Achari Palak

One fine morning, he stepped into kitchen to get something to eat! While surfing through the drawers, he opened the 2nd one from top on left corner of my counter top. And he almost screamed “Crazy cook you’re!!!”, which took a few seconds for me to get the reason why he said so. I walked a little more and found that he was about to start counting my jars/containers/packets of spices ;)

He won’t mind a big collection there, as he himself likes playing with them at times! He kept pointing each of them one after another… And I kept speaking out a word aloud each time! Garam masala, chhole masala, pavbhaji one, cumin powder, anardana powder, chat masala, kadai masala, sabut garam masala, cajun spice, jaljeera, garlic salt, greek seasoning, mixed herbs, smoked paprika, pepper powder, amchoor, cinnamon powder and it went on for 10-12 mins and still he had many jars to count on :P

Did I tell you ever that I’m fond of trying out different spices with my everyday cooking??!!! Few store-bought and others made in-house… But something I love the most, but never can be found in that drawer is ‘Achaari Masala’ :) The only spice-mix that I prefer making on the spot just when I add oil in kadai for cooking my gravy! This time I used it with green gravy of ‘ACHAARI PALAK’. Thanks a ton to APM for this super-flavorful application of my favorite spice-mix… Base recipe is followed with my tweaks!!! :)

Serves: 2

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups Spinach, blanched
6 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 tbsp Tomato Puree
1 tsp Ginger Paste
1 tbsp Fried Onions
2 tsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Kasoori Methi
A pinch of hing
Salt, to taste
1 tbsp Ghee

For Achari masala:

1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Fennel Seeds
1 tsp Ajwain
1/2 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
1 tsp Mustard Seeds

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

1. Grind blanched spinach to make a smooth puree. Keep it aside.
2. Heat ghee in kadai and add 1/2 of achari masala in it with minced garlic.
3. Saute it well for 2-3 mins and add spinach and tomato puree along with all the spices.
4. Cook it for 7-8 mins or until raw flavor of spinach is gone.
5. Add remaining achari masala with fried onions and mix it well.
6. Cook for 2 more mins and turn off the heat.
7. Add soya kofta in it and transfer to a serving bowl.
8. Pour lemon juice over it and garnish with sliced ginger n a chunk of butter.
9. Serve hot with steamed rice or roti!

SJ’s NOTE:

• You can also use soya nuggets (original recipe of APM) here.