Palak/Spinach & Tomatoes

I wanted to whip up quickly something for lunch and what better than using tomatoes and greens for a quick dish. A quick sauté of tomatoes and spinach with just the chili powder as spice, tangy and very fulfilling with a bowl of rice. This dish can be prepared in so many ways and different flavors just by using different ingredients like garlic or curry leaves or some whole masala/spices for a different flavor!

Ingredients:
1 bunch Spinach, chopped
2 –3  medium tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp chili powder or according to taste
pinch of turmeric
julienned ginger
salt to taste

Preparation Method:
1. Clean, rinse and chop the spinach leaves.
2. Heat oil in vessel or large pan. Add mustard seeds. As they splutter, add onions and sauté till translucent.
3. Add chopped tomatoes and saute till cooked.
4. Add chopped spinach, turmeric, chili powder and salt. Add julienned ginger and stir for few minutes.
5. Remove from heat and serve with rice, roti or bread.

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Serves: 2 – 3

Note: For a dry curry, let the water evaporate and oil separate from the sides before adding spinach.

Chicken Ghee Roast (Hirva / Green Masala)

By now if you have seen couple of my last posts, there is always a post every few days with this tasty and flavorful green masala, yes its my favorite. The use of green chilies, ginger, garlic and cilantro is my most favorite combination/masala that I regularly use for rice or non-veg preparations. It is also called Malvani Hirwa Masala based on the region it is most famous for. Malvan is a town on India’s West Coast and most of the konkani food specializing in seafood and/or chicken recipes heavily use this mixture.
I have another ghee roast recipe here with regular chili powder and tamarind. The one posted below is using the green masala and it tasted just awesome. With the flavor and aroma of the green masala, the dish goes best with rice flour roti/ghavne.

Ingredients:
2 full cups chicken (~ 2 lb)
2 tbsp yogurt
4 tbsp ghee/clarified butter
whole masala (1 bay leaf, 1/2 tsp pepper corns, 5 cloves, 5 cardamoms, 2 in cinnamon)
1 tsp coriander seeds powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 lemon-juice
salt to taste
Grind:
1 cup cilantro/coriander leaves
4 in ginger
8 cloves of garlic
4 green chilies

Preparation Method:
1. Grind the green masala (garlic, ginger, green chilies, cilantro) to a coarse paste.
2. Marinate the chicken with green masala, yogurt and salt. Leave it for 15 –20 mins
3. Heat ghee in a deep vessel. Add the whole masala and sauté. Immediately add the marinated chicken and saute for few minutes.
4. Add the remaining marinade, coriander powder and cumin powder.
5. Close lid and let it cook till ghee separates from the sides.
6. Garnish with chopped cilantro, lemon juice and serve with chapati/ghavne/nan/rice.


Preparation Time: 25 mins
Serves: 3 – 4