Palak Rice / Spinach Rice

My friend recommended me to try the unique fare a restaurant in Bangalore has to offer. This restaurant has added a certain twist to the dishes we know to make them different. It was at this place I ordered a Spanish fried rice. Although the name is exotic, and the taste was also good, I doubt it has anything Spanish about it. But this rice got me craving for it. Generally, when I crave something, I try to recreate it at home, instead of going out again to eat it. So it was decided that Spain would enter my kitchen with this Spanish aka Spinach rice... I was not disappointed, my experiment tasted very much like the original and had my friends digging into my lunch box more than usual.

Ingredients:

Palak/ Spinach - 2 bunches
Rice - 1 cup (raw)
Onion - 1 small
Tomato - 1 small
Potato - 1 medium
Peas - 1/2 cup
Carrot - 1
Baby Corn - 5-6 (Optional)
Broccoli - 1/2 cup split into florets (Optional)
Green chilies - 2-3
Ginger - 1" piece
Garlic - 2-3 cloves
Biryani masala/ Garam masala - 1 tsp
Maggi veg cubes - 1
Salt
Water
Oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

Cook the rice with the water until done.
Boil water in a pan and add the spinach to it. Once you add the spinach, make sure you don't cover the pan. Let the spinach blanch for around 5 minutes.
Immediately move the spinach to ice cold water.
Once cooled, grind the spinach with the green chillis. Use more green chillis if the ones you are using are not spicy.
Make a coarse paste of the ginger and garlic.
Boil the potato and green peas.
Blanche/ boil the broccoli until done.
Heat oil in a pan, add the onions and fry them until they are translucent. Add the ginger garlic paste,tomatoes, boiled peas, baby corn, broccoli and cut boiled potato and fry for 1-2 minutes.
Add the palak paste and cook for 1 minute.
Add the salt, maggi cubes, biriyani masala and chilli powder (if needed).
Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the rice and mix well.
Serve hot with raita.