Palak Mix Vegetable Subji
You all know about Palak Paneer, Palak Feta or even Chana Palak.
Just like that we also make a spinach subji with same palak or spinach base with lots of vegetables. It’s so delicious and healthy too. If you love spinach, then this dish is so indulgent, and you will love it.
Palak Vegetable subji is made with spinach and 6 different veggies in it. There is a sauce/gravy made from spinach, tomatoes, onions, garlic and ginger and roasted veggies are added along with some spices. I have sued cashews in the base sauce, so they give nice creaminess without adding any dairy and of course spices add all the flavors.
Its quick and so delicious. I learnt to cook palak paneer way too early in life, especially when I started dating B, it is his favorite dish. I love to change things up once in a while to sometimes I make spinach with chana and then sometimes this dish full of vegetables. It’s also great if you need to clean out your fridge.
Palak means spinach just in case you didn’t know.
What goes into this dish?
There are about 12 different vegetables that you will need. Onions, garlic, ginger, green chilies, tomatoes and spinach for the gravy. Onions, beans, carrots, peppers, peas, cauliflower and honestly you can add few more like potatoes, broccoli etc. You can also toss in some paneer, halloumi or feta.
You need some basic regular spices that we use in Indian cooking like cumin-coriander powder, turmeric, red chili powder and garam masala. It all adds great flavors.
How is it prepared?
The first step is so easy and simple. I sauté onions, garlic, ginger, green chilies and tomatoes in some oil, then once it looks slightly cooked, add spinach to the same mix with some water. Let it cook for barely until the leaves melt away. Then, blend everything in the blender.
Then in same pan, I like to roast all the veggies in some oil to crispy them up. It is an added step, but I can’t by simply adding veggies or adding steamed veggies. You want some extra depth of flavor by roasting them. If you, do it on medium to high flame and do one veggie at a time. It’s perfect and quick.
Then I bring everyone back to the pan and add spices. Once the spices are added, it does not need a lot of cooking time as everything was cooked when we blended it, or veggies are already roasted.
You can enjoy palak vegetable subji with some ghee jeera rice or plain rice. I usually make it with some layered triangle paranthas or if I feel like having a fancy meal then with naan.
How do you keep it looking green?
I don’t do anything special to it. I feel though, the more you cook spinach it changes the color. So, I do not let it simmer too much after blending. I also do not put too much turmeric powder. Some people blanch spinach and then put it immediately in cold icy water to maintain the green color. Some people also add baking soda while blanching. I have not tried any of these methods. But you can try them, if you want very green looking spinach gravy.
If you like you can add a little bit of heavy cream at the very end. But it’s totally optional.
I also added some cashew cream on top which is vegan.
Regardless, how you make this dish, it’s one of those easy weeknight dishes full of healthy stuff. Serve it warm with any side dish of your choice.
Palak Mix Vegetable Subji
Ingredients
Spinach sauce
- 1 bunch of spinach about 2-3 heaping cups
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1- inch ginger piece
- 1-2 green chilies roughly chopped
- 1 medium sized red onion chopped
- 1 small tomato chopped
- 2-3 tbsp cashews
Vegetables
- ½ cup onion chopped
- ½ cup carrots chopped
- ½ cup red peppers chopped
- ½ cup green peas
- 1 cup cauliflower florets approx. 10 big pieces
- 1 cup green beans chopped
Spices
- 2-3 tbsp ghee or oil
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1-2 tsp garam masala
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Wash and chop vegetables in big chunks. Leave them aside.
- Heat up some oil in a pan on medium heat, once the oil is hot add roughly chopped garlic, ginger, green chili and onions. Cook it until the onions are translucent. Add the tomatoes too. Cook it for few minutes. Then, add spinach and about ¼ cup of water.
- Let it cook until the spinach starts wilting. Turn off the heat. Let it cool down before blending it. ½
- Once the mixture cools down, blend the mixture. Leave it aside.
- Heat remaining ghee or oil, in the same pan, add cumin seeds and bay leaf. Once they splutter, add all the vegetables one by one and quickly roast them and once they are roasted add the spinach blend into the roasted vegetables. Add spices like red chili powder, turmeric, coriander and garam masala powder and salt. Let it cook for just few more minutes or until the vegetables look cooked. Make sure to not overcook the veggies.
- Turn off the flame and add any heavy cream or cashew cream you would like to add. You can also add shallow fried paneer.
- Serve it warm with naan, jeera rice or paranthas.
- It keeps well in the refrigerator for few days, or you can freeze the leftovers. The color will change to dark shade, don’t worry.
Notes
- If you like you can add a little bit of heavy cream at the very end. But it’s totally optional.
- I added some cashew cream on top which is vegan.
- Regardless, how you make this dish, it’s one of those easy weeknight dishes full of healthy stuff. Serve it warm with any side dish of your choice.
- It keeps well in the refrigerator for few days, or you can freeze the leftovers. The color will change to dark shade, don’t worry.