This is again an overdue post and I made this rice long time back for my garlic event. I have to say that I share a love-hate relationship with garlic. There are some dishes where I don’t care about its existence whereas for some I take the time to fish them out. For e.g. when I make onion+garlic kuzhambu I pick the ones on my plate and generously hand over to K. At the same time, I make spinach+garlic fry with tons of garlic and I gobble them up !!!. Weird I know . But, I am contented with the few garlic dishes I like as of now and this rice has become my favorite.

Two healthy ingredients spinach and garlic come together in this tasty rice. By now most of you’ll would know that rice is my favorite food. Although some varieties of rice are labor intensive, there are some which you can fix in a jiffy and is suited for weeknights or for lunch box. This rice falls into the easy category and it gets done in very less time too. The first time I made it I was skeptical about the final result, but it was a super hit and now I make it more often. Who would not want easy ways to incorporate spinach right? I have also added garbanzo beans since I always have it in the freezer and also because I like it .

You can use any beans. I have tried with black eyed peas also and it turned out good.

Ingredients
1.5 cups uncooked basmati rice
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp channa dal
1 tbsp peanuts
4 green chillies
1 small onion
6-7 garlic cloves
8 oz frozen spinach (about 2.5 cups)
1 cup cooked garbanzo or chole (optional)
1 tsp cumin powder
3 tsp ground masala
2 tsp lemon juice (optional)
Salt

Notes
I normally make the masala in bulk since I use it for a variety of dishes.

Method
Cook the basmati rice and allow to cool. This is important or else the grains will turn mushy when mixing.

Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they splutter add urad dal, channa dal and peanuts.

Add onion, green chillies and chopped garlic.

Saute until the onions and garlic are done.

Add spinach. I have used frozen spinach.

Add cumin powder.

Add the cooked channa.

Fry until the spinach is cooked and is dry.

Add the cooked rice.

Add the masala and lemon juice if using. Mix gently.

Enjoy!

Sending to Spinach event started by Kiran.