Here's how you can include palak in your daily diet

Did you know that green leafy vegetables are the best immunity boosters and Palak is especially a nutritional powerhouse?

It is rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants and protects the lungs from inflammation and infection, improves skin, hair, eye and bone health, prevents cancer growth, maintains blood pressure, and provides an array of other health benefits. Therefore, it must be included in your daily diet.

Metrolife puts together three nourishing, easy-to-make palak-based dishes

Palak paneer
paratha

Ingredients

1 bunch Palak

100 grams Paneer

5 green chillies

1-inch ginger

2 cups wheat flour

Salt to taste

Ghee or oil

Method

Boil the palak for five minutes in a pan. The ground paste of Palak, ginger, and green chilli is added to the wheat flour. To this, add salt and grated paneer and mix them well with water if required. Keep mixing until a dough is formed. Roll out a portion of the dough and make it into the shape of a 150 mm thick circle of around six-inch diameter. Now take another Tava and place the circular dry flour on it. Add ghee on both sides of the flour and cook well till it turns golden brown. Serve with curd and pickle.

(Nutrients per paratha: Energy: 210 calories; Carbohydrates: 23.8 grams; Protein: 5.8 grams; Fat: 10.5 grams; Fibre: 2.6 grams. The dish is also rich in Vitamin A, B, C, and E, and minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc)

Peas palak pulav

Ingredients

2 cup spinach

½ cup boiled peas

1 cup coriander leaves

3 cup boiled rice ( Basmati or normal rice)

1 tablespoon ghee

½ cup chopped onion

4 chopped green chillies

½ inch chopped ginger

3 tablespoon grated coconut

1 lemon

Method

Grind one cup coriander, three tablespoons grated fresh coconut, three to four green chillies, one tablespoon of juice from squeezing a lemon, and salt using water till it becomes a fine paste. Add spinach, green chilli, ginger, coconut grated to the blender and mix to a fine mush. Place the pan on the stove and add ghee. Pour both the prepared pastes into the pan and fry for around 10 minutes. Additional coriander leaves and salt can be added accordingly to this final mixture. Now, add this final mixture to the cooked rice and blend them thoroughly. The green Palak peas rice is ready to serve with raita.

(Nutrients, per bowl: Energy: 145 calories; Carbohydrates: 26.3 grams; Protein: 3.4 grams; Fat: 2.6 grams;Fibre: 3.1 grams, and Sodium: 17.6 milligrams)

(Recipe courtesy Padma Venkatesh, Nutrition and Wellness coach)

Palak cream soup

Ingredients

2 cup chopped spinach

1-inch finely grated ginger

1/4 teaspoon of pepper powder

1 small cube butter

1 tablespoon cornflour

1 small piece cinnamon

4 cloves

1/4 cup milk

Salt for taste

Method

Heat the pan and add butter to it. Put the chopped palak into the pan and fry it for five minutes. Add butter, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, and fry all these for 30 seconds. Grind all the above ingredients till it becomes a fine puree. Pour this puree into the same pan and cook for around 10 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of milk, one cup of water, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and salt to the paste that is being cooked. Now make a cornflour paste by pouring five tablespoons of water into it. Add this paste to the soup that is being cooked in the pan. Once the optimum liquidity is obtained, pour the liquid into the cup. Add fresh cream for flavour.

(Nutriens, per one serving of 150-200ml): Energy: 49 calorie; Carbohydrates: 5.7 grams; Protein: 2.9 grams; Fat: 1.6 grams; Fibre: 1.3 grams and Sodium: 52.2 milligrams)

(Recipe courtesy: Padma Venkatesh, nutrition and wellness coach)