Smoky Indian Spiced Spinach and Sweetcorn (Vegan Palak Corn)
This palak corn recipe is the perfect mid-week meal – made in just over 20 minutes, super tasty AND healthy. Dry frying the sweetcorn gives a deep smoky taste, and cooking it with frozen spinach and warming Indian spices produces a speedy dish with bags of flavour!
Servings: 4 people (as a side dish)
Ingredients
- 120 g frozen or tinned sweetcorn, drained
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil, (or any flavourless oil)
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 inch piece ginger, finely grated
- 120 g frozen spinach
- 250 ml vegetable stock
Instructions
- Dry fry the sweetcorn in a frying pan without any oil over a medium-high heat, stirring often, until browned (about 3-5 minutes). Then remove and set aside. (You’ll know it’s ready when the sweetcorn starts to jump out of the pan!)120 g frozen or tinned sweetcorn
- Dry fry the spices in the same pan for 30 seconds until fragrant. Then remove and set aside.1 teaspoon garam masala, ½ teaspoon ground turmeric, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon salt
- Add the oil to the frying pan and then add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Fry for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are browned.1 tablespoon grapeseed oil, 1 onion, 4 garlic cloves, 1 inch piece ginger
- Finally, add the frozen spinach and vegetable stock and the previously cooked spices and sweetcorn, and stir well. Put a lid on, turn the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to break down the spinach into the sauce. Once the spinach has fully defrosted (after about 5 minutes) take the lid off, turn the heat to low and continue to simmer for 10 more minutes. Cook down until the spinach is cooked and soft and there is hardly any liquid left. If it gets too dry, just add a little more water to make it more saucy.120 g frozen spinach, 250 ml vegetable stock
- Serve with curry and rice or with a dollop of vegan yoghurt and an Indian flat bread.
Notes
- When dry-frying the sweetcorn and spices, make sure they don’t burn by stirring frequently and working quickly to remove them from the pan as soon as they are cooked. Add a little water if anything looks like it is burning to bring the temperature down quickly and stop the burning.
- You can bulk this up by adding potatoes, tofu or brown lentils.
- You can make the sauce more creamy by stirring in coconut cream or cashew cream at the end of the cooking time.
- Keep in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Re-heat gently in a pan.
- Serve palak corn as an Indian side dish, served with other Indian curries or dahl and rice. You could also serve it with Indian flatbreads and vegan yoghurt for a delicious lunch.
Nutrition
Calories: 93kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 570mg | Potassium: 262mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 3655IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 1mg