Poondu Keerai Masiyal

My apologies for the long, unexplained absence from the blogging world. What started out as a week-long break during the holidays got extended and I had some trouble getting back on track but here I am now :) I've missed several interesting posts and I hope to catch up soon.
This is rather belated but I'd like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!

Coming to the post du jour, this is just one of the many yummy meals we had over the holidays... since I had more time to cook something more elaborate. We also visited a friend who pampered us with such delicious meals every day of our stay... more about that and the baking episodes in a later post.

Keerai masiyal is something very close to my heart and even now, my mom makes it a point to make this atleast twice or thrice a week when I visit home. She normally uses something called 'Mulai keerai' (amaranth) to make this but since spinach is what is more widely available here, that's what I use most of the time. I remember helping my grandma smush it down using a rounded mathu and a wide vessel made of stone.... At my home, this is always paired with a vathal kuzhambu/puli kuzhambu and we would always end the meal with some yogurt rice paired with a combination of this keerai masiyal & puli kuzhambu - simply divine.

This is a rather simple & quick recipe and know that a bunch of spinach will cook down to just about 4 oz when done... I like the texture to be a bit coarse but if you want it to be really smooth, you could run it through a mixie before seasoning. This is also great with some ghee and rice.

POONDU KEERAI MASIYAL (Mashed spinach w/ garlic & seasonings)


Ingredients:
Spinach - 1 bunch
Garlic Cloves - 4 or 5 (more if you like), peeled and cut into flakes
Green Chilli - 1
Salt - a small pinch

Seasonings:
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - quarter tsp
Urad Dhal - quarter tsp
Red Chilli - 1, broken in two.

Method:
1) Clean spinach leaves thoroughly and chop them.

2) Add the spinach leaves, garlic flakes & g. chilli in a pot, put on medium flame and cover. No need to add water since spinach will have enough.

3) When most of the water has dried up and the spinach has wilted down and cooked, add salt to taste (be careful not to overdo it) and keep stirring and smashing the spinach mixture until dry. If you want it smoother, run it through the mixie.

4) In a small pan, heat the oil and add the seasoning ingredients. When they splutter, add to the mashed spinach and mix in.

Here's a picture of our lunch: Rice, paruppu, ghee, vazhakai roast, vathal kuzhambu, poondu keerai masiyal, broccoli kootu, microwaved appalam & a cup of curd/yogurt (not in the picture).