I just love making one-pot meals on weeknights. I like including different vegetables in the rice and it is easy to feed the kids everything in one bite. The rice was so simple to make and it had quite a bit of spinach in it. All it needed was some plain yogurt on the side. Being a South Indian, we eat a lot of rice. Our staple menu on a normal day is rice with Sambar, Rasam, and some kind of vegetable curry / poriyal. We end the meal with curd/yogurt and rice. Apart from just sticking to the traditional meals, I make a lot of one-pot meal recipes and Spinach rice is one among the most favorites.
Why make this recipe?
It is truly a one-pot meal. It takes just about 45 minutes from start to finish. I make the entire recipe in the Instant Pot but we could make it in any pressure cooker.
My little one fell in love with the spinach after eating this recipe and to this date, it is one of his favorite meals. I can absolutely say that this spinach rice recipe is Kid-approved.
This palak rice does not need a specific side dish to pair. It is a great recipe to eat as is or just some plain yogurt works. I make my own yogurt at home and that is what we eat with most of the time.
This is a great recipe to use spinach. We can use fresh spinach or frozen spinach to make the palak rice.
Ingredients and Substitutes
Check the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact measurements and printable detailed recipes.
Basmati rice - I use Basmati rice for most of my one-pot rice recipes. We could also use sona masoori rice or brown rice as well. Lately, I have even been using millet and Quinoa to make the same recipe.
Spinach - I use frozen spinach most of the time as I always have that in my freezer. We could absolutely fresh spinach for the recipe. If using fresh, just make sure to coarsely chop the leaves.
Onion - We could use red, yellow or sweet onion for the recipe.
Tomatoes - Fresh chopped tomatoes is what I use most of the time. If I don’t have fresh tomatoes in hand, I use the diced canned tomatoes.
Garlic - We love the garlic flavor in the recipe. If you don’t eat garlic or not a fan, we could skip it in the recipe. Freshly minced garlic works the best, but you could use the canned ones as well.
Spices - We need cumin seeds, red chili powder, dhania jeera powder (cumin-coriander powder), and garam masala. We also need salt to taste.
Oil - I use olive oil or any cooking oil to make the spinach rice. We could also use butter or ghee.
Step-by-step process
Wash and soak the basmati rice for about 15 minutes. I usually leave the rice soaking until I get the rest of the ingredients cooking. Then drain the rice and use it.
In the saute mode of the Instant pot, heat oil and add the cumin seeds (1). Once the seeds splutter, add the onions and sauté until translucent (2).
Add the minced garlic and fry for a minute (3). Add the chopped tomatoes (4).
Next, add the salt and spices and cook until the tomatoes are mushy and the masala is aromatic (5).
Add the frozen or fresh spinach and saute for a couple of minutes (6).
Add the water needed for the rice to cook (7). I use about 1 ½ cups of water for a cup of basmati rice. If using any other kind of rice or grain, make sure to adjust the water quantity.
Once the water heats up, add the drained rice and mix it well (8).
Close the Instant Pot, turn it off from the saute mode, and set it to pressure cook mode for 5 minutes. Again change the cooking time depending on what works for the particular kind of rice you are using.
Once the cooking time is up, do a quick pressure release after 10 minutes. Let the rice sit for about 5 minutes and then gently fluff it with a fork.
Serve it warm with raita or yogurt on the side.
Expert Tips
Take into account that spinach lets out some liquid when cooking. So reduce the water quantity accordingly. I thaw the frozen spinach and then squeeze the excess liquid out before using it. If you are using it directly from frozen, slightly reduce the water used for cooking the rice. Chop the fresh spinach (if using) coarsely for the spinach rice recipe. Let the cooked rice stand for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Frequently asked questions
More Spinach recipes
More One-Pot Rice Recipes
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