JFI - Soya Palak

Yesterday I had some guests to my house. They were americans who love indian food. I always tell them that restaurant food is not what we cook at home. So to prove the point I invited them for dinner. I made chicken kurma, veggie biryani, soya palak and vermicelli payasam.

I actually wanted to make palak paneer but I forgot to make or buy paneer. So I thought I will substitute paneer with soya nuggets. I actually dont know the original recipe of palak paneer and searched. Found one on Mahanandi and one on letzcook. Mixed the two added my touches. The taste was awesome and my guests lovedd it.

The one thing I dont like about palak paneer is that the texture is like that of Chutney - all pureed. I wanted to maintain the texture of the soya palak.


JFI - Greens by Mahanandi

From the pantry

Soya nuggets
poppy seeds
roasted channa dal ( dhalia, udaichakadalai )
garam masala
chilli powder
cumin
broken cashews
oil
salt

From the fridge

Spinach
coconut
green chillies
tomato
onion
garlic
ginger

Make a paste of 1 tsp each of coconut, poppy seeds, roasted channa dal, a medium sized tomato, 1/2 inch ginger, 2 cloves garlic, 2 green chillies with a little bit of salt.

Finely chop half a medium sized onion. Heat a teaspoon oil in a pan and saute five handfuls of spinach. Remove to a plate when wilted. Wipe the pan with a paper towel and add tablespoon of oil. Add tsp of cumin, followed by onion and cashews.

Whip the cooled wilted spinach in a blender. Now add the spinach to the pan with onions and cashews. Add the ground paste. Add a teaspoon of chillipowder and a teaspoon of garam masala followed by the soya nuggets.

Close and cook till all spices are combined well. Around 10 to 15 minutes. Enjoy with chapathi or naan.

This dish is extremely nutritious with protein for soy, iron and minerals from Spinach - truly guilt-free. The cashews can also be ground to make the paste but I thought it gives great nutty texture when broken cashews are added.