What Can I Cook With a Bunch of Spinach (Palak)?

The bunch that vanishes

You bring home a bunch of palak that looks like a bouquet, wilt it in a pan and end up with a small spoonful. This is normal. Raw spinach loses most of its volume as it cooks, because it is mostly water. A rough rule many cooks use: a tightly packed 250 gram (9 oz) bunch of leaves gives about one cup of cooked, chopped spinach. For a dish that serves four, plan on 400 to 500 grams (14 to 18 oz) of raw leaves.

Knowing that changes what you can do with it. If you have one bunch, it is a flavouring for daal or dough. If you have two or three, it is a full sabzi. Here is how to use either amount, using recipes we actually have.

Washing without losing your afternoon

Fresh market spinach often carries soil in the stems. Fill a large bowl or sink with cold water, drop the leaves in, swish and lift them out rather than pouring the water through a colander, which pours the grit back over the leaves. Repeat until the water at the bottom runs clear, usually two or three rounds. Pull off the thick stems if they are woody and chop thin stems fine, since they cook fine and add body.

Spin or pat dry if you are going to saute it. If you are going to blanch it, water on the leaves does not matter.

Six ways to use it

1. Palak paneer. The obvious one, and a good one. Our palak paneer relies on blanching and a cold bath for colour, and we have a longer guide on keeping the green colour.
2. Aloo palak. If you have no paneer, aloo palak is cheaper and equally filling. Potato soaks up the spiced spinach and it works with roti or rice.
3. Saag. With enough greens, saag slow-cooks into a thick, earthy dish. Spinach alone is milder and a little thinner than a mixed-greens version, so some cooks add a handful of fenugreek or mustard leaves if they have them.
4. In daal. Stir a few handfuls of chopped spinach into daal during the last 5 minutes. It wilts into the pot and you get greens without a separate dish.
5. In paratha dough. Blanch, squeeze hard, chop fine and knead it into atta with salt, cumin and a little oil. Roll and cook like aloo paratha without the filling. Squeezing matters: wet spinach makes sticky dough that tears.
6. As a quick saute. Heat oil, add sliced garlic and a dried red chilli, add the leaves and stir for 2 minutes until they collapse. Salt, and add lemon. That is a side dish in under five minutes.

The squeeze rule

Whenever spinach goes into dough, kofta, filling or anything that needs structure, squeeze out the water. Press cooked, cooled spinach between your palms or in a clean cloth until it stops dripping. A cup of loose cooked spinach can release a surprising amount of liquid, and that liquid is what turns a dish watery or a dough sticky.

For gravies you do the reverse. You want that liquid, especially if it has a lot of flavour, so blend the spinach with a little of its cooking water.

Blanch, saute or boil down?

Dull green is a trade-off, not a failure. Long-cooked saag is meant to be dark.

Storing it so it lasts a week

Moisture is the enemy. Wet leaves rot in a day or two in a sealed bag. Wash only when you need to, or if you wash on shopping day, dry the leaves thoroughly, wrap them in a paper towel and keep them in a loosely closed container in the fridge. The paper towel absorbs the condensation. Check the container every couple of days and pull out any leaves that have turned slimy, since one bad leaf spreads fast.

If you have more than you can use, blanch for a minute, shock in cold water, squeeze, and freeze in portions. Frozen spinach is good for cooked dishes, daal and dough, but it will not be good in a salad. Label the bag and use it within a few months.

A small note on iron and health

Spinach has a reputation as an iron food. We will leave nutrition advice to dietitians. For cooking purposes, what matters is the taste, the colour and the texture, and those come from how much water you manage.

Pairing

Aloo palak and tandoori roti are an easy weeknight dinner. Palak paneer with plain rice is a gentle meal for children, because it can be made mild. If you are cooking for guests, serve spinach alongside something with stronger flavour, such as a spicy meat curry, so the green dish gives the plate some balance.

Shopping list for a spinach week

• 3 bunches fresh spinach (about 750 grams, or 1.6 lb)
• 1 potato per person if you plan to make aloo palak
• 200 grams (7 oz) paneer, if you want one paneer night
• Garlic, ginger, green chillies, cumin, lemon

You can add these to a list in the Degchi app, mark what you already have in the pantry and see which of the recipes above you can start tonight.