TIL PALKI

I am bored of having Palki/Palak as the same old palak paneer, palak pakodas, palak soup or the green bits in dal. Egged on by the exploits of Popeye after eating spinach and tales of Rapunzel's enviable tresses (remember her mother ate it when she was pregnant) i dutifully shovelled in all the above stuff for years. It is another matter that much later i came to know that Palak and spinach are not the same while spinach is Spinacea olearacea, palak is Chenopodium album. Palak is actually a close cousin of the beetroot. However however the good news is palak contains way way much iron than Popeye's silly Little can of spinach.

Here is a way to add variety to the way you have your plateful of iron. I use a lot of til(sesame seeds ) in this which is an important ingredient in nepali cusine so shall I call this a newly invented nepali dish?

INGREDIENTS

1 bunch palak/palki saag

4 cloves of garlic (chopped finely)

4 tbs roasted white sesame seeds( seto til)

1 tbs oil

salt to taste

LETS DO IT

Remove the root portion of the palak and wash the leaves thoroughly in running water.

Boil water and blanch the leaves for 5 minutes.

Heat oil in a pan and fry the chopped garlic. Add the Palak once the garlic starts browning. Add salt and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.

Add the sesame seeds and toss well.

Since very little cooking is involved and the leaves are whole you get much more fiber and vitamins from palak this way.