Keerai masiyal is a healthy dish made using spinach. There are many variety of spinach. Spinach is nutritious and can be incorporated in a variety of dishes. The most common South-Indian dish prepared at my home is keerai masiyal or keerai poriyal. This masiyal tastes excellent when made with “Araikeerai”. I have made this recipe using baby spinach.

My kids enjoy this dish. Whenever I make for kids, I reduce the spice level. Mostly the kids don’t even require any side dish. It can be just mixed with rice and ghee and served. It is truly a comfort food. We can enjoy keerai masiyal with some hot steamed rice, with a dollop of ghee, along with some potato poriyal, avaraikai poriyal or paruppu vadai for side.

Ingredients

• Baby spinach (or) Araikeerai – 1 bunch
• Small onion / Shallots – 5
• Tomato – 1
• Green Chilli – 2
• Jeera – 1/2 tsp
• Salt – to taste
• Water – 1 cup

To temper

• Oil – 2 tsp
• Mustard – 1/2 tsp
• Urad dal – 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves – 1 sprig
• Red chilli – 1

Procedure

• Wash and clean the spinach leaves and drain in a colander.
• Peel and chop the shallots, chop the tomato and green chillies.
• In a kadai, add in 1 tsp oil. Once the oil is warm, add jeera and let it splutter.
• Add in shallots and saute till translucent.
• Add in tomato and green chilli and saute till tomato turns mushy.
• Add in the spinach leaves.
• Add in 1/2 tsp salt and cook till the spinach shrinks and it leaves some water.
• Cool down this mixture and grind it to a paste.
• Transfer to a serving bowl. Pour some water in the mixie and wash off the spinach paste from the mixie and add it to the serving bowl and give a mix.
• Check for salt.
• Add oil in a kadai and add the ingredients under “to temper” . Once everything splutters, pour it on the spinach paste and mix well.
• Serve it with some hot steamed rice.

Notes

• Clean the spinach thoroughly, as there may be tiny insects in them.
• While making for babies, do not add chillies.
• Leftover spinach masiyal can be used to make spinach chapathi.