Showing posts with label Spinach / Palak. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spinach / Palak. Show all posts

Vegan Zucchini Spinach Frittata


What's next on your breakfast table? How about this light and fluffy Vegan Zucchini Spinach Frittata made from chickpea flour, zucchini and spinach!

How to make vegan frittata recipe at One Teaspoon Of Life How to make vegetarian vegan omelet recipe at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

Breakfast time!

I've been eating clean this week. I've got some annoying breakouts on my face and I have gotta get rid of them. By clean eating, I mean no sugar, no greasy fried food, no processed food, basically no giving into temptation. So HARD, especially when people in office are getting sweets and chocolates pretty much everyday.

Instead I'm eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. At the start of the week I had oranges, apples, pomegranates and strawberry. Yummm. So fresh. I'm also on my way to making my first ever all natural orange face pack. Hope it works...

How to make vegan frittata recipe at One Teaspoon Of Life How to make vegetarian vegan omelet recipe at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

Even if you don't have any acne or other skin problems, just try this little trick my sister Gee taught me. Soak orange peels in a mug of water for 3 to 4 hours or overnight. Use that water to wash your face. Careful with your eyes though - keep them shut. That water has such a fresh fragrance of oranges, it will wake you up instantly and leave your skin smelling all orange-y for a good half hour. I'm not even a fan of oranges, but I definitely loved that fresh feel in the morning. If you have any such wonderful beauty rituals, leave me a comment.

Beauty tips aside for the moment. Let me get back to my clean green recipe - Vegan Zucchini Spinach Frittata. Frittata is usually a really thick omelet that is either baked or cooked in a deep pan on stovetop. This vegan zucchini spinach frittata is made from chickpea flour or gram flour (besan). lightness of the frittata is achieved by adding fruit salt (eno). If you don't find fruit salt, replace 1 tsp of fruit salt with 1/2 tsp of baking soda and 1/2 tsp of lime juice or citric acid. Allow it to rest for at least 10 minutes to let the baking soda react with the citric acid.

How to make vegan frittata recipe at One Teaspoon Of Life How to make vegetarian vegan omelet recipe at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

You remember this wonderful Vegan Zucchini Kale Lasagna I made last week? I still had some baby zucchinis left over from it, that I sliced into thin slices and used here in this frittata. It is clean and it is green, One green ingredient down, more to go.

I wilted some spinach with garlic and chopped that roughly and added it to the frittata for my second and last green ingredient. Toss in some chopped onions and tomatoes and we are all set to make the frittata. Here's the fun part now, you can flavor this frittata however you like. I kept it minimal and only added a pinch of turmeric and half a teaspoon of chilli flakes. You can add anything from herbs like oregano, thyme, basil to spices like cumin, fennel or carom. After all, you are the CHEF!

How to make vegan frittata recipe at One Teaspoon Of Life How to make vegetarian vegan omelet recipe at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com


How to make vegan frittata recipe at One Teaspoon Of Life How to make vegetarian vegan omelet recipe at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com


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Vegan Zucchini Spinach Frittata


How to make vegan frittata recipe at One Teaspoon Of Life How to make vegetarian vegan omelet recipe at www.oneteaspoonoflife.comVegan Zucchini Spinach Frittata is a pan fried vegan frittata (thick omelet) made with chickpea flour (besan), zucchini and garlic wilted spinach

Recipe Type:  Breakfast
Cuisine:            Indian
Prep Time:     10 minutes
Cook time:     15 minutes
Yield:                Makes 2

Ingredients:


1 cup Chickpea flour or Besan or Gram Flour
2 cups chopped Spinach
2 baby Zucchini
1 small Onion
1 small Tomato
2 Garlic Cloves
1/2 tsp Chilli flakes
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Fruit Salt or Eno
1 cup Water
4-5 tsp Oil
Salt to taste

Method:


Mince the garlic. Finely chop the onion and tomato. Slice the zucchini.
Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan.
Add the minced garlic and fry for 20-30 seconds.
Add the chopped spinach and fry until wilted. It may take around 2-3 minutes.
Take the chickpea flour in a large bowl.
Add turmeric powder, chilli flakes, salt, fruit salt and 1/2 cup water. Add more water if required. The batter should be loose and light.
Heat a small non stick frying pan and grease it.
Spoon half the batter onto the pan.
Sprinkle half of the wilted spinach, zucchini, onion and tomato. Alternately, you can add all the vegetables to the batter before spooning the batter.
Cook on low to medium heat. Spoon oil on the sides.
Once the first side browns slightly, spoon 1 tsp of oil on the top and flip the frittata.
Cook until the second side browns slightly. Remove from heat.
Repeat the same steps with the other half of the batter.
Serve hot.


How to make vegan frittata recipe at One Teaspoon Of Life How to make vegetarian vegan omelet recipe at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com
Read more ...

Mexican Green Rice with Spicy Fried Potatoes

Work has been very stressful lately. All I want to do is get home and start blogging. But at the end of the day I have literally no energy left. In fact, hubby dearest has been cooking dinners too. It’s been raining outside, and I have no time to enjoy it :( . I’m missing watching MasterChef on TV :( . I am craving for my end of the month vacation. I hope for it to be my much needed relief. Until then, my blog will have to be my only source of relaxation. *End of ranting*






Now, back to my sane self. Forgive me, sometimes “Hyper-Stressed out-Worried Anu” makes an appearance here. This post is going to cater to those with lack of time – like me. One pot meal. The answer to a busy night. I know the name sounds simply Exotic. I’ll let you in on a secret *hush* it is only coriander rice *hush*. Yup, you heard it right. Coriander/Cilantro is abundantly available in India, albeit it’s gotten really costly off late. I pay Rs.40 for a bunch :( in Bangalore. I did try growing it. It grew too, though not enough to suffice and the heavy rains killed almost half of my saplings :( . Too many sad smileys. Isn’t that an oxymoron? Sad smiley. Or is there a more appropriate name for it?



For a lot of communities, rice is a side dish and the main is something else. But for us Indians, especially South Indians, rice is the star. Everything else is a side dish. I have seen a lot of friends for whom a meal isn’t complete if they don’t have a spoonful  of curd rice at the end. If you have never seen a paddy field, I suggest you do see one, especially in or after the monsoons. That is probably the brightest green nature can throw at you. It really relaxes the eyes and the mind.

The original Mexican rice obviously uses Mexican chillies, I had no time to find exotic chillies, so I just used the regular desi chillies. They are probably a little spicier than their Mexican counterparts, so use it carefully to match your taste buds.



I toyed with the idea of different accompaniments and finally settled on the spicy potato fry. I did seriously consider the raita, but gave it to my greediness of having some fried potatoes *feeling guilty*

So on a slightly free weeknight, we enjoyed a part Mexican and part Indian meal of Green rice with spicy fried potatoes watching another exciting episode of MasterChef. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.



Mexican Green Rice with Spicy Fried Potatoes

Mexican green rice with spicy fried potatoes

Rice flavored with Coriander and Spinach served with spicy fried potatoes 

Recipe Type:  Main Course
Cuisine:          Mexican
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:     60 minutes
Yield:              2 servings

Ingredients:

Mexican Green Rice:

3/4 cup Basmati Rice
1/2 cup coriander leaves
1/2 cup spinach leaves
2-3 cloves of garlic
1-2 green chillies
4 tsp oil
1 Onion
1 tsp Lemon juice
1.5 cups Water
Salt

Spicy Fried Potatoes:

2 Potatoes
3 tsp oil
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Coriander powder
4-5 Curry leaves
Salt

Method:

Mexican Green Rice:

  • Wash and drain the rice.
  • Lay it out on a towel to dry.
  • Grind the spinach, coriander, garlic. onion and green chillies into a coarse paste
  • Heat oil in a pan/kadhai and add the rice
  • On a medium flame fry the rice until it is slightly golden appx. 5 mins
  • Add the green paste, water and salt
  • Cover and cook on low flame until the rice is cooked
  • Add lime juice and garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot

Spicy Fried Potatoes:

  • Peel and chop the potatoes
  • Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds
  • Once they splutter, add the curry leaves and the potatoes
  • Add the spices and salt and mix well
  • Cover and cook until the potatoes are done
  • You can have this with roti/chapati also
Read more ...

Palak Mooli | Spinach with Radish

I’d heard of Aloo Palak and Aloo Methi, but never of Palak Mooli. Over lunch, one Rajasthani colleague mentioned that they make palak mooli. I generally make mooli sabzi with its own greens, but never with any other greens. The greens mellow down the spiciness of the mooli. But finding fresh mooli with its own greens is quite a task in Bangalore. The only people who sell it are the ones with the carts. If you buy mooli from supermarkets, then they definitely won’t have the greens. This sabzi works well then. I immediately picked up mooli and palak the next day and decided to give it a try. I must say I like this more than the Aloo Palak…







Palak Mooli | Spinach with Radish



dry curry of Spinach and radishA Rajasthani dry curry made with white radish and spinach

Recipe Type:  Side
Cuisine:          Indian / Rajasthani
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:     30 minutes
Yield:              2 Servings

Ingredients:

1 Mooli / White Radish / Daikon(longer than 6 inches, else, you may need 2 small ones)
2 Cups Palak / Spinach
1 Onion
1 Tomato
3 tsp Oil
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
2 cloves Garlic
1/2" piece Ginger
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1-2 tsp Red Chilli powder
1/2 tsp Amchur powder(Optional)
Salt

Method:

  • Chop the onion finely.
  • Crush the garlic and ginger and chop finely ( or grate them )
  • Wash the palak leaves and chop them finely.
  • Peel and cut the mooli. I slit the mooli lengthwise twice and then cut into slices.
  • Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds.
  • Once they splutter, add the cumin seeds.
  • Once the cumin seeds brown, add the onion, ginger and garlic.
  • Fry until the onions are slightly browned.
  • Chop the tomato and add to the oil.
  • Fry for 1-2 mins until the tomatoes have softened.
  • Add the mooli and the palak.
  • Add the turmeric powder and red chilli powder, mix well.
  • Cover and cook until the mooli is done.
  • Add salt and amchur powder.
  • Mix well.
  • Serve hot with rotis.
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Red Chilli Marinated Tofu


Deep fried tofu is very tasty, but baked tofu is equally tasty as well albeit healthier. Plain baked tofu is good but baked marinated tofu is awesome. Since I had the red chilli chutney ready, I decided to marinate the tofu with it. I rolled up the marinated tofu in a chapatti along with lettuce and spinach to form a roll. You can just eat it like a salad. Go to recipe.

Red chilli marinated tofu


Marinated tofu

Baked marinated tofu

Tofu roll
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------

Red Chilli Marinated Tofu


tofu marinated in red chilli paste and bakedFirm Tofu marinated in a red chilli chutney and baked. This is then made into a roll using whole wheat flat bread and fresh salad leaves

Recipe Type:  Snacks
Cuisine:          International
Prep Time:     10 minutes
Cook time:     30 minutes
Yield:              2 rolls

Ingredients:

200 gms Firm Tofu
2 Tbsp Red Chilli chutney / Ranjaka(Recipe in this blog)
2 Tbsp Lime juice
1 tsp Sesame seeds
4 large Lettuce leaves
1 cup Spinach leaves
2 Chapati / Phulka
Salt

Method:

  • Marinate the tofu with the red chilli chutney overnight
  • Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius
  • Cut the tofu into 1" cubes and bake for 15 minutes
  • Add the lime juice, salt and sesame seeds
  • Either eat it as a salad along with lettuce and spinach leaves or roll it into a chapatti to make a tofu roll.
  • To make a roll, spread the lettuce leaves and the spinach on the chapatti.
  • Add the baked tofu
  • Roll the chapatti and enjoy with ketchup
Read more ...

Zucchini, Spinach and Onion Pizza

The GoodFood magazine put me in a zucchini pizza mood. The photo looked so delicious that I just had to eat it. Sadly, no pizza joint close to home serves you such a pizza. So it fell upon me to create one :) The magazine was courteous enough to provide a recipe for the base as well. I added the pesto and the remaining veggies to give it more volume. The recipe for the pizza base and the pesto used can be found on the blog as well.

Place the topping on the pizza base

Grate cheese and spoon olive oil

Pizza after baking
Pizza

Pizza with carrot fries and blueberry muffins


Zuccini, Spinach and Onion Pizza


Pizza with pesto sauce topped with spinach, onions and zucchini

Recipe Type:  Snacks
Cuisine:          International
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:     20 minutes
Yield:              Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 medium sized Pizza base
3/4 cup Pesto sauce
3 Cheese cubes
1 medium Zucchini
1 small Onion
A handful of Spinach leaves
1 tsp Oregano
3 Tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp Pepper
1/2 - 1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Rosemary (dried)

Method:

Spread the pesto on the base and grate one cheese cube and spread on it
Roughly chop the onion into large slices.
Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil and toss the onions in it until soft
Cut the zucchini into fine ribbons. I used a peeler to make the fine ribbons
Toss the zucchini with 1 tbsp. oil. Add a little salt and the pepper.
Add the oregano, rosemary and the onions
Place the spinach on the base.
Spread the zucchini and the onion mix
Grate the remaining cheese on the pizza
Spoon the remaining olive oil on the pizza
Preheat the oven to 200 degree Celsius and bake for 10-15 minutes.



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Bean sprouts salad

Abroad, salads now form a part of every meal almost. People are getting conscious of their eating habits. For us in India, salad generally means kosambri/ Koshimbir, raita or cut veggies like carrot, tomato, cucumber etc. The same salad on daily basis gets boring. So I keep searching for different
types of salad recipes. On sunday, I was very excited to find bean sprouts in my veggie store. I think you can make this at home too, but I've never tried to get the sprouts to grow so thick. Anyway, it was very cheap and I remembered a yummy bean sprout salad I had in a restaurant buffet. Although I don't know their exact recipe, I decided to try something out. The try was successful, and gave us a tasty salad for dinner...



Ingredients:

Bean sprouts - 2 cups
Capsicum - 1/2 (Optional)
Coriander leaves - a handful
Baby spinach - a handful (Optional)
Sunflower seeds/ Peanuts/ Pinenuts - 2 tbsp (Optional)

For dressing:

Garlic - 1 clove
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Dark soy sauce - 1 tsp
Lime juice - 2 tbsp
Honey - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Onion powder - 1/2 tsp (Optional)
Pepper powder- 1 tsp
Celery salt (Can use regular salt, I used this as I had it)

Method:

Wash and drain the bean sprouts
Cut the capsicum into fine juliennes and add to bean sprouts
Finely chop the coriander and the baby spinach and add to the bean sprouts.
Roast the sunflower seeds in a pan for 1-2 minutes, until they turn a light brown and keep aside to be added later. You may use any nuts like peanuts, pinenuts, almonds or skip nuts altogether
For the dressing, heat the olive oil in a pan and fry finely chopped garlic in it until the garlic turns brown.
Pour out the oil into a bowl and add the dark soy sauce, lime juice, salt, sugar, honey, onion powder and pepper powder.
I used dark soy sauce because that was what I had. Any soy sauce can be used.
I used sugar along with the honey because the honey did not cut through the acidity of the dressing up to my liking. You can skip the sugar and increase the amount of honey or reduce the amount of lime juice. The dressing should have a mild sweet taste without being overpowering.
Mix the dressing well.
Spoon the dressing on the salad and add the sunflower seeds on top.
Read more ...

Spinach Dal | Palak Dal

Howdy!! How did the weekend treat you? Are you in mood for some piping hot Palak Dal and Rice?

How to make palak dhal recipe at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

The first time I had this Spinach or Palak Dal was when I was around 8 years old. My friend's mom, my next door neighbor made it. As we played in the kitchen, she cooked it right in front of us showing us how it is made. The moment she added the ginger-garlic and fried and the aroma wafted over to where we were playing, our mouths started watering and we did not leave the kitchen until the entire dal was made. I did not even go home for lunch that day, I ate at my friend's place.

Being from Mumbai, my friend's family was used to eating spicy and hot food. To my near bland palate, it was like an explosion in my mouth and I ate the dal while my eyes watered. But I loved every spoonful of it. I loved it so much, I ran back home and asked my mom to learn how to make Palak Dal.

How to make palak dhal recipe at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

I've since, learnt how to make it and it is regular occurrence in my house. While I have grown up, my palate is still not accustomed to extremely hot food, so I never add as much green chilli or ginger my friend's mom added, I only add enough to tantalize my tongue. If you are fond of hot food, feel free to add in more or if you prefer your food to be lighter in taste, you can remove the seeds of the chilli before grinding it into a paste.

For added flavor, you can add half a cup of dill leaves or suva sabzi to this dal as well. I add it at times if I have it and it gives this Palak Dal a different dimension. Highly recommended addition, I say!

I personally love dal with roti or naan as much as I love my dal rice. If you plan on eating this with roti, reduce the amount of water you add, to get a thicker consistency. To eat with rice, a thinner consistency is preferred. 

I cook this dal entirely in the pressure cooker, partly because it is quicker and partly because I am lazy to wash many dishes. If you do not have a pressure cooker, you can use a kadhai or a sauce pan with a lid to make this Palak Dal. You will find that this does not alter the taste or texture of the Palak Dal, however, it does take longer to cook the dal. And that means you have to wait longer to eat this awesome curry!!!

How to make palak dhal recipe at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

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Spinach Dal | Palak Dal


How to make palak dhal recipe at www.oneteaspoonoflife.comSpinach Dal or Palak Dal is a spiced dal made from pigeon pea lentils (toor dal) and spinach. 

Recipe Type:  Main
Cuisine:            North Indian
Prep Time:     20 minutes
Cook time:     40 minutes
Yield:                Serves 3-4

Ingredients:


5-6 cups chopped Spinach (Palak)
1 cup Pigeon Pea Lentils (Toor Dal)
1 Onion
2 Tomato
3-4 pods Garlic
1" piece Ginger
1-2 Green Chilli
1 tsp Garam Masala
1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Cumin Seeds (Jeera)
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder (Haldi)
3 tsp Oil
Salt to taste
Water

Method:


Boil the toor dal with 2.5 cups of water in a pressure cooker. Remove the dal and clean the pressure cooker for re-use.
Wash and chop the palak leaves.
Chop the onion and tomato and keep aside.
Grind the ginger, garlic, and the green chillies into a paste.
Heat oil in the pressure cooker, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter.
Now add the cumin seeds and let them brown slightly.
Add the chopped onions.
Fry the onions until translucent.
Add the ginger-garlic-chilli paste and fry until fragrant.
Add the tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add garam masala and mix well.
Add chopped palak and stir for 1-2 minutes.
Add the boiled dal, turmeric powder, salt and 1 cup of water.
Close the pressure cooker and cook for 1-2 whistles or around 5 minutes after the pressure builds up.
If you want it to be thinner in consistency, then add more water.
Serve hot with rice.

Note:


If not using a pressure cooker, you can just use a regular deep sauce pan with a tight lid. There will be no difference in taste or texture, however, it will take longer to cook the Spinach Dal.


Read more ...

Palak Rice / Spinach Rice




My friend recommended me to try the unique fare a restaurant in Bangalore has to offer. This restaurant has added a certain twist to the dishes we know to make them different. It was at this place I ordered a Spanish fried rice. Although the name is exotic, and the taste was also good, I doubt it has anything Spanish about it. But this rice got me craving for it. Generally, when I crave something, I try to recreate it at home, instead of going out again to eat it. So it was decided that Spain would enter my kitchen with this Spanish aka Spinach rice... I was not disappointed, my experiment tasted very much like the original and had my friends digging into my lunch box more than usual.



Ingredients:

Palak/ Spinach - 2 bunches
Rice - 1 cup (raw)
Onion - 1 small
Tomato - 1 small
Potato - 1 medium
Peas - 1/2 cup
Carrot - 1
Baby Corn - 5-6 (Optional)
Broccoli - 1/2 cup split into florets (Optional)
Green chilies - 2-3
Ginger - 1" piece
Garlic - 2-3 cloves
Biryani masala/ Garam masala - 1 tsp
Maggi veg cubes - 1
Salt
Water
Oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

Cook the rice with the water until done.
Boil water in a pan and add the spinach to it. Once you add the spinach, make sure you don't cover the pan. Let the spinach blanch for around 5 minutes.
Immediately move the spinach to ice cold water.
Once cooled, grind the spinach with the green chillis. Use more green chillis if the ones you are using are not spicy.
Make a coarse paste of the ginger and garlic.
Boil the potato and green peas.
Blanche/ boil the broccoli until done.
Heat oil in a pan, add the onions and fry them until they are translucent. Add the ginger garlic paste,tomatoes, boiled peas, baby corn, broccoli and cut boiled potato and fry for 1-2 minutes.
Add the palak paste and cook for 1 minute.
Add the salt, maggi cubes, biriyani masala and chilli powder (if needed).
Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the rice and mix well.
Serve hot with raita.
Read more ...

Palak paneer

Popeye's favourite and mine too... Spinach aka palak is very rich in nutrients and what better way to eat it than palak paneer. Easy to make and delicious. Use homemade paneer for extra taste.



Ingredients:

Palak / Spinach - 1 bunch or 3 cups
Onion - 1 medium
Garlic - 1-2 cloves
Ginger - 1/2" piece
Green chillis - 1-2 (you may increase or decrease depending on your liking and the spicyness of the chillis)
Jeera/cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Amchur / Dry mango powder - 1 tsp or Lime juice - 1 tbsp
Paneer - 1 cup or 200gms (cubed)
Salt

Method:

Wash the palak leaves until clean.
Boil 4 cups of water in a pan.
Add the palak leaves. Do not cover the pan. Allow the leaves to boil for 3 mins. This gives the palak paneer the bright green color. If you are in a hurry, you can pressure cook the palak for 1 whistle.
Switch off the gas and let the leaves be there for another 2 mins
In another pan, add ice cold water (around 2-3 cups)
Drain the palak and immediately immerse in the ice cold water
Grind the onion along with the ginger and garlic into a paste.
Cool the palak and grind it into a paste along with the green chillis.
Heat oil in a kadhai.
Add the cumin seeds.
Once the cumin seeds splutter, add the onion paste and cook.
After around 2-3 minutes add the palak mixture.
Add salt.
Add water if required and cook for around 5 minutes.
Add the paneer and cook for 2 more minutes.(The paneer can be added as it is or can be fried in a little bit of oil and added)
Serve hot with chapatis.
Read more ...