Greens rice recipe

We all know how healthy are the greens for us. They are rich in vitamins and fiber. Especially the Spinach is rich in Vitamin A, C and K and loaded with many more nutrients. So I try to sneak in the spinach in Salads, Omelettes and many many other recipes.
This recipe is completely my own, I can say it. It araised out of the need, one day, in my kitchen. Apart from the salad greens, we hardly get 4 -5 varieties of greens  ( which we can cook  and eat, like in India) . So, one day, as I had all these fresh greens, bought just from our local farmer's market ( Wochenmarkt, in German, to be specific) and this thing came into my mind. How about i prepare a rice dish using each of these greens!!? Time to experiment..
 As a South Indian, we crave for rice recipes at least once , nope twice in a day.. Haha.. that's our connection with rice.. So I made this greens rice that day and it was an instant hit in my family.. And no turning back for this recipe.. It's on our weekly menu list..

Ingredients : 

• Spinach leaves - 2 cups, washed and chopped coarsely
• Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup ,washed and chopped
• Methi / fenugreek leaves - 1/2 cup, i used frozen here
• Mint leaves - 1/4 cup, washed and chopped
• Dill leaves - 1/4 cup, washed and chopped
• Green chillies - 2 or more, as you prefer
• Frozen / Fresh peas - 1/2 cup
• Onion - 1, chopped finely
• Tomato - 1, chopped finely
• Whole masalas - Bay leaves - 2, Peppercorns - few, Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp, Cinnamon stick - 2 small pcs, Saunf / fennel seeds - few, Cardamom/ Elaichi - 2 , Cloves- 3
• Rice - 1 1/2 cups, soaked for half an hour
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
• Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Ginger garlic Paste - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1 1/2 tsp
• Water - less than 3 cups
• Oil - 3 to 4 tsps
• Ghee - 2 tsps

Preparing Green rice :

1. In a vessel, add a teaspoon of oil and throw in the slit chillies. Fry for a few seconds, in medium flame and add in the washed and chopped greens. Fry for a while, until they lose their strong aroma and water. Once they look wilted, take it off the heat and let it cool.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Take the vessel in which you will be preparing the rice. Add oil and once heated add in the whole masalas. Fry for a minute.
   
3. Add in the chopped onions, saute until they turn translucent. Then add in the peas and ginger garlic paste. Fry for a minute. 
   
4. Time to add chopped tomatoes. Once they turn soft, add the Coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder and salt. fry until the masala is cooked. 
   
5. Meanwhile, puree the wilted greens. Pour the puree into the cooked masala and fry for 2 minutes, so that it mixes well with the masala and get cooked a bit. 
   
   
   
   
6. Now add the water. Once it boils, check salt. Add the soaked and drained rice and give it a mix. Finish off by adding a teaspoon of ghee, and close the vessel. Cook for 5 minutes on high flame and reduce the heat to medium. After another 5 minutes, simmer and let it cook until the rice is done. Here, the rice tends to stick to the bottom. Make sure you just toss it lightly every few minutes, taking care not to break the rice. It takes around 15 to 20 minutes for the rice to cook slowly. 
7. Once the rice is done, garnish with coriander leaves and ghee roasted cashewnuts  and it can be served with raitha of your choice .
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Tip :  To enhance the taste and rich flavor of any rice recipe, use ghee instead of oil. Adding ghee just before closing the lid ( for the rice to cook), ensures that each grain of rice gets cooked and stays separate without sticking to each other. 

You can see how beautiful it has turned out, nice and green.. Looks so refreshing.. and the flavors will get you floored. Plus it's healthy with all the greeny goodness.. What more do you need? A perfect one pot recipe on a lazy Sunday afternoon.. What do you say?

Try making this recipe and if you like it, I would be even happy to get any feedback from you, pictures from your trials and comments too..  Follow me on G+ and Pinterest for updates on new posts..
Thanks for stopping by.