach with Mung) and Awards!

I received awards! Thanks to Trupti and Devi Priya for the Nice Matters Award. Thanks to JZ for the good blog chat award. Sorry for the delay in mentioning it. As I have received these awards earlier, I added your names to my awards page. Thanks once again for thinking of me for the awards

 

Palak Moong is another of the comforting and nutritious foods. Simple to make, no need of working near the gas stove for long and still a yummy and comforting dish ready in half an hour … This one goes well with rotis/chapattis as well as rice.

 

Update: I just realized this one too can be sent for Eat Healthy – Protein Rich as Moong dal as well as Palak (Spinach) are protein-rich and nutritious foods on the whole. So, this one too goes to the Eat Healthy – Protein Rich event.

 

Ingredients:

Palak/Keerai (Spinach): 1 bundle or frozen 1 lb pack

Green chillies: 1 roughly chopped

Moong/Mung dal (Green gram skinned and split): ¾ cup

Red chilly powder: ¼ teaspoon

Asafoetida (hing): a pinch

Mustard seeds: 1 teaspoon

Turmeric: ¼ teaspoon

Oil: 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

 

Method:

1. Clean the spinach and wash well several times. Soak in water with a pinch of turmeric for at least 15 minutes – to kill germs. Then drain the leaves and chop them fine.



2. Cook the moong dal in 2.5-3 cups of water in a pressure cooker for about 4-5 whistles or till mushy consistency.



3. In the meanwhile, heat the oil a pan/vessel and add the mustard seeds and fry till they pop. Add the asafetida and sauté.
4. Add two cups of water and bring to a boil. Include the turmeric powder in the water.
5. When the water boils, add the spinach leaves and cook till mushy – will take about 10-15 minutes. You can roughly mash with the back of the ladle or a hand blender to a coarse consistency. I prefer to leave the spinach leaves as is without mashing.
6. When the spinach is done, mash the cooked moong dal and mix in.
7. Add salt, red chilly powder, and the chopped green chillies. Mix the ingredients well. Allow to boil and cook for 5-7 minutes more so that the flavors blend.



8. Turn off the heat and serve with rice or rotis.