Rajma and greens pulav

Until few years into my marriage, I was not venturing to try my cooking skills beyond a certain periphery. My husband used to be very " pick and choose" with his vegetables. Most often the menu will be potatoes, okras, carrots and the likes with regular sambhar or rasam. There was a time when one elderly relative thought that I was lazy to venture in the kitchen! Cooking spinach and greens was once in a blue moon. When and how he started eating every dish without protest, I have no clue. But I am glad that he eats most of them cooked in many varieties now.

I incorporate greens and leafy vegetables in my cooking as often as possible now. I had tried the Saagwala rajma from Tarla Dalal and quite liked it. On a weekend when my husband worked at office and I was busy with preparations for deepavali, I tried the rajma rice with the greens I had. Made it with a bit of my own masala and cooked a pulav. The taste was great and the rice was colourful too. Both of us enjoyed the one dish meal with a raita.

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked basmati rice

1/2 cup kidney beans

1/2 cup chopped greens (I used Amaranth leaves)

2 medium onions sliced finely

Salt to taste.

Roast dry in a pan and powder finely:

2 table spoons coriander seeds

1'' stick cinnamom

4 cloves

4 medium spice variety red chili

Other ingredients:

1 medium onion, sauteed in 1 teaspoon oil until very brown and grinded to a paste

1 bay leaf

3 pods cardamoms

3 cloves

2 table spoons ghee

Method:

Wash and soak rajma overnight. Drain and pessure cook adding the onion paste until just about soft, as you might be cooking this again along with the rice.

Wash the spinach well. Wash the rice and drain.

Roast the dry condiments and powder to a very fine texture. Keep aside.

Place your pressure pan or cooker on the stove, heat ghee in it. Add the bay leaf, cloves and cardamoms. Toss them for two minutes and drop the chopped onions.

Saute until the onions are translucent and add the drained rice with the salt. Keep tossing until the rice is shining.

Add to this the cooked rajma and the chopped greens. Add two cups of water. Cover and pressure cook until 1 whistle.

Allow the pressure to reduce. Open the lid and drop the powdered masala in. Mix well.

Serve hot with any raita.

This rice goes to Sunita's Think spice being hosted at Priya's easy n tasty recipes with

Coriander seeds and,

to

Indira's JFI event currently collecting Rajma @ Divya's Dil Se.