Super delicious, vibrant and packed with loads of spinach – this rice is a perfect accompaniment to any meal!
Lets talk about this spinach rice!
Have you ever thought of pureeing spinach and adding it to your rice. Best way ever to sneak in spinach in your picky eaters stomach. I feel so and it worked successfully too. I usually always keep a bundle of spinach in the refrigerator. It goes into all sort of things from juices, smoothies, sautes, breakfast of egg sandwich with a hefty amount of sauteed spinach and what not.
Regarding spinach rice. I have been wanting to try it for sometime now. I have searched for it on internet quite a few times and I have seen all different kinds of green rice on the web. I have heard a good deal about it from my mother but never really thought of trying it.
So recently when I found myself in a rut and couldn’t figure out anything mouth watering for dinner, I found my mind floating with pics of some kind of spicy green rice. I wanted to make this recipe my own so I proceeded with almost no help. Once I decided the amount of rice I needed, I decided to go with extra spinach puree to make it healthier. I kept it really simple but I noticed there are people who make even cold rice salads using spinach puree. I might give it a try someday soon.
It came out way better than what I expected. I added extra spice for a nice kick but if you are not comfortable going spicy, you can cut down the amount of green chilies or jalapenos or whatever spice you are using. It serves as a great base for any dish with some gravy. I served it with black pepper tofu (recipe here) and some Indian matar-paneer (Green peas with Indian cheese in tomato based gravy)(Recipe coming soon).
I enjoyed the leftovers for lunch the next day just plain and it was a good filling meal.
Meatless Monday, anyone?!
- 3 cups tightly packed spinach leaves
- 1 cup cilantro
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1/2 med size red onion, chopped
- 7 green Indian Chillies or any other you prefer (You can cut down the spiciness by reducing the amount)
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 cups rice (I used a blend of white rice and wild rice but you can totally use just plain white rice or any other)
- 3 cups water
- Salt as per taste
- In a blender jar add garlic,onion and green chillies. Blend.
- In a pot, add oil. Once hot, add that onion mix and cook on med heat until fragrant. Meanwhile wash the rice by placing it in a strainer until you start seeing clear water. Keep it aside. Once the onion mix is cooked, add rice to it without any water. Stir it around for a minute or two. Puree the spinach and cilantro with a cup of water until a smooth puree forms. Add this spinach puree along with remaining cups of water to the rice. Stir it around. Add salt to taste. Bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and let it cook on low covered. Keep checking Every 5 minutes or so to make sure its not sticking to the bottom. Take a grain of rice from the pot and test for doneness. If you feel rice is still little hard but it’s getting dry, add little more water.
More Rice Recipes:
I make spinach rice often! this look really good Ami! 🙂
Thanks Manali!
I absolutely adore spinach rice..delicious, healthy and can be whipped up in no time.. this plateful looks amazing.. love the fact that you added cilantro along with spinach.. Yumm!!
Thanks Arpita!
Yum this looks DELISH!! I think it’s funny though that you call this “green spinach rice” because I wasn’t aware that spinach was any other color??? LOL! JK 😉
Gigi I just realized!! Lol 😀 I think it makes it extra green!! Hehe
Beautiful spinach rice:D
Haven’t thought of pureeing spinach and add to rice :), thank you for sharing 😀
Lisa I am in love with this rice!! Try it, you will love it!
I love this idea! I find rice a little boring, but this rice looks anything but bland. Yum!
This is super flavorful Sues! Try it!
What a great idea! I love spinach but have never thought about adding it to rice. That sounds delicious and I can’t wait to try it next time!
Kelly I am sure you will love it! Let me know if you try this!
I love the colour of this! So vibrant. I adore rice and can never get enough. Great twist!
Thanks Allison!
Yum! This looks super healthy and delicious!
Thanks Christina!
This looks great, Ami. I love pureeing vegetables or herbs and adding it to rice. Spinach is fantastic – parsley also works well. Pinning to try soon.
I need to try parsley now Geraldine! Great idea!
This spinach rice looks fantastic.
Thanks!