Rice and Spinach

This is a very simple recipe that uses cooked spinach with other vegetables and seasoning from Indian cooking. The rice is bright yellow from the turmeric, and with the green of the spinach it is very pretty.

• 1 c short grain white rice
• 1 ½ c water
• (2 c water if using long grain white rice)
• ½ tsp salt

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
• 1-2 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 med onion chopped
• 1 bell pepper chopped
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp salt or to taste

• 4-6 oz raw spinach, chopped

• 1-2 tsp lemon juice or to taste

Boil the water with salt, add the rice, cover tightly and cook for 20 minutes, then turn off heat and let sit another 5 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, heat the oil to medium-low and add the whole cumin seeds. Heat the seeds until they turn from greyish brown to a richer brown color (1-2 minutes), then add the jalapeno and garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Add chopped onion and bell pepper and the spices and cook until onions and peppers are desired softness.

Stir in the spinach and cook a few moments until the spinach is wilted, then stir in the cooked rice, and heat just a few minutes. Add lemon juice to taste and serve.