Today I am going to share with you an easy way of making Keerai Masiyal (Tamil Brahmin style-no onion no garlic recipe) using the pressure cooker. Though I have prepared this keerai masiyal with arai keerai, you can prepare the same recipe by substituting arai keerai with mulai keerai or siru keerai or spinach or paruppu keerai.
How to make Keerai Masiyal
Prep time – under 10 mins
Cook time -under 10 mins
Serves -2
Ingredients needed
Keerai – 2 bunches or 2 cups tightly packed
Cumin seeds/jeera seeds -1 tsp
Rice flour -1/2 tsp for thickening (optional)
Salt to taste
For the seasoning
Mustard seeds -1 tsp
Urad dal – 3/4 tsp
Red chillies -2
Hing – a pinch
Preparation
Wash keerai/greens well at least 2 times and chop it finely. The nutrients in the greens will be lost if you wash it after chopping it, so wash well and then chop. For arai keerai, you can use the tender stems also.
Method
Take a pressure pan or a small pressure cooker, add the chopped greens, a tsp of cumin seeds and just 1/4 cup of water. Pressure cook in medium flame for 1 whistle and switch it off.
After 5 minutes, open the cooker (if the pressure has not subsided, pour a cup of water over the cooker and then open the cooker after 2 minutes) mash the keerai well with a keerai masher or potato masher and add salt to taste. I personally do not like blending the keerai to a fine paste but if you prefer, you can do that. Strain excess water if any (If required you can add 1/2 tsp of rice flour for thickening along with keerai).
Heat a tsp of oil, add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add urad dal, red chilli and hing. When dal turns golden brown, pour the seasoning on the keerai and mix well.
This keerai masiyal can be had as a side dish for rice.It can also be had mixed with rice topped with a tsp of ghee. When I was young, my mother used to give me keerai sadam by mixing this masiyal with rice and ghee. Children will love it. Potato curry goes well with this keerai sadam.
Tips to retain the green color in keerai
1.In the method given above the keerai retains its green color.(see picture above) I did this masiyal in a small pressure cooker only.
2.Add a pinch of sugar while cooking the keerai.
Note -If you do not have a pressure pan, you can cook the keerai in a pan or kadai as I have done for my Mulai Keerai Masiyal Recipe
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View Comments (10)
Delicious healthy masiyal, love simple with rice.
Thanks for this recipe , Never thought of pressure cooking the spinach. I am going to try it today.
Healthy and easy recipe.Thanks for the tips to retain color.
Me encanta este plato sencillo y también los consejos,abrazos y saludos de Chile.
good to see and am going to try today, since in dubai we are trying ara keerai for the first time. Strain excess water if any (If required you can add 1/2 tsp of rice flour for thickening along with keerai)."" >>>> when you strain water, don't you think that the vitamins will be lost ?? I personally feel that after boiling any vegetable, water should not be drained or one should add water in small quantities to avoid water straining........Vimal Iyer, dubai
Its great. I tried it today. It was easy to prepare as am a new cook
Can we pressure cook keerai..people say we have to cook keerai in open pan...otherwise nutrients will be lost
We will be cooking just for 1 whistle and the pressure will be released slowly manually - so the nutrients will not be lost.
Thanks Padhu! This is my comfort food. Keerai turns out exactly as my grandma used to make it. I didn't know that it was so easy to make.
Absolutely delicious with a clean simple taste. Thanks so much