Palak Gajar Shimla Mirch - Spinach with Carrots and Bell Pepper

An unusual combination of vegetables? Maybe unusual but definitely very tasty!

How to make Palak Gajar Shimla Mirch?

The spinach needs to be properly washed, especially if you get it freshly from a local source – just make sure there are no insects and no rests of earth on the leaves. Cut them in small pieces. Wash and peel the carrots, cut off a small piece from both sides and cut the carrots into small pieces. Finally, wash your bell peppers, remove the seeds and cut them into small pieces as well.

Heat up the oil in a wok or a deep pan and when it is hot, add cumin, mustard seeds and the bay leaf. Stir for a few seconds and then add the ginger. When the ginger changes its colour slightly, you can add the carrots and the salt. Mix it well and put a lid on the pot. Turn up the heat and let it cook for about two minutes.

After that time, open the lid and stir again. Turn the heat down a bit to medium heat and add garam masala, coriander powder and turmeric. Stir the carrots again, let the spices mix into the carrots and add the spinach. Stir once more and put the lid on the pot again for another three minutes. Stir only once or twice in that time.

Now you can add the bell pepper pieces, stir well and put the lid back on. Let your vegetables cook and stir from time to time. The spinach has left water already and the vegetables are slowly getting cooked in it. After about seven minutes you open the lid and let the water vaporize in approximately the next three minutes. Your dish is done as soon as the carrots are soft and done!

Enjoy!

Ayurvedic Benefits

This dish is not only good in winter because you can get the ingredients but also because the vegetables are all known to pacify the kapha dosha in the body. It is thus good for reducing mucus and removing congestion.

Of course, the spinach is additionally giving you iron and purifies your blood – you can enjoy eating and getting healthy at the same time!