Seasonal Recipe February- Indian-Style Spinach with Rice and Chickpeas

In our series, which revolves around cooking and baking, we present a new SoSUE season recipe every month. We are very happy to introduce you to the new SoSUE guest author Tanja from mein Ideenreich.  Enjoy your meal!

I always try to include seasonal and regional dishes in our menu. During the cold season it is actually not so easy because the choice is a little smaller. Due to the mild winter, spinach is in season early. That is why we already have it in different varieties, e.g. Indian. Before I get to the recipe, I would like to tell you briefly how valuable spinach really is.

The green leaves consist of 91 percent water, so it is also ideal for a spring diet. There are just 3.6 grams of carbohydrates in 100 grams. It is rich in fiber and vitamins, e.g. provitamin A, vitamin C and K1 (only two leaves of spinach cover the daily requirement). It also contains iron, calcium and folic acid. The latter is especially important for pregnant women, or rather for the development of the baby. It is also said to reduce stress and works against the aging process with the help of its antioxidants. Although spinach is healthy, people with kidney stones should not eat it, as its calcium and oxalate content can increase the risk of kidney stones. But if you don't have any problems with that, you should not give up this healthy vegetable under any circumstances.

My spinach recipe tastes a bit like India. It is not typically Indian. When you are abroad, sometimes the cuisine in the hotels is adapted to the palate of the holidaymakers. This is the case in Asia and India, for example. That's how I did it, so to speak, because not everyone likes hot and unusual spices. Personally, I don't like it at all when I can't taste a meal because of all the pungency. Often the consumption becomes more a torture than a pleasure. My son is basically open to all exotic foods. We have always taught him that everything should be tried once. And if it doesn't taste good, he can always leave it. We often eat this recipe at home and even my boy likes it very much.

 

Foto @Meinideenreich
 
Indian-Style Spinach with Rice and Chickpeas
 

Ingredients:

100 g fresh baby leaf spinach

1 tin of chickpeas

200 g basmati rice

2 teaspoons cardamom

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp ground ginger

1 bunch of fresh coriander

40 g vegetable paste, homemade or from Lacroix

(alternatively granulated vegetable broth to taste)

some salt

 

Foto @Meinideenreich
 

 Here's how it goes

1. Cook the rice according to the package instructions

2. Wash the spinach and put it rather wet in a large pan or pot

3. Boil the vegetable paste in the liquid with the spinach

4. Add the chickpeas

5. Add all the spices except the salt and simmer

6. Finely chop the coriander and then mix it into the cooked rice

7. Season to taste with salt

 

Then the rice and spinach can be served up on the plate.

Bon appetit!

 
Foto @Meinideenreich
 

About the author:
There is something that connects us all: Food. It can mean so much: Conviviality, pleasure, conversation, home, homeland, distance, romance, etc. Everyone associates something with a certain dish, e.g. a trip, a person, or a childhood memory, etc.

Food also determines our health and appearance. You are what you eat. That's why as a mother I pay attention to a healthy and balanced diet. Especially today it is not always easy - despite the diversity - to eat properly, because we all lack time. That's why I (myself working) always try to create recipes that are healthy, simple, tasty and fast. On weekends or for guests it can be a bit more expensive. And of course sweet sins are also on my menu.

I am Tanja, over 40, mother of a boy, married and born in Munich.

Look with pleasure times on my Blog www.meinideenreich.blogpost.com by or also with Instagram @meinideenreich

Tanja von mein Ideenreich

 

 

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