Palak pulao recipe | Palak rice recipe | Spinach rice | How to make palak rice

What is Palak Rice?

Palak Rice is a flavoured vegetarian rice recipe where rice is cooked with green leafy vegetable spinach and some regular spices. But for the variation of the palak rice recipe, other elements can also be added like tofu, paneer, carrots, sweet corn, peas etc. Palak pulao recipe is mostly served with Dal or Raita and papad.

There is no fixed rule to prepare Palak pulao recipe but mostly it is prepared in two different ways. One by using cooked rice and another is prepared with uncooked rice. Both the ways Palak pulao recipe or palak rice recipe tastes superb.

Today, I am going to share with you the second version of Palak pulao recipe which is prepared with uncooked rice. Its a one pot recipe and can be prepared in large quantity. So, it is a perfect meal option for sudden guests. The palak rice recipe that I am sharing with you can be doubled or tripled the quantity easily. For a change, you just need to use a large utensil for preparing it.

Palak pulao recipe is very simple and easy to make. It requires very limited and easily available ingredients of our kitchen pantry to get prepared. The best part is that it gets prepared very quickly without facing any fuss. Spinach pulao recipe is a perfect solution for busy moms to prepare a delectably healthy meal during busy hours.

As we would all agree that it is quite difficult to make kids eat vegetables and leafy greens in regular way. They always try to escape from these healthy stuffs. But when Moms’ secretly insert these healthy vegetables in their favourite food, they eat them with joy. Spinach Pulao is a great option to make the kids eat spinach without any trouble.

Palak Rice recipe step by step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instructions’ section. If you follow the steps carefully then you will surely get perfectly fluffy and flavourful Palak Rice. But before directly jumping into the recipe, let me share few interesting facts about the recipe and the hero ingredient of the recipe ‘Spinach’.

Health benefits of Spinach

How to make palak rice?

For the palak pulao recipe, first I have washed and soaked the Basmati rice. It is always better to wash the rice nicely until the water gets clear and then soak it in water for half an hour and not more than that for the best result. It is one of the most important part of the recipe to get fluffy and non-sticky palak rice.

On the other hand, I have washed the spinach thoroughly in running water and transfer them into a jar of a blender. Then I have added green chillies, ginger and garlic cloves into the jar and blend it to a smooth puree. I have added little bit of water too. It makes the blending quick and easier.

I have cooked the spinach rice in Ghee (Clarified butter) to enhance the flavour of the rice recipe. But for my vegan friends, olive oil or sunflower oil works well for the recipe too. Other than these, I have used sliced onion and some spices to flavour up the dish.

I have used cumin seeds, star anise, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon stick for the tempering of the palak pulao recipe. These spices induce a nice aroma into the Ghee or oil.

Then I have added the sliced onions and cooked it for some time and added the spinach puree into the pan. After some time, I have added the soaked basmati rice and measured water and cooked it.

At the final stage of cooking, I have sprinkled some garam masala powder and lemon juice into the rice and mixed it nicely. Both the ingredients complement the taste and flavour of Palak rice.

You can cook the palak pulao recipe in pressure cooker too. You just need to pressure cook it in medium flame till 2 whistles and allow it to release the pressure automatically.

Ingredients:

• 2 and ½ cup Spinach, tightly packed
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 1-inch Ginger, diced
• 2 Green chillies

• 1 cup Basmati Rice, uncooked
• 1 large Onion, thin sliced
• ½ Lemon, squeezed for fresh juice
• ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
• 1 Star anise
• 3 Cardamoms
• 4 Cloves
• 1 Cinnamon stick, 2 inches
• ¾ teaspoon Garam masala powder
• 1 and ½ teaspoon Salt (Adjust the amount according to taste)
• 1 and 1/3 cup of Water
• 2 tablespoons Ghee or Oil for cooking

1. Wash the Basmati rice until the water gets clear and soak it in enough water for 30 minutes.
   
   

2. Then drain the water and keep it aside.
   

3. Wash the spinach leaves in a colander and drain the excess water.
   

4. Put the spinach leaves into a jar of a blender or mixer grinder.
5. Add green chillies, ginger, garlic, 1 tablespoon into the jar and close the lid.
   
   

6. Run the blender for a minute until it turns into a smooth puree. Keep the jar aside.
   

7. On the other hand, put a pan on flame and let it become dry.
8. Add ghee or oil into the pan and wait until its hot.
   

9. Once the ghee or Oil is hot, add cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon stick, cardamoms, star anise into the pan and let them crackle.
   

10. Add sliced onions into the pan and cook them in medium flame for 3-4 minutes until it becomes translucent.
    

11. Add spinach puree (Step 6) into the pan and give a nice stir.
    

12. Cook it in medium flame for 2-3 minutes until it starts releasing oil.
    

13. Add salt into the pan and give a nice mix.
    

14. Add soaked rice (Step 2) into the pan and mix it with masala delicately or else the rice may break.
    
    

15. Add 1 and 1/3 cups of water into the pan and give a nice stir. If you prefer soft rice, then use 1 and ½ cups of water.
    

    Note: Palak puree itself contains water. So, this rice requires less water than other pulao recipe.
    

16. Cover the pan and cook it in high flame for 2-3 minutes until the water simmers.
    

17. Add garam masala powder, lemon juice and give a nice stir.
    
    

18. Put the flame in low and put on the lid of the pan. Cook it for another 10-12 minutes.
19. Switch off the flame and put the pan down.
    

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