Braised spinach, rice, and kurdi go down so well on days when I want to feel comforted.

It’s a hearty meal and if you add fried fish to the dish, you will not regret it.

I particularly love the taste of dry red chilies in my food because I don’t cook with it a lot. In fact, I don’t have a strong palette. And most often enjoy milder flavours when it comes to vegetable curry.

When I was younger, I didn't enjoy spinach. M mother used to often tell me that Popeye’s favourite food isn’t only for Popeye. What she meant was that Olive Oyl also loves it. I believed her and eventually grew to love the combination. As I grew older, I realised the invaluable benefits of spinach.

Did you know: Spinach originates from Persia. It is from the amaranth family and its cousins are beetroot and quinoa. Spinach is also good for your eyes, can help reduce stress, is an antioxidant, and can reduce blood pressure levels.

Ingredients

1 bunch of spinach, chopped finely

dry red chilies, according to your taste (I use a handful)

1 onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, diced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp jeera

1 tsp garam masala

handful of coriander

Method

1. Heat oil in a large pan and reduce it to medium heat.

2. Fry jeera and red chilies in the hot oil until it splutters. Then add onions and continue frying until translucent.

3. Add garlic and give it a stir.

4. Drop spinach in the pan and cover with a splatter lid for 1 minute. The spinach will wilt. Keep doing this until all the spinach is in the pan.

5. Add about a tbsp of water, reduce the heat to very low and cover your pan with the splatter lid.

6. Stir every five minutes until the spinach is cooked.

7. Serve with Khadi (click on the link below for the full recipe)