Palak Ka Kapa ( Kumauni style Spinach vegetable)

Palak Ka Kapa

Palak (Spinach) is rich in iron. I find fresh green spinach so tempting that I cook it in different ways and have it for either lunch or dinner almost thrice or four times a week. Apart from palak paneer, Corn with palak, Aloo palak, Palak ka kapa is one preparation I love to cook as it is easy to cook and eat it with Dal and Chawal (cooked rice) as it is so tasty that I can eat rice only with Palak ka kapa.  As in this preparation of palak, palak is not cooked for too long so it retains all its nutrients and lovely green color. It is a Kumauni preparation of palak and almost a must with Arhar ki Dal / Dubke along with Chawal and Dhania Pudina chutney.

Preparation Time: 10 min.

Cooking Time 5-10min.

Servings: 6 large servings

Ingredients required for Making Palak Ka Kapa:

• 1Bunch Palak (250 gm.)
• 15-20gm. Rice flour (wheat flour or Besan in the absence of rice flour)
• 1/2Teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1/2Tea spoon Red chili powder
• 2-3 Whole Red chilies
• Pinch Asafoetida
• 1/4Teaspoon Cumin seeds
• Salt to taste
• 5 ml. mustard oil or any cooking oil
• Water

Direction for Making Palak Ka Kapa:

• Clean Palak for any yellow and rotten leaves.
• Remove the root part from sprigs of Palak.
• Wash Cleaned palak in flowing water till water from washing comes out clean.
• Drain water by keeping the washed water in a sieve.
• Cut the cleaned, washed palak very fine.

Finely cut Palak (spinach)

• Take oil in a wok (if you have Iron wok then it is the best)and heat on high flame till smoking hot.
• Add cumin seeds and whole red chilies.
• Cumin seeds will splutter and red chilies will become dark in color quickly.
• Immediately add rice flour and asafoetida and cook toll the color of rice flour becomes light brown.

Rice flour shallow fried with spices in oil to brown color

• Add finely cut palak to it and mix nicely.

Palak added to the seasonings and rice flour mixture

•  Add salt, chili powder and turmeric powder. 

Turmeric, Salt and red chili powder added to the palak

• Mix and mash with the ladle.

Mixed and mashed

• Add 250ml. water and cook on high flame with regular stirring and mashing for 4-5 min.

Water added to palak

After cooking for 5 min. with mashing and stirring

• Cover and switch off the gas and let it cook in the heat it has retained.
• Remove in a serving bowl and serve with steaming hot boiled rice and Dal /Kadi  

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2012/03/kadi-thick-gravy-of-besan-in-curd-with.html

 Or Dubke 

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2012/06/dubke-thick-gravy-of-dal-paste-with.html Palak Ka Kapa

 Tips:

• Wash palak in flowing water as lots of water is required to remove all dirt and soil from it.
• Cut palak very thin and fine.
• Do not over cook palak other wise it will loose its beautiful green color and taste.
• Over cooking causes loss of nutrients present in it.
• Do not let the flour become very dark in color as it would change the color ot Kapa also give a burnt taste to it.
• When the oil is smoking hot immediately add the seasonings do not let the oil heating for long.
• Do not add asafoetida along with cumin and chili as the hot oil will cause evaporation of the essential oil in it which gives the flavor and has medicinal properties.

Suggested Variations:

• Mustard oil can be replaced by any other cooking oil of your choice but the typical Kumauni taste comes with mustard oil only.

• Rice flour can be replaced by Whole wheat flour or besan, but try to have preferably rice flour otherwise wheat flour besan should be last choice.