Spinach Rice

This is just another quick fix meal that appears at least once a week on my menu. It is quick to make and needs minimal ingredients and lots of spinach. Convenient way to use up left over rice! Tasty and easy way of bringing fresh green spinach into our diet. I find this dish very helpful especially for my toddler who does not eat rice with our conventional curries! :-)


Ingredients:
Rice - 2 cups (washed n soaked)
Spinach - a bunch (washed n chopped)
Garlic - 2 pods (finely chopped)
Dry red chilies - 1 or 2 (broken into halves)
Oil - 2 tsps
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida  - a pinch
Fresh curry leaves - a few
Salt to taste

Procedure:
1. Cook the rice and keep aside. Left over rice can be used conveniently.
2. Heat oil in a wide deep pan. When oil is heated add asafoetida, cumin, mustard seeds, dried red chilies, chopped garlic and curry leaves in the end.
3. After couple of minutes add the chopped spinach and keep mixing until the leaves wilt and reduce in volume. Then reduce the flame to medium-low and keep the lid on the pan.
4. The spinach gets cooked in 7 to 8 minutes. Then add the cooked rice and around 2 teaspoons of salt and mix thoroughly. Keep stirring loosely and adjust the salt for taste and turn off the stove. Close the pan with lid and let it rest for few minutes for the flavors to get absorbed.

That's it! Healthy, tasty and comforting Spinach rice is ready!!

Tip: Dry red chili is the only ingredient that affect the spice level of the dish, just adjust that to suit your taste.