Recipe: Vidhya's Kumaoni-Style Spinach

Vidhya Pant's Palak Ka Kaapa, a Kumaoni-style raseela spinach, is a curry of the vegetable cooked in mustard oil and made without onion or garlic.

Its simplicity is its charm and the kaapa goes well with bhaat or steamed rice.

Vidhya, who was born and raised in Ramnagar, in Uttarakhand's Nainital district, but has lived in places as diverse as Shillong, Lucknow, Pune, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Gurugram and now Dehradun, is a complete foodie. Her favourite pastime is watching food reels and experimenting with new recipes.

Palak Ka Kaapa

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 1 bunch palak or spinach leaves, stems removed, washed really well and chopped
• ½ tsp jeera or cumin seeds
• ¼ tsp hing or asafoetida
• 1 tbsp wheat flour or rice flour or besan (chickepea or gram flour)
• 1 inch-piece ginger, ground to paste
• ½ tsp haldi or turmeric powder
• 1 tsp dhania or coriander powder
• 1 green chilly, slit, optional
• Salt to taste, around 1 tsp
• 800 ml warm water
• 1 tbsp mustard oil or ghee
• Dollop white butter or ghee, optional

Method

• Heat the mustard oil or ghee in a kadhai or frying pan over medium heat.
  Add the jeera and allow it to splutter.
  Add the hing and flour, while stirring continuously, so no lumps are formed.
  Add the chopped palak and ground ginger.
  Mix well so no lumps are formed.
  Add the salt, haldi, dhania powder, green chilly.
  Mix well.
  Add the warm water, keep stirring as it comes to a boil.
  Lower the heat and let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes.
  Take off heat and serve hot with steamed rice and, if you prefer, a dollop of white butter or ghee.

Editor's Note: For a Jain version of this raseela palak, use 1 tsp saunth or dried ginger powder.

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