Spinach Corn Sabzi / Palak Corn Sabzi

Spinach is a vegetable that is very rich in iron. It is recommended to include spinach as a part of your diet on a regular basis. Spinach is used in gravy side dishes in Indian cooking. One of my favourite combinations is to use spinach with corn. The sweetness of corn brings some order to the fiery Indian spices used in this dish. Since it’s a gravy dish, you can also easily transform it into a Spinach Corn Rice that can be served with papads or wafers. It also works beautifully as a lunchbox recipe. Try it out and you will become a fan of this combination!

Recipe Details :
Serves: 4 pax
Time: 30 mins
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients :

• 2 packets of spinach
• 1.5 cups corn kernels
• 3/4 can of tomato puree or 3-4 tomatoes blended in a mixer
• 3 onions, finely chopped
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp oil

• Wash the spinach leaves well (at least 3-4 times) and cut off the stems. Cut the leaves into big pieces.
• Fill a vessel filled with water and heat it till it boils. When the water starts bubbling vigorously, add the cut spinach leaves and let them boil for 3-4 minutes. Switch off the flame. Now wash the leaves immediately in ice-cold water – this helps in preserving the green colour of spinach. This process is called blanching.
• Meanwhile boil the corn kernels in salted hot water for at least 10 mins. Alternatively, you can pressure cook the corn kernels for 3-4 whistles depending on the rawness of the kernels. Frozen corn kernels take more time than fresh corn kernels.
• In a blender / mixer, puree the blanched spinach leaves into a smooth paste. Keep it aside.
• Take a pan, add oil and cumin seeds in it. Once the cumin seeds splutter, add the chopped onions. Saute till they turn light pink in colour.
• Next, add the tomato puree and salt and mix well. Let this cook on low flame for 5 mins. The rawness of tomatoes should not be felt in the paste.
• Once the tomato puree is cooked through, add in turmeric powder, red chilli powder and garam masala powder and mix the spices well.
• Add the spinach puree, cover the pan and let it cook for 3 – 4 minutes.
• Finally, add the boiled corn kernels and cook for another 3 mins.
• Switch off the flame and serve hot with rotis. Also goes great with steamed white rice.

Tips:

• Make sure you have ice-cold water ready once you add the spinach leaves into the boiling water.
• Do not overcook the spinach leaves. Once they become a rich, dark green, turn off the flame immediately.
• Make sure the corn is tender when you add it in. There’s not much cooking time given for the corn in the final stage, and it may taste raw.