This is a simple spinach dish that comes together in 15 mins, in the time it takes rice to be ready. Can be made with any of the greens. I've used purslane or paruppu keerai as it's known in Tamil since I grow it. It grows very easily. All parts of the plant are edible, including the very pretty yellow flowers. There are many varieties of purslane with different colored flowers, and I was told the one with the yellow flowers was the one most used in cooking. It can be sauteed with salt and garlic, or sprinkled on salads, or, as I've done here, cooked with onions, chilies, and dals to make a wholesome dish to be eaten with rice. (I am not qualified to give medical advice, but I'm told it is high in oxalates, so if you're watching oxalate intake which may cause kidney stones, go easy on it.
| Prep Time | 1 hours |
| Cook Time | 15 |
| Servings |
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Ingredients
- 2 cups freshly picked purslane or other spinach
- 6-8 shallots or 1 med onion
- 2 green chilies
- 1/2 cup cooked, mashed toor or moong dal
- 2 cloves garlic optional
- salt to taste
Tempering Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Oil/ghee
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1 tsp urad dal
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds optional
Ingredients
Tempering Ingredients
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Instructions
- Chop onions and tomatoes roughly. Smash garlic if using. Slit green chilies.
- If you don't have cooked dal, cook some toor or moong dal and keep ready
- Heat a pan, add oil. Add mustard seeds. When spluttered, add the rest of the tempering ingredients.
- Add onions, a bit of salt for the onions and saute until slightly translucent. Follow with tomatoes, chilies and saute a couple of minutes.
- Add the keerai (spinach) and saute. They cook very quickly. When wilted, add salt.
- Add the mashed dal with a little bit of water to desired consistency (for a soup, add more water, for a curry as a side, add less) and mash it all together. Cook for a couple of minutes.
- Done! We always make this with a tamarind based, dal-less gravy like milagu kuzhambu/vathal kuzhambu/kaara kuzhambu. Tastes great with brown or white rice!
Recipe Notes
This is a great beginner dish. Simple, healthy and makes you feel good about eating something good and healthy! No blending of masalas, no elaborate ingredients! All around winner!
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