Keerai poriyal (Polta Bhajji)

This is such a simple preparation yet tastes amazing and its very healthy too. Surely it should be made in most homes atleast once a week. Personally I love it to have with ghee rice or curd rice. Here’s how I make…

Ingredients

A pack of spinach ( I used a 350g baby spinach pack)

1 ts mustard seed

½ ts jeera

¼ ts hing

3-4 red chillies

4-5 garlic pods

1 medium sized onion finely chopped (shallots are preferable)

¼ cup moong dal (optional)

2-3 ts grated coconut (optional)

Preparation

Add oil in a pan. Once hot add mustard seed and jeera. After they splutter add hing, red chillies and chopped garlic. Fry  for a while. Now add the finely chopped onion. Keep frying until it gets slightly brown. Now add handful of chopped spinach. Toss and mix well and the spinach will wilt by the heat of the pan. Now add the rest of the spinach in batches each time mixing and tossing well. Never use water. Add salt. Now add the boiled moong dal. Switch off the stove. Garnish with grated coconut.

Notes
1. Shallots/ small onions does wonders to this recipe. They add an amazing taste. They are very much    preferable.
2. Never use water. The spinach will wilt by itself with the heat of the pan.
3. Always add grated coconut after you switch off the stove. This will keep the coconut fresh. Also I recently read that coconut when cooked gives lots of calories while fresh coconut is low in calorie level.