How to wash and blanch spinach correctly and 12 easy dishes to enjoy in winter

The culinary journey of winter months is incomplete without spinach or palak leaves. From breakfast to dinner, this superfood can be tweaked in many ways to satiate the taste buds. Also known as “green powerhouse,” spinach is rich in iron, folate, calcium, and vitamins A, C, and K, which helps boost energy, improve immunity, and support healthy skin and bones. But when it comes to cooking with spinach, washing and blanching spinach leaves correctly is very crucial. Washing them right helps remove dirt and chemicals, while blanching them correctly helps retain the green colour. Here, we have got expert tips on how to wash and blanch them right and 12 must-have spinach dishes.

According to Masterchef Pankaj Bhadouria, the right way to wash leafy greens is by dunking them in a large bowl of water and lifting them up. Never drain the water with the leaves still in it. This way, the dirt and grit stays at the bottom and finds its way back into the veggies. And as per celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor, when it comes to blanching, always add a pinch of salt and sugar to boiling water and then add spinach leaves to it. Cook them for 1-2 minutes and to retain the bright green colour, immediately transfer them into a bowl of ice-cold water for 2 minutes and then use them.

Begin your day with a healthy smoothie and blend a handful of baby spinach with banana, apple, or berries for a refreshing green smoothie. The sweetness of fruits perfectly balances the mild earthy taste of spinach and makes for an energy booster to accelerate the body mechanism.

To make this breakfast delight, you need finely chopped spinach and simply beat it with eggs, chopped onions and chilies and slather on a preheated pan and your protein-iron combo is ready to keep you full and energized.

This is a winter must-have dish and to make it, use spinach puree to knead the dough along with some salt and carom seeds. Roll out pooris and deep fry them and enjoy with sabzi of your choice.

This makes for a filling salad and to make it toss spinach leaves with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, nuts, and olive oil for a light, fiber-rich meal. One can also add feta or paneer for extra protein content.

This is a main course dish made with chopped spinach, cooked with moong or masoor dal, with minimal spices for a comforting, nutrient-dense Indian classic that pairs well with rice or rotis.

This is a weight-loss-friendly appetizer and makes for a creamy delight, for which you need spinach, garlic, pepper, and milk or coconut milk and it makes a wholesome experience.

This is one of the most popular spinach dishes, where you mix pureed or chopped spinach into whole wheat dough to make soft, green parathas, which are best served with curd, chutney, and pickle.

To make this exotic main course preparation, you need to blend spinach with garlic, olive oil, and a little cream or cheese and then add blanched pasta variety to it along with seasonings. Enjoy with garlic bread.

To make this snack, you need to add chopped spinach leaves to the spiced besan mixture and deep fry into small balls until crisp and golden. Serve hot with green chutney.

To make this dish, toss spinach purée or sautéed leaves with cooked rice, garlic, and spices like pepper, salt, red pepper, and paprika powder. This one-pot iron-rich meal is ready in minutes and is best enjoyed with curd on the side.

This is also a winter must-have main course dish, where baby spinach leaves are washed and cooked along with diced potatoes in a tempering of mustard oil, cumin, garlic, and green chilli. The use of turmeric, salt, and coriander powder adds aroma and taste to the dish that goes well with roti and rice.

This is an iconic Indian dish where soft paneer cubes soak up a luscious spinach gravy and makes for a perfect way to enjoy both protein and greens with roti or rice.

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