ACK 4.3: Palak chawal

Palak chawal

Rice with spinach

Srila Prabhupada's program of chanting, dancing, philosophy, and feasting has had wide success in Kenya. The Kenyans, like the Bengalis, eat plenty of vegetable greens and large amounts of rice, so whenever the Kenyan devotees combine greens and rice in palak chawal, the feast is a great success.

Preparation and cooking time: 30-40 min

2 cups (350 g) basmati or other good-quality long-grained rice
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups (825 ml) water
1/2 lb (225 g) fresh spinach
1 tablespoon ghee
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 bay leaves
3/4 cup (100 g) unsalted peanuts, lightly fried (optional)
1 pinch ground black pepper

Wash the rice thoroughly, soak it for 15 minutes, and let it drain. Put the water and the salt in a pot over high heat. Remove the tough stalks from the spinach, wash the leaves in several changes of water, and drain. Then wilt the leaves by plunging them into boiling water. Put them in a colander and rinse under cold water. Drain and chop them into small pieces.

In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the ghee and fry the ground coriander and bay leaves. Add the rice and stir-fry until the grains are coated with ghee and become translucent. Add the chopped spinach, stir for a minute, then pour the salted water into the saucepan and bring to a boil.

Cover the pan and cook gently on low heat for 20 minutes. If you use peanuts, put them in without stirring, 5 minutes before the end of cooking. When the rice is completely cooked, add the pepper. Mix the ingredients with a fork before serving.