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Shilpa

Mughlai Palak – Instant Pot Spinach with Onions

This Mughlai Palak – Instant Pot Spinach with Onions is one of my favorite spinach recipes, and it’s very straight-forward to make!
When any dish envelopes a boatload of greenery, it’s good for you, see? Plus, the name of the dish is fancy 😊
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 17 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian, Mughlai, North Indian
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound baby spinach  (454 grams)
  • 3.5 tbsp oil of choice
  • 1/2 onion (1/2 cup chopped)
  • 1/2 tsp ginger paste
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 serrano peppers, small (hari mirch) (1/2 tbsp chopped)
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala

Equipment

  • Pressure Cooker

Method
 

Prep
  1. Firstly, rinse the baby spinach well in cold water. There is no need to chop it. We will blend it later. Additionally, you can use regular spinach instead of baby spinach. If you don’t have an immersion blender then chop the spinach finely, while using regular or baby spinach.
  2. Rinse and chop the serrano peppers and onions.
Cook
  1. Select sauté on the instant pot and adjust to normal. Add in oil to the pot. Further, add in chopped onion and ginger paste. Let the onions sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until golden.
  2. Next in 30 seconds, add in spinach and stir well. Let the spinach sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, keep stirring intermittently. The spinach should shrivel.
  3. Once it shrivels add in salt, sugar, and ½ cup water. Stir well. Using an immersion blender blend coarsely blend the spinach for a few seconds. Also, don’t blend it super fine. It needs to have some texture. If you don’t have an immersion blender you can use a potato masher or the back of a ladle.
  4. Further add in the chopped serrano peppers. Stir well. Press cancel. And, secure the lid on the pot and select manual/high pressure for 3 minutes. When done quick release the pressure.
  5. Open the lid, add in garam masala and stir well. Finally, transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy with steamed rice or roti.

Notes

  • On a scale of 1 to 5 in terms of spice levels I would place this dish at 3, with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest. You can reduce or eliminate the serrano peppers as per your spice tolerance.
  • I have used fresh baby spinach. You can use regular spinach too. I have just thrown in spinach in the IP and blended it later. If you are using regular spinach, I recommend chopping the leaves.
  • If you don’t have an immersion blender then please chop baby leaves prior to cooking as well. You can then use a potato masher or spoon to crush them.