Spinach with Lentils or Sindhi Sai Bhaji

Ingredients (for 4 people):

Spinach and lentils

• 350 g of frozen spinach
• 3 medium bush tomatoes, chopped
• 1 onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 cm of ginger
• 1 green chili
• 2 split peas or chana daal (soak overnight)
• 1 tablespoon of turmeric
• 1 tablespoon of coriander powder
• salt to taste
• oil

Pulao rice

• 250 g of basmati rice (cook in water for 30 minutes)
• 1 small onion
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 tablespoon biryani masala or coriander powder
• 1 or 2 green chilies
• 1 cm of ginger
• salt to taste

Last weekend I prepared this delicious dish for some friends and they loved it.

It takes less than an hour to prepare everything. Pulao rice is a spiced and more aromatic variety that pairs very well with spinach.

Preparing the spinach:

1.     Slice the garlic clove and fry it in a little oil until golden.

2.   Add the sliced onions until golden.

3.    Add the rest of the ingredients including the tomatoes and spices and stir carefully.

4.    If you have a pressure cooker, cook for 10 minutes. Otherwise, you'll need to cook until the lentils soften and become almost mushy.

5.     Next, mash some of the lentils with a ladle and serve with basmati rice or pulao.

Preparation of pulao rice:

1.    Heat a little oil in a saucepan. Rinse the rice 2-3 times in water and drain.

2.   Add the bay leaves and peppercorns.

3.   Next, add the onions and fry until golden brown.

4.   Add the rice and spices and stir everything carefully with a spatula to avoid breaking the grains.

5.  Add about 300 ml of water and bring to a boil.

6.  When you have very little water left, cover it and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.

7.  Serve the pulao rice with the spinach and lentil curry.