Monday, March 7, 2011

Greens with Beans ..... Chole Palak or Spinach cooked with Garbanzo Beans



'Beta bade hoke tum kya banoge' (What do you aspire to become when you grow up) is one of the favorite questions adults ask kids. I am sure each one of you would have answered this question n number of times till you actually figured out what you wanted out of life. And I am in that phase of life where I ask this to kids around me ... and most times I am amused by their innocence.

I remember someone asking this to my little sister when she was a five year old. She promptly replied 'Traffic Pulish'. For a second there was silence in the room ....Maa was shocked. That was the last thing she would have wanted her daughter to become. May be she had expected something like a doctor or a pilot. Guess that is the most favorite and popular thing kids say. But 'Traffic Pulish' was the least expected one. 'Traffic Pulish is so powerful ..... he can stand in the middle of the road and with a wave of hand the entire traffic comes to a halt', she explained to Maa. The entire room broke into laughter. Well she really didn't grow up to be one but that was her first aspiration !!


Ok but I thought I was the smarter one !! So like every kid I wanted to become a doctor. My Aunt had also gifted me a plastic medical kit on my birthday. I would stand in front of the mirror with a pink stethoscope hanging around my neck and pretend like I was talking to a patient. But soon I managed to find a scapegoat ... it was Rani, out domestic help. Playing doctor-doctor was my favorite pass time. I would ask Rani to open her mouth. I would check her temperature using the Pink thermometer. I would scribble on pieces of papers with illegible writings and prescribe her medicines.Little did I know that becoming a doc was no child play. Not until I decided to write the medical entrance ...... and sure I failed miserably !!
But like always I had my plan B ready. Failure was never an option for me.

But that was that !! I had almost forgotten about it till I hanged out with a bunch of kids this weekend. 'Sweetie Pie what is that you want to become when you grow up' I asked a cutie. ' Miss Universe' she said batting her eye lids and running her tiny fingers through her silky hair. And there was another brat who screamed ' Fire Fighter'. Another one wanted to become a truck driver. And yes there was a doctor too !!

Ok, now coming to the recipe ... I make this 'Chole Palak' often.I have discovered that Palak tastes good when cooked with any pulses.

Preparation Time - 20 minutes
Serves 2


Ingredients

Boiled Chole/ Garbanzo Beans - 1 Cup (You can soak and pressure cook it with a little salt added or use the tinned ones)
Chopped Spinach/ Palak - 2 cups
Chopped Onions - 1/2 cup
Minced Garlic - 1 tbsp
Minced Ginger - 1 tsp
Tomato - 1 pureed
Garam Masala powder - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp (per taste)
Turmeric Powder - 1 pinch
Butter - 1 tsp
Salt per taste
Oil for cooking


Method of Preparation

1 Heat about 1 tbsp of oil in a wok. When warm add ginger to it and fry for a minute. Add the minced garlic and keep stirring it else the garlic will get burnt. Add the finely chopped onions to it and saute till the onion is mushy and there is no raw smell.
2 Add the tomato puree, turmeric and red chili powder and mix well. Saute for 2 minutes.
3 Add the chopped spinach to it and mix well. Cook for 3 minutes.
4 Mix the boiled garbanzo beans/ chole and stir in. Add 1/2 a cup of water.
5 Add garam masala and let the curry simmer for 4 to 5 minutes.
6 Top it with some butter and remove from heat.

Serving Tips
Serve warm with any flat bread or rice

Notes
You may add more spinach if you want.

Inputs Needed - You would have noticed that I have changed my font. I would appreciate if you can tell me if you like the new font or the earlier one better.

25 comments:

Simplyfood said...

This is one of my fav combinations. Lovely curry. Beautiful mouth watering clicks too.

Priya Suresh said...

Simply deicious,love this chole palak with rotis, beautiful dish..

Suja Manoj said...

This is my favorite combination,love it..yours looks perfectly yummy.

Prema said...

Wow wounderful and healthy combo...Delicious recipe...

Reshmi Mahesh said...

Very yummy recipe....Hey I think the earlier font was better....My opinion...
This is kind of small and each letter of a word looks far...

FunWidFud

Kankana said...

that's a delicious dish ! First time landed in your blog .. following you now :)

One of my cousin when he was a kid wanted to become a traffic police and then he decided to become a fashion stylist and then he jumped to open a whole sale market for fish .. my uncle almost had a heart attack everyday :D He is into marketing now after doing MBA :) I couldn't stop thinking of it when I read your blog

Sonia said...

Wonderful recipe of chole and palak. Will surely try out your expert version while making it next time. Thanks for stopping by.

aipi said...

I like incorporating greens in different ways possible and thanks for this wonderful recipe..must try :)

US Masala

Mitu's Kitchen Delights said...

A healthy recipe.

Lifewithspices said...

Wow a very inviting dish.. awesome clicks..

Unknown said...

Wow lovely spread...looks too tempting

Deepi's World said...

Ha ha! kya bano gae munna and munia is a question I guess every child faces.. well mine wants to be a shop keeper turned cake boss...hope to get some sugar delights if she doesn't change her mind well thats another story

Lovely write up and love the third click!

Unknown said...

Enjoyed your write-up, Satrupa...Loved the clicks of the healthy n delicious chole palak..

Hari Chandana P said...

Wonderful presentation... thanks for sharing !!

Oriyarasoi said...

Very healthy and delicious....Palak goes well with almost anything!!!

Nice clicks...and a wonderful write-up!!!

Preety said...

healthy combo indeed

Elaichii said...

Very healthy combo!When I asked my son the question of what he wants to be, his reply was" what job will pay me more and work less!"

Suji said...

Enjoyed reading through Satrupa and chole palak looks yummy :)Cute clicks too

Charitha said...

Healthy recipe..lovely blog you have..first time i am here

lubnakarim06 said...

Bachpan yaad dela diya....it is always a teacher for my sis...who use to wrap a duppatta of mom and furiously beat up the marble florring assuming them to be children in school....:-) Recipe and combo are yum....

Unknown said...

Yes my son was reading this post with me and he wants to be a cop then a fire fighter and in last president, love yr post.

Rookie Qookie said...

This calls for Dinner time :)

Cheers,
Reshmi

Jayanthy Kumaran said...

I never tried this..I will now, this goes to my must try list ...
Tasty appetite

Unknown said...

Hi Satpura, those are some lovely pictures and the dish looks super edible :) And I quite agree and understand you when you say you are still trying to express yourself :) Lovely blog dear!

Satrupa said...

Thanks everyone for those lovely comments ..... some of them were so hilarious I could not stop laughing :-)

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